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How to tune into Sport Nation'While off yet': Lyon has no retirement plans ahead of seventh Ashes series
Sam Kosack • November 20th, 2025 8:45 pm
Nathan Lyon has revealed he has no plans to hang up the baggy green anytime soon as he prepares to enter his seventh Ashes series.
Lyon made his Test debut back in 2011 and has enjoyed prolonged success in the top flight, having taken 562 wickets, one wicket behind Glenn McGrath to rank seventh all time.
Serving as Australia’s first-choice spinner since he entered the top level, the 37-year-old has been a constant in national Test side and has no plans to slow down.
“I feel like the games have totally changed,” Lyon told SEN 1170 Sportsday, “The game’s become so much more professional in the sense of the way guys look after themselves with all the technology and science behind it all.
“It's probably going to prolong people's careers and the day I think I can't get any better, or don't want to get better, or don't think I can do my role within the Australian cricket team, or in any cricket team, that's the day that I'll hang them up.
“But that's a while off yet.
“I love the game. I love playing cricket, and (am) very, very, very grateful for the squad that I’ve been able to play with, especially over the last 14 years. It’s been amazing.”
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Nowadays, Lyon is beloved by teammates and fans alike; Australia’s biggest grounds are no stranger to chants of ‘Nice Gary’.
But Lyon wasn’t always the well-known figure he is, with the Test spinner recalling the first time he met Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, and Brad Haddin ahead of his first Test.
“They had no idea who I was,” Lyon joked.
“I rocked up to the hotel, and, with my bags, not knowing where to go or what to do, out popped Punter (Ponting), Pop (Hussey), and Hads (Haddin).
“I was just like… what am I meant to do here?
“It's pretty cool. It’s pretty amazing when you look back at it.”
The first Test between Australia and England begins on November 21 at Perth Stadium. Catch every ball of the Ashes on the Sport Nation app via SEN.
