The concept of the nightwatchman is something peculiar to cricket. Fancy sending in a player that is not that good at batting, ahead of a player who is quite good at batting. In the case of Nathan Lyon, he was elevated above a man who has made 13,336 Test runs. Nathan Lyon has a grand total of 124 Test runs to his credit. The logic doesn’t quite add up to a sensible decision.
However, cricket is not always sensible and logical. Why do players stay seated in the same positions in the dressing room, when a game is going down to the wire. When Australia resumed at the MCG in 1982, requiring 25 runs to win against England, who only needed to knock over Jeff Thompson, Rod Marsh ordered the Australian players to resume the same activities that they were involved towards the end of the previous days play. For Marsh and a few others, this involved sitting at the back of the dressing room knocking back a few cans. This could be the first instance where drinking at 11am by a sportsman was viewed as being a positive contribution towards a team victory.
Cricket is very much a mental game. Why Ricky Ponting, or any top order batsman for that matter, would prefer to face Dale Steyn at 11am, rather than 5:50pm seems strange, however for anyone who has played cricket, it makes perfect sense. At 5:50pm, all that can happen is that you can either get out, or survive. Not much to be gained. At 11am, the day is young. Survive until 6pm that day, and you will have three figures to your name.
Enter Nathan Lyon. For the top order batsman, the nightwatchman who can succeed at their task is invaluable. Unfortunately for Lyon, has capacity to blunt the South African attack late on day one will ensure that this remains his role for the remainder of his career. Some players thrive on this. Most notably, Jason Gillespie made 201 in the nightwatchman role.
Well done Nathan Lyon, may your forward defence save many top order players for years to come.
Australian Cricket News 