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What makes Nathan Lyon proud? Not the wickets – of which there are many – or the Test caps. No, it was an informal meeting in a Sydney hotel room after Michael Hussey retired that is the pinnacle of Lyon’s sporting life.

“He called me up and I went with a couple of beers in hand,” Lyon begins, the cadence of his words altering. “He gave me a handwritten letter explaining that he wanted to hand me the team song. It’s probably the proudest moment throughout my whole career. We sank a couple of beers and I spent about an hour trying to convince him not to retire.”

Since being introduced by Rod Marsh during the 1970s, Under the Southern Cross I Stand has been Australia’s victory chant. Today, it stands as the most elite act of mateship in Australian cricket.

“It was incredible, mate,” Lyon tells Telegraph Sport ahead of this year’s Ashes series , and even a decade later, the emotion is audible. “I’m getting goosebumps talking about it. It’s a pretty amazing moment, to be honest. I’ve got the letter here at home, framed up. I won’t be giving that one away.”

Lyon’s Test career was just 19 matches old when Hussey passed the baton. The late, great Shane Warne had already retired, meaning Lyon had no spinning shoulder to lean on during his formative matches.

“[Hussey] really put his arm around me and looked after me in so many different ways, on and off the field,” he explains.  “He liked the way I go about things, the way I respected the meaning behind the baggy green, the way I played my cricket.”

For Hussey to show that faith in Lyon then, meant a little extra. The off-spinner’s selection was far from certain at that point. Indeed, he was omitted for the second Test of the subsequent India tour and missed the opening two Ashes Tests that summer.

But since returning at Old Trafford in August 2013, Lyon has not skipped a Test beat: Lord’s in June will, all other things being equal, be Lyon’s 100th in a row.

‘I didn’t really know what I was doing when I played my first Test’

It is a stark contrast to England, of course, who no longer have their front-line spinner after Jack Leach was ruled out of the Ashes with a back injury.

Lyon was thrust into Test action just 203 days after his first-class bow. “When you put it like that, it proves to me that I didn’t really know what I was doing when I played my first Test,” he says.

That is undoubtedly no longer the case, yet Lyon still feels nerves. That apprehension does not stem from a lack of belief in his skills set: it is “more about caring about my team-mates and caring about playing cricket for Australia. I feel like that’s a massive privilege”.

Lyon is a key cog in a team built around consistency, experience – nine of the summer’s likely starting XI have played at least 36 Tests – and strong and stable leadership.

“Andrew [McDonald, the head coach] brings a really calming influence on the group,” Lyon begins. “And with Pat [Cummins] and Smithy [Steve Smith], I feel like we’ve got arguably the best bowler in the world’s mindset, and one of the best batters in the world’s mindset leading us from the front.

‘We have a lot of banter but we train our backsides off’

“Pat is really able to bring all these players close together. We have so much fun off the field, a lot of banter, but we train our backsides off. We trust that everyone’s doing the work behind the scenes as well to make sure we’re at the level we need to be.”

Among the less experienced players to feature recently are Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann. They, alongside Lyon, formed a spin triptych during the recent India trip.

“I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to hopefully mentor and help them out along the way, to put my arm around them and guide them whenever required,” Lyon says.

The fact that Lyon had little guidance when he began has stuck with him. “I feel like, without being arrogant, I have a lot of knowledge and a lot of experiences, positive and negative. I feel like I’ve learnt along my journey. I’ve got so much to offer these young guys.”

Lyon is intriguing company. He juxtaposes media lines – the 30-minute conversation is punctuated by references to “brands” of cricket – with genuine warmth. He combines steel with humour. He pulls off confidence while rarely straying into arrogance (albeit the eighth-highest Test wicket-taker in history can be forgiven the occasional strut).

Not that Lyon’s nickname the Goat – an acronym of ‘greatest of all time’ that was bestowed upon him by Smith and Brad Haddin – sits comfortably.

“When you don’t like a nickname it tends to stick around a lot longer. Me being me, not liking being the centre of attention, pushed back a little bit. Now I’ve got young kids calling me the Goat, Garry and everything else under the sun when I walk down the street. It is what it is. I can’t see it changing now.”

