STEVE WAUGH, HADDIN BACK ‘FEARLESS’ LYON TO BE AUSTRALIA’S DESTROYER AGAINST PROTEAS

Australian cricket great Steve Waugh has urged Nathan Lyon to be fearless against South Africa, adamant recent criticism of his bowling was too harsh after being made a scapegoat of the Sri Lankan disaster.

Waugh and former Test wicketkeeper Brad Haddin also believe Lyon holds the key to Australia’s success against the Proteas after the off-spinner roared back to form at the weekend.

Lyon is the greatest off-spinner in Australian Test history and has cemented his place in the team.

However, he was publicly singled out by coach Darren Lehmann and captain Steve Smith for poor results after a 3-0l series loss to Sri Lanka in August.

Waugh described the criticism as unfair, saying Australia’s batsmen should have been put under the blowtorch instead of Lyon.

But Waugh, who will ride through Canberra next week as part of a 700km ‘Captain’s Ride’ journey to Mt Kosciuszko to raise money for children with rare diseases, is convinced Lyon has “something special”.

“I’m a big fan of Nathan and his cricket, I really like his attitude,” said former Test skipper Waugh.

“When he first came in he was throwing the ball up to someone like [Sachin] Tendulkar, I loved seeing him get stuck into the game.

“As a captain, he’s someone you love to have on your team because he loves the battle and he’s not scared to put his hand up in the big moments.”