Wellington: Shane Warne often spoke of how the key to his art was thinking less about a spot on the pitch to land the ball, and more about the sort of shot he wished the batter to play.
“I’m a little bit different,” he said once. “What a lot of people think about is a spot on the wicket. I actually think about what shot I want the batsman to play. That allows me to bowl where I want, rather than focusing on a spot or anything like that. I think about how I’m trying to get the batsman out.”
It was the good fortune of spectators at the Basin Reserve – or bad fortune if they were particularly parochial New Zealand supporters – to watch Nathan Lyon do more or less exactly what Warne once made a habit of doing as the spinner led Australia to a 172-run victory in Wellington.
Lyon’s masterful display ended what Cameron Green had begun to deliver victory for Australia in a hard-fought encounter with Tim Southee’s side where batting collapses abounded. Having entered the fourth day with hope, at 3-111, the hosts were rounded up before lunch for 196, as Lyon toasted an 11-wicket bounty in conditions that offered him all the help he could want.
Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra and Glenn Phillips were three of New Zealand’s batting trumps entering this match. All were coaxed into playing exactly the kind of shot Lyon wanted from them, giving up their wickets as if in a trance of the bowler’s making.
When Williamson did it on the third evening, he reacted with instant disgust at what he had done, leaving Lyon to remark that he had figured out a way past the Black Caps’ most prolific scorer – something to do with how he could not ignore deliveries on middle and leg stump as some teammates did due to the dangerous bounce on offer.
Nathan Lyon celebrates Glenn Phillips’ wicket.Credit: Getty Images
Ravindra, a superb talent, was steadily drawn into Lyon’s net over the course of several spells over two days. Quick to rock back and cut the ball on length, Ravindra was unable to resist the urge to keep doing so after Lyon and Pat Cummins posted three men for the shot.
After a couple of exploratory overs at the Bert Vance Stand end, Lyon switched back to Adelaide Road where he had done all of his bowling to that point, and where there was more variation in bounce and turn. Duly lulled, 24-year-old Ravindra tried another pet cut shot, only to miscue to an exultant Green. He walked off beaten, but perhaps a little wiser as to Lyon’s art.