Australia spinner Nathan Lyon admits he felt ‘a bit sick’ cheering on Ashes rival James Anderson as he took seven wickets for Lancashire ahead of his final England Test.
Anderson, 41, ripped through Nottinghamshire’s top and middle order on day three of Lancashire’s County Championship match in Southport, taking 7-35 in 16 overs.
The brilliant spell saw Notts bowled out for 126 and forced to follow-on following Lancashire’s 353-9 declared, and Lyon then took two wickets to leave the away side 84-2 and trailing by 143 going into day four.
Lyon was standing at mid-off for much of Anderson’s spell and says it was strange supporting someone who has been his fierce Ashes rival for so many years.
‘That’s one of our best days of the summer,’ the Australian spinner told Lancashire’s website. ‘It was pretty amazing to watch what Jimmy did this morning.
‘I’ve obviously seen it on the other side. We had a little moment when we said it feels a bit sick for me to say “come on Jimmy” and him saying “nice Garry”.
‘That was a bit different but it’s the beauty of county cricket I guess and it’s pretty special to play with arguably the greatest bowler to ever play the game.
‘I was hoping to get the chance to play with him, that was one of the big draw cards about coming here.
‘He showed his class. No disrespect to the other bowlers in this game but you can see the class of Jimmy and the extra zip he gets off the wicket. It was pretty cool to be a mid-off for some of it, it was good fun out there.’
England’s first Test of the summer, against West Indies at Lord’s, will be Anderson’s last after the team’s management told the veteran they would look at other options for the rest of the summer.
The decision ‘surprised’ Lyon, who added: ‘I’ve said this before, I’m very much surprised that England have tapped him on the shoulder.
‘He’s class, he’s world-class. He’s probably the best to ever play the game as a fast bowler and his skillset, especially in England, is remarkable.’
Lancashire are currently second from bottom in the County Championship, having won just two of their first eight games of the season.
But they will climb above sixth-placed Notts and potentially three other teams if they secure victory on the final day at Trafalgar Road.
England named a 14-man squad for the first two Tests of the three-match West Indies series on Sunday, confirming Jamie Smith will keep wicket.
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