‘I did children’s book series to get my girls off iPads’

Lyon has leaned into ‘Garry’ – a reference to the 1990s Aussie rules star with the same surname – though, by releasing a semi-autobiographical children’s book series. When speaking about ‘Nice Garry’, Lyon’s softer side comes out again.

“It was more to try and get my two girls off the iPads. If they can read about Dad but not really Dad, then hopefully they will pick up the books. I can tell you it’s been a success. They love them. They’ve read the books to me. That was very surreal but also very special.”

Back to cricket, Lyon is not fazed by ‘Bazball’. In fact, he seems genuinely excited about it after claiming: “I want people to come at me. I feel like that’s been part of my journey.”

But a spinner must balance attack with defence, right? “I feel like as a spinner having an ‘in-out’ field is probably more like the fast bowler’s field with three slips and a gully. Why would I leave mid-on up and let the batter have three free shots, and get 12 to 18 runs quite quickly? As a bowler you’re suddenly on the back foot.

“So yeah, I’ll definitely be having protection. There’s no doubt about that. I’ve had it for the last 119 Test matches and won’t be changing that now.”

Good luck for the summer, Nathan. “You don’t mean that, mate,” he replies. “But appreciate it anyway.”

After a week of voting, polls have closed in our bid to determine which players should make up the greatest cricket team in history. According to Telegraph readers, the XI is as follows.

1. Jack Hobbs (England)
2. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
3. Sir Donald Bradman (Australia, capt)
4. Sir Viv Richards (West Indies)
5. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
6. Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
7. Adam Gilchrist (Australia, wkt)
8. Shane Warne (Australia)
9. Malcolm Marshall (West Indies)
10. James Anderson (England)
11. Sir Curtly Ambrose (West Indies)

The polls for the allrounder (Sobers), wicket-keeper (Gilchrist) and spinner (Warne) were not even close. In the selection of opening batsmen , Alastair Cook and Len Hutton narrowly missed out. Brian Lara very nearly beat Sachin Tendulkar to a place in the middle order and in the selection of the three seamers . Glenn McGrath missed out to Curtly Ambrose by a single vote.

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Scyld Berry’s all-time World Test XI

My all-time World Test XI would be as follows:

1. Graeme Smith (South Africa)
2. Virender Sehwag (India)
3. Sir Donald Bradman (Australia, capt)
4. Sir Viv Richards (West Indies)
5. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
6. Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies)
7. Adam Gilchrist (Australia, wkt)
8. Shane Warne (Australia)
9. Malcolm Marshall (West Indies)
10. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
11. Sir Curtly Ambrose (West Indies)

Back in the days when there were such things as envelopes, I always had Sir Jack Hobbs and Sunil Gavaskar written on the back, as the opening batsmen for a World Test XI. Never has there been such a complete batsman as Hobbs, because nobody has ever batted on such a vast range of pitches, from mud-heaps to belters, let alone scored 61,000 first-class runs on them; and Gavaskar was the embodiment of orthodox technique.

Now, however, it looks as though Test cricket will always be played on dry and pretty batting-friendly pitches; the sport has moved on, if not evolved. Strategy can therefore be based on a more attacking approach. In the past it was bowlers who attacked, now it is batsmen who pressurise bowlers.

Test cricket’s change of approach – and this is all a matter of opinion – demands a different Indian opening batsman, Virender Sehwag.

We did not see the best of him in England but that should not rule out what he accomplished elsewhere: huge hundreds, made at a faster rate than any opener has achieved, with the majesty of a souped-up Majid Khan.

I remember a press conference in South Africa when the two captains, Andrew Strauss and Graeme Smith, took sneak peaks at the television as Sehwag raised the bar to a new level, which no opener has yet equalled, even in this age of so-called Bazball.

To complement Sehwag, I would choose a left-handed opener of more defensive character. There have been few uglier batsmen; but there will be aesthetic pleasures to come in the World XI batting order. If Sehwag gets out early, and Don Bradman starts playing a few shots, I would want someone tenacious at the other end: the aforementioned Smith.

He broke three England captains (Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and Strauss) and might do the same to the opposing captain in this hypothetical Test. And Smith remains the most successful Test captain of all time in terms of victories, 53, so if the Bradman in this team were the young man who was so busy with commercial interests, Smith could captain as well.

