Star Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon paid an emotional tribute to Shane Warne ahead of Ashes 2023. Lyon said that the legendary leg-spinner will be missed during the forthcoming Test series against England which happens to be the oldest rivalry in the sport. It is pertinent to note that this will be the first time than Ashes will be played without Warne's invovmenet in any way whatsoever for the first time in 30 years.
Lyon further said that Australia would want to play their best brand of cricket and will make the iconic cricketer proud. Notably, Warne died of a massive cardiac arrest in Koh Samui, Thailand on March 4, 2022.
"It's going to be very different and have sadness around it, not hearing his voice. He was becoming someone like Richie Benaud behind the mic, with the knowledge that he was able to pass to us and also the public," Lyon was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
"He will be missed like he's missed every day in the cricket world, but hopefully as Australian cricketers and Australian spinners, we can go out there and make him proud," he added.
Warne played 145 Tests and 194 ODIs for Australia in his career. Often regarded as one of the finest leg-spinners ever to have played the game, Warne boasts of 708 Test wickets and 293 ODI scalps to his credit. In his first-class career spanning 301 matches, he finished with 1319 wickets. In addition, he was a tactical genius something which he has proven in the limited opporotunities that he got as a leader.
To date, Rajasthan Royals' (RR) only IPL triumph, which came in the inaugural season in 2008, came under Warne as the captain. The Jaipur-based franchise wasn't one of the favourites to go all the way but punched above their weight to stun some of the heavyweights and lift the first-ever IPL by beating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 3 wickets in the final.