Cricket star Nathan Lyon takes aim at bullies on social media as he launches new kids’ stories
Nathan Lyon has revealed his private struggles with self-belief and and takes a swing at bullies in his surprising new project.
Nathan Lyon’s foray into children’s books is the life story you write when you’ve always been more comfortable with kids than the spotlight of being a Test star.
The lead character ‘Garry’; the country town setting, ‘Youngstown’; the plots and themes about self-belief and bullying – technically they’re all fictional, but make no mistake, they’re all deeply connected to the man writing the stories.
The Nice Garry series seems a fitting way for Lyon to share his remarkable journey to Australian Test cricketer, because he’s never been one to covet attention and perhaps more than any other modern player, he seems to share a genuine wavelength with the kids, the disabled cricketers and the man on the street with whom he interacts so naturally.
“Being a country kid you’re always around grown-ups. I was 12 when I was playing A-Grade men’s cricket, so I think I understand from my own experience, the importance of building a relationship with kids and making sure they feel confident enough that they can come up and speak to you,” Lyon says.
“If I can show I’m someone that kids feel they can talk to and ask questions of, I see that as an opportunity where I think, ‘Geez, I’m pretty blessed.’
“My dad has always been a big one for saying, ‘You’ve got a chance to be a decent role model here, but you can’t let it get to your head because you’re no different to anyone else. All you’re doing is playing a game of cricket’.”
The dad-of-two has penned two titles, Bowled Over and In A Spin, with co-author Michael Wagner and publishers HarperCollins; they are aimed at kids aged seven upwards and will be published on Wednesday.
The title character, Garry Keenan, pays homage to ‘Garry’ – the nickname that has stuck to Lyon like a glove and that kids call out at him in the street – and to ‘Mr Keenan’, the grade six primary school teacher who left an indelible mark on him as a role model growing up in the country NSW town of Young.
The importance of self-belief is the overriding theme. It’s a life lesson which personifies Lyon’s journey as a player who worked a day job as a curator for years before cracking the big time, and even after 60 Test matches struggled to trust that he belonged.
Yet through it all, Lyon developed a resilience and mental strength which now defines his record-breaking career.
The first book, Bowled Over, starts off with Garry and his brother Jamie coming home from school for dinner at Nan and Pop’s house – exactly how Lyon and his brother Brendan spent every afternoon – and explores sibling rivalry: just as the two real-life brothers drove each other, pretending to be Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist in the backyard.
In A Spin focuses on the very real modern day issue of online bullying.
Lyon has spent years as Cricket Australia’s ambassador for the blind and deaf national cricket teams, where he is a genuine mentor for those players – and inclusion is another strong message in his books.
“We grew up down in Young and we had a girl with autism who lived 200 metres away from us. And she would always pop into our home and see if mum was there to make her a cup of tea or if mum had any carrot cake,” recalls Lyon.
“We were used to Catherine just popping in unannounced and I’ve never really feared interacting with (people with disabilities), like some people might fear it.
“Cricket is obviously a massive sport for all and I think it’s a really good opportunity I have now to really make a difference and make sure that everyone feels included – and so they should.”
The 34-year-old, who admits he didn’t read much himself growing up, was motivated to write his own series for his young daughters Harper, nine, and seven-year-old Milla. He can’t wait for an upcoming session where he will read the books to students at the girls’ Canberra school.
“They love them, they absolutely love them,” Lyon says.
“Obviously being a father of two young girls, I just feel like with the current climate of iPads and phones and social media and kids always being on devices, it would be a really good opportunity to write a book and use them as an example to really promote reading for kids.
“I wasn’t a big reader if I’m being honest. This is probably why I’m trying to get Harper and Milla is a bit more into reading, and especially in the current world that we live in, trying to make it cool I guess.”
The books certainly got top marks from his old teacher Mr Keenan, who has travelled the world to watch Lyon play Test match cricket. Lyon said showing his former mentor the cover was a special moment for both men.
Lyon has played 110 Tests and taken 438 wickets, more than any other off-spinner in Australian cricket history, yet his career has been a roller coaster of success and failure.
Something he is glad for and wants the next generation to learn from a series of books he is proud to say are based on his own cricketing journey.
“It’s a really good learning curve to say, ‘OK, how can I learn from my mistakes rather than fear them,’” said Lyon.
“I struggled with self-belief, especially early doors. This book is especially about having that self-belief, because if you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect your teammates or your captain, or your friends or whoever it might be in your life to believe in you?
“Trust me. I’ve been there. Early on in my career you look at a post and check the comments and see people having a crack at the way you bowl or saying you’re not good enough or saying you should retire – I’ve been there. I’ve seen that. And seen the effect of it.
“If we can drum into the younger kids now that: Number One, it’s not OK to be one of those people behind the keyboard; and Number Two, your self-worth isn’t defined by what people say about you, I think it’s really important.”
Nice Garry: Bowled Over and Nice Garry: In A Spin by Nathan Lyon and Michael Wagner are published on October 5 by HarperCollins.
Originally published as Cricket star Nathan Lyon takes aim at bullies on social media as he launches new kids’ stories
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