You would imagine that Sir Donald would insist on batting at three. If so, and he were to be dismissed cheaply, and the opposition were considerably buoyed, there is one man who could walk out and wordlessly – because they might not speak English or any earthly language – tell them who was boss: Sir Viv Richards.

At number five it is a close thing between Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar; but no need for another left-hander with Sir Garfield Sobers at six and Adam Gilchrist at seven, especially one similar in style to Sobers.

I wish this World XI could include the most beautiful of post-war batsmen, and the most handsome of post-war batsmen, but I will settle for Sir Frank Worrell and Martin Crowe being the batting coaches.

We must not forget our fielding specialists when selecting the batsmen. You do not want to pick great fast bowlers without any decent slips to back them up. One more reason to opt for Smith, to go first slip, although Sir Alastair Cook would do a sound job there; and Richards at second slip, and Shane Warne at third, while Sobers was superb close-in legside.

If I were Sir Donald Bradman (I wish) and captaining this team, I would base my bowling strategy on pace. And while there have been better attacks than Australia’s in 2013-14, I personally think that no bowler has ever been more threatening – to life, limb and wicket – than Mitchell Johnson was in that series.

I would base my strategy on using Johnson in short bursts of about four overs. Some will prefer Wasim Akram of Pakistan as the left-arm fast bowler, and he was a master of reverse-swing, but Johnson too could reverse it, and whether from over or round the wicket he could fire in the most ferocious bouncers.

Johnson at his peak gives his captain the maximum of penetration; Curtly Ambrose of control. Even in the white-ball era nobody took him apart. Glenn McGrath very occasionally had a bad day, but Ambrose was always in control.

We are all assuming that the opponents of this World XI have two feet. Suppose they are extra-terrestrial beings with four or six feet: they will be able to run down the pitch and pad Warne away. But nobody is running down the pitch to King Curt.

Malcolm Marshall, as the complete fast bowler, can offer his captain penetration AND control. Any of these three pace bowlers could take the new ball, as could Sobers, who would probably swing it more than anyone. Blessed with his unique all-round abilities, Sobers would also act as the second spinner, whether as a left-arm orthodox or wrist-spinner.

Having Adam Gilchrist as the wicketkeeper/batsman ensures that he will already be familiar with Warne, and accustomed to taking wrist-spin, so that he should be able to read Sobers too. If Derek Underwood were chosen as the specialist spinner, Alan Knott would have been the logical choice; so too MS Dhoni, or Rishabh Pant in the near future, if Ravi Ashwin were the spinner.

As twelfth man, or as a concussion substitute were the opposition to launch something unfamiliar at the World XI: Jacques Kallis.

Four Australians, four West Indians, three knights, two Indians, one South African and no England cricketer. All right, accuse me of many things, but not national bias.

In any event, if there is no overlap between the World XI and the England XI selected earlier this year , we can savour the mouthwatering prospect of the two teams playing each other in the ultimate Test…in England?

Fun to watch? Or even better to umpire and to listen to what Fred Trueman says to The Don?

The shock news of Jack Leach’s Ashes-ending injury has left England scrambling to replace their front-line spin bowler and triggered questions about whether they can afford to stick with a plan for ‘hard and fast’ pitches.

With Ben Stokes keen to take the fight to Australia while staying true to their new approach under Brendon McCullum, the loss of Leach – who has bowled more overs under Stokes than any other bowler – is a sizeable blow.

Stokes and McCullum face a conundrum in whether to select a replacement spin bowler for next week’s first Test at Edgbaston , or change tack and go for an all out pace attack and rely on Joe Root as an alternative.

Here, Telegraph Sport’s team of cricket writers select their team for the opening Test of the Ashes.

Nick Hoult

Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Bairstow, Woakes, Wood, Robinson, Anderson

After the Leach injury England should revisit their flat and fast pitch request, leave a little grass on the Edgbaston surface and go all out seam, playing on Australia’s weakness against the moving ball.

Moeen Ali should come into the squad and work on his bowling until he is ready to play at Lord’s. Chris Woakes was left out against Ireland but that was to have a look at Josh Tongue , who is not needed if Mark Wood plays. Woakes and Ollie Robinson can bowl the bulk of overs, taking the pressure off James Anderson and his groin injury, leaving Wood to bowl in short sharp bursts.

