Australia spinner Nathan Lyon heaped praise on Test captain Tim Paine, saying his leadership has been “absolutely incredible” that helped Australian cricket come out of its darkest time post-ball-tempering scandal in Cape Town Test against South Africa in 2018.
There were calls for Paine’s replacement especially after Steve Smith’s captaincy ban ended last month, though, the Test specialist hopes that the “respected” wicketkeeper-batsman will continue to lead Australia in the five-day format for the foreseeable future.
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Paine was handed the job in 2018 after then-captain Smith was banned for 12 months for his part in a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. He brilliantly led the side during their hardest time despite not having two key batsmen in David Warner and Smith and became the first Australian captain to retain the Ashes in England in 18 years, leading the side a drew Ashes series 2-2 in England last year.
Lyon feels that Paine has been outstanding as a leader and is getting better with each passing day and the way he brings his humor in to distract opposition or having a little bit of banter at the dressing room is just absolutely priceless. The spinner further claimed that the Australian public respects Paine and he also loves to play under him, backing him to continue leading the side.
Lyon said in a video conference with reporters, “In my eyes, Tim Paine has been absolutely incredible for the Australian cricket team. The way he's gone out and led the team has been unbelievable to be honest. Obviously, he was a very well-respected player when he came back into the Australian setup, even though the domestic competition he's been a very well respected player in his own right.”
He further added on Paine, “As he's grown into a Test captain, he's a lot different to the likes of Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Aaron Finch and that. But I truly believe that he's growing with legs each and every day, he seems to be getting better as captain. I love playing under him, the way he is able to use his humor into distracting the opposition or having a bit of banter is priceless. I'm a massive fan of playing under Tim Paine that's for sure.”
Lyon also believes that Paine was the only man who Paine had the mantle in the most challenging of circumstances to lead Australia post sandpaper scandal.
The spinner added, “If you looked around the changeroom at that time, Tim Paine is the only guy in my eyes who really stood up and could take that challenge on. He's absolutely incredible, and as I said, he keeps growing as a leader, he took the captaincy on in the hardest time in Australian cricket and he's done an amazing job of it all. It's amazing to sit there and be a part of it.”
As Australia already postponed its Bangladesh tour in June due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Lyon is looking forward to the India series at home later this year.
He signed off by saying, “I’m excited about the prospect of India coming out to Australia, it’s up there with the biggest series alongside the Ashes. Playing in front of crowds or no crowds is out of our control, we’ve got to follow the advice of all the amazing medical people around the world.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
