Australian spinner Nathan Lyon admits he felt “a bit sick” cheering on Ashes rival James Anderson as he took seven wickets for Lancashire ahead of their final Test for England.
Anderson, 41, tore through Nottinghamshire’s top and middle order on day three of the Lancashire County Championship match at Southport, taking 7-35 in 16 overs.
The brilliant spell saw Notts bowled out for 126 and forced to follow on after Lancashire declared on 353-9, and then Lyon took two wickets to leave the visiting side 84-2 and trailing by 143 going into the fourth day.
Lyon was in midfield for much of Anderson’s tenure and says it was strange supporting someone who has been his fierce rival in the Ashes for so many years.
“This is one of our best days of the summer,” the Australian bowler told Lancashire’s website. “It was quite amazing to see what Jimmy did this morning.
Obviously I’ve seen it from the other side. We had a little moment where we said it felt a bit bad for me to say “come on Jimmy” and him to say “well done Garry”.
“It was a bit different but I guess that’s the beauty of county cricket and it’s very special to play with arguably the greatest player to ever play the game.
‘I was hoping to get the chance to play with him, that was one of the big draws of coming here.
“He showed his class. No disrespect to the other bowlers in this game, but you can see Jimmy’s class and the extra boost he gets coming off the wicket. It was great being the midfielder for part of the game, it was a lot of fun.”
England’s first Test of the summer, against the West Indies at Lord’s, will be Anderson’s last after the team 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 it before, I’m very surprised that England have tapped him on the shoulder.
“He’s a world-class player, world-class. He’s probably the best fast bowler who’s ever lived and his ability, especially in England, is remarkable.”
Lancashire currently sit second from bottom in the County Championship, having won just two of their first eight games of the season.
But they will leapfrog sixth-placed Notts and potentially three other teams if they can win 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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