After a decade-plus of being called Garry in honour of the former AFL great with the same surname, Nathan Lyon is now being called Phil much to his chagrin.
The 38-year-old spinner said he was “absolutely filthy” in a raw interview on day one of the second Test after getting dropped for the first time in a home Test since 2012.
As he took three wickets to spin a web on the England batters late on Saturday afternoon, his Australian teammates were mildly taunting him.
Chirps of “C’mon Big Fil. C’mon Filthy” echoed around the stumps as fielders encouraged the veteran bowler.
Lyon hadn’t taken a wicket in 27 overs and had figures of 0-50 from 10.1 overs in the second innings Saturday before he dramatically swung the momentum.
“I think he might have used the word last week, didn’t he?” wicketkeeper Alex Carey said in the post-match media conference with a cheeky glint in his eye.
“If you say something in this cricket team, you don’t get missed. He’s very much loved around the group and takes it with a big smile on his face.”
Lyon bowled Harry Brook for 30 then did the same to Ben Stokes on five before deceiving Zak Crawley in flight on 85 with Carey whipping off the bails to dramatically swing the momentum to Australia late on day four when England started daring to dream about an improbably chase of the 435 victory target.
They will resume day five on 6-207, still needing 228 to achieve an unlikely record-breaking comeback win.