Crash Craddock: Nathan Lyon beats gnawing self-doubts to set standards that will likely stand the test of time

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon hates the word “comfortable” and never wants to feel that way. It’s a belief that him within reach of two major milestones.

You know a record is something special when you sense it will never be broken.

Nathan Lyon, plying that old-fashioned, taken-for-granted trade of off-spin should this summer raise two milestones, which look good on paper but positively glisten when you look at what has gone on around him.

Lyon, who has 390 wickets from his 96 Tests, should this season post the 100 Test-400 wicket double, a stunning achievement when you think the next most successful Australian off-spinner Hugh Trumble who took 141 Test wickets.

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Nathan Lyon is on the brink of two major milestones.

Trumble’s stats actually say as much about this story as Lyon’s.

Trumble’s career finished 116 years ago and since then – of all the thousands of trundlers who have tried off-spin from backyards to club, state and national level – only one Australian has truly unlocked the key to becoming a long-lasting Test match master of the craft.

Off-spin is cricket’s easiest and hardest trade. Anyone can do it. But barely anyone can do it dangerously which is why Lyon stands so far above the rest.

Will we ever see an Australian off-spinner match his Test records?

Don’t bet on it.

At age 33 Lyon has potentially five years ahead of him and by the end of his career he might have 550-plus Test wickets.

Try catching that one on non-spinning Australian decks in the quietly shrinking world of Test cricket?

Lyon could end up with 550+ wickets by the end of his Test career.

The single most significant element of Lyon’s journey is the way he has overcome the curse of so many slow bowlers … gnawing self-doubt.

In a recent podcast with Neroli Meadows, Lyon was as candid as he has ever been about his own insecurities which he traditionally keeps well away from public view.

How Mitchell Starc ribs him that his 96 Test includes 80 Test debuts because he feels he is permanently on trial.

How when he gets down he watches video clips of his best wickets to remind himself of what he needs to do to succeed and what he is capable of.

He even pokes fun at himself by claiming his daughters chide him with lines like “dad do we really have to watch you again?’’

How he has fretted about being dropped and felt overawed and out of place when he first walked into Australia’s Test match dressing room before Mike Hussey became a calming mentor.

It’s never been easy for him. He knows that in Australia off-spinners have never been hip, which is why he has never felt safe.

Lyon bowled Australia to victory in the Edgbaston Ashes Test last year.

That insecurity may ruffle him but it also drives him. He hates the word “comfortable’’ and never wants to feel that way.

When Lyon was grappling the with stresses of winning Australia an Ashes Test last year, he knew there was only one sound in the world that could relax him.

Being an old-fashioned bush kid, he craved for the soothing hum of raindrops on a tin roof so he Googled the soundtrack late at night in his Birmingham hotel room.

With 10 minutes he was sleeping soundly and rose to win the Test match the next day with a rousing 6-40.

Among the greatest admirers of Lyon are former off-spinners such as Test tweaker Peter Taylor, who know how hard the craft is.

“He is exceptional,’’ Taylor said of Lyon.

“Finger spinning in Australia is bloody hard work and he had been playing in the modern game with big bats and small grounds. As he is not complicated. He knows his own game.’’

Former Aussie spinner Peter Taylor is a huge Nathan Lyon fan.

“A few things about him impress be greatly … He must be very fit. He just keeps going and his body seems very supple. Mentally he just seems to be able to handle the pressure and expectation. He trusts himself.’’

GOOD: The debate over Australia’s Test cricket team. So many places up for grabs. So much discussion. Just what the game needs. The six white-ball games against India were excellent fare and the four Tests should be even better.

BAD: Jack Bird blowing up at the Broncos for lack of support during his horror three-year stint with the club. Given he averaged more than $100,000 each for his forgettable 17 games during those injury marred years, you might have thought he would have gone quietly and drawn as little attention to himself as possible.

UGLY: The implosion of the Australian women’s hockey team over selections, coaching methods and the general treatment of the team. The chances of sorting out the mess by next year’s Tokyo Olympics appear slim.

Originally published as Crash Craddock: Nathan Lyon beats gnawing self-doubts to set standards that will likely stand the test of time