Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon will join Lancashire for the 2024 county cricket season.
Lyon – a three-time Ashes winner and current ICC World Test champion – will be available for all competitions in 2024 after signing a contract for the duration of the English summer.
After tearing his calf during the second Ashes Test against England at Lord’s in June, Lyon made his return to first-class cricket last month, though he was unsuccessful in a late bid to join Australia’s squad for their triumphant Cricket World Cup campaign in India.
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The 35-year-old, who is the eighth-highest wicket-taker in men’s Test cricket with 496 in 122 matches, told the club’s website: “This is an exciting opportunity for me.
“I am really looking forward to heading over to England for a full season of county cricket with Lancashire.
“I love playing cricket in England. I’m keen to keep learning, keep improving my game and hopefully I can contribute to winning matches for the Red Rose and pass on some of the experiences that I have gained over the years throughout my career.
“They have a strong squad at Lancashire and Emirates Old Trafford is a really great venue to play cricket at, so I am looking forward to that. It will also be great to catch up with Jimmy Anderson too.”
✍ We are delighted to announce the overseas signing of experienced Australian international off spinner Nathan Lyon, for the full 2024 season. 🇦🇺
Welcome to Lancs, @NathLyon421! 🐐
— Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) November 30, 2023
Lyon previously enjoyed a brief spell in county cricket with Worcestershire in 2017, also signing up to play for Hampshire in 2020 only to see that move fall through due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lancashire’s director of cricket performance Mark Chilton hopes Lyon’s arrival will benefit the team’s younger players, saying: “His bowling record in both international and domestic cricket speaks for itself.
“We believe that he will be an important player for us with the ball as we look to achieve our goals in all competitions.
“We have several young spin bowlers in our squad and for them to have the opportunity to learn from and play alongside somebody with almost 500 Test match wickets will be invaluable in their development and I am sure Nathan will play an equally significant role off the pitch as he will on it.”
