NZ vs AUS: When Nathan Lyon retires, I will give up captaincy, says Pat Cummins

The Australian captain, Pat Cummins supported Nathan Lyon to play the longer format until 2027 following his match-winning performance against New Zealand on March 3, Sunday as well. Cummins also shared that he would give up on Australia’s captaincy, on the day when Lyon would announce his retirement as well.

However, Nathan Lyon’s 6-wicket haul in the 4th innings guided Australia to a convincing win by 172 runs against New Zealand in their backyard in Wellington. He claimed a 10-wicket match haul for the 5th time in his amazing Test career. Moreover, his 10 for 108 was the first 10-wicket haul claimed by a spinner in New Zealand since 2006. With this, Australia managed to win 17 out of 20 Tests played between the 2 teams in the last 2 decades as well.

“I’d absolutely love him to play until 2027” – Pat Cummins on Nathan Lyon

“The only barrier really is his body, so if he looks after his body and makes sure he’s right for 10 Test matches a year, or whatever it is, I’d absolutely love him to play until 2027,” Pat Cummins said in the post-match presentation. “And I don’t think there’s much that’s going to get in his way.”

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“I’ve already told him the day he retires I’m definitely giving up the captaincy because it makes my life a helluva lot easier. It’s a captain’s dream really,” Cummins again said.

Nathan Lyon achieved a feat

“There’s a real sense of calm out there when you know you’ve got someone that good on a wicket that’s giving him a little bit of help. It’s fun really, you can get creative with some of the field placings knowing he’s going to land it exactly where you want it to. I thought he was brilliant over the last couple of days, bouncing through a few different plans, but it always just felt like he was in control,” Pat Cummins concluded. “And it felt like we had plan B, C and D we could go to as well, but never really felt like we had to.”

However, Australia’s most successful spinner placed at 7th spot in the list of the all-time wicket-takers’ list with a whopping 537 wickets. The second Test match between New Zealand and Australia will begin on March 8 in Christchurch.