Nathan Lyon asserts Australia will show no mercy on West Indies in Melbourne

Lyon believes West Indies will fight back in the Boxing Day Test

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has suggested that the home team will not show any mercy on the visiting West Indies side when they face off against each other in the Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne, next week.

West Indies had a disastrous start to the Test series when they lost to the hosts by a huge margin by an innings and 212 runs in the first Test, just under three days at Hobart. It was the visitors second loss on the tour, after they were humiliated in their pre-tour game to a lowly Cricket Australia XI.

Despite their horrendous performance, Lyon believes that West Indies possess a very talented squad, and said that he expected a good fight from the visitors.

“I believe they're a talented side. They're a young side, but they have a lot of talent in the room, I'm expecting them to come out Boxing Day and give us a real good crack,” he told Sydney Morning Herald.

The 28-year-old added that his team played perfect cricket in the first Test, and produced a good all-round performance to come out on top. “I think we played really well down in Hobart. As a team, I think we ticked a lot of our boxes we want to tick as a team, as a batting unit and also as a bowling unit. I think we played pretty well,” Lyon said.

He went on to talk about the ‘underdog’ tag, and the effect it had on various teams in the past and expects West Indies to play much better in Melbourne.

“I know a lot of people have underdog tags but I'm a big one for whatever goes out in the middle is the same for both teams and it's a contest. It's a good challenge for us and we definitely won't be taking any mercy,” he commented.

“They only have to score one more run than us and take more wickets,” was Lyon's response to how the Windies could upset the Australians. “It's a game of cricket and anything can happen in a game of cricket,” he continued.

Lyon aims to play for Australia in all three formats

Speaking about his own form, Lyon hoped that he could impress selectors with his exploits in the Big Bash League, through which he aimed to play in the limited-overs format squad, in additional to playing in Tests. The star spinner also wished to represent his country in all three formats in the immediate future.

“I want to be the spinner in all three formats, I don't know how many times I have to say it – that's my goal. The T20 World Cup is on my radar, but I just have to come out here and play well for the Sydney Sixers and enjoy bowling in the BBL,” he signed off.