Scyld Berry

Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Bairstow, Woakes, Robinson, Broad, Anderson

Old Trafford in 1956, where Jim Laker took 19 wickets, and Headingley 1972: two examples when England shamelessly/pragmatically produced the pitch they needed to beat Australia. Edgbaston now has to be a greentop on which England’s seamers – including Woakes for Leach – will pitch fuller than Australia’s.

Then Moeen, after playing the four-day game for Warwickshire v Notts, to return for the last four Tests. He did a great job at number eight in the 2015 Ashes – a rapid 293 at 36 – or might even be opening, as well off-spinning, by the Oval.

Tim Wigmore

Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes (c), Bairstow (wk), Broad, Wood, Robinson, Anderson

A personal view remains that James Vince – averaging 79.5 this Championship summer and 175.5 in five T20 Blast games – could have thrived as an opener in this regime. But there is no chance of any changes in England’s top seven now.

Instead, the question concerns the make-up of England’s attack. With Leach’s injury and Stokes only having bowled one over in all cricket since February, picking four seamers, and then using Root if needed against Australia’s four left-handers, would seem to be a fairly straightforward decision. The tail is a slight concern – one reason, together with his stellar home record, why Woakes is an attractive option – but the logic of beginning the series with England’s four best seamers is hard to ignore.

Will Macpherson

Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Bairstow, Dawson, Broad, Wood, Anderson

There is a strong case for going with an extra seamer, especially given England like chasing. But Leach has been such a key part of England’s selection plans that they will surely replace him. Anderson looks a bit closer to fitness than Robinson, who can wait until Lord’s.

Liam Dawson might seem an unsexy choice, but he offers a like-for-like replacement for Leach, and is in form with both bat and ball [as much as that is possible for a spinner in early season]. Had Leach gone down in Pakistan, England would have called on Dawson. His batting would shorten England’s tail, and is punchy enough to suit Bazball.

I like Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed but it’s early days, and surely too risky. Jacks’ case is hurt by the presence of Root’s off-spin, too.

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Who should replace Jack Leach and who should start the first Test v Australia? Tell us your picks in the comments section below

“Unfortunately for England fans, he looks like he’s in pretty good touch,” said the Glamorgan batsman Sam Northeast on the third evening of his county’s game at Headingley this week. “He played some special shots, and was almost ridiculous at times.”

Northeast was talking about Marnus Labuschagne , the Australian with whom he shared partnerships of 82 and 147 in the game. At a ground which will host the third of the five Ashes Tests this summer, on a pitch that Northeast described as having “a bit more pace and bounce” than is often found on the county circuit – ie being more resemblant of a Test surface – Labuschagne truly clicked into gear in the foothills of an enormous summer, with scores of 65 and 170 not out. It was not quite enough for victory, with time lost to rain a factor in a delayed Glamorgan declaration.

All the talk last week was about Steve Smith’s debut for Sussex , and his three-game acclimatisation exercise. Labuschagne, meanwhile, has given himself five matches at Glamorgan, but not just because it is an Ashes or World Test Championship final summer and he wants to warm-up. He does it because he just loves playing for Glamorgan.

This is Labuschagne’s fourth spell at the club. He came in 2019 as a little known Queenslander with big dreams; a stunning run of form propelled him into the Australia team at Lord’s, and on the way to the top of the Test rankings. Since reaching it, he keeps coming back around his busy international schedule. 2020 was not possible for obvious reasons, but he played six games in 2021, five in 2022, and is three down, two to go this time. In 24 matches, he averages 55 with the bat, and this weekend scored his seventh hundred and 11th fifty.

Labuschagne recognises Glamorgan’s role in his unusual rise to the top, and the platform they gave him when he had just a couple of Tests and a modest first-class record to his name. He is particularly fond of Matthew Maynard, the head coach, and what he has brought to his batting. He has received interest from other counties, but only has eyes for Glamorgan. Some expect he will end up as club captain.

In the transient world of modern cricket, Labuschagne is an unusually loyal player. He has been known to not only tune into streams of Glamorgan pre-season games that he is not in the country for, but has also been caught watching Sandwich CC, his old club in Kent, while they play. He still turns out for Redlands, his Brisbane grade club, more than is usual for a player of his standing.

Part of all this is his relentless love of the game and desire to improve. Even after making a big score, he watches his innings back in the changing room, looking for little bits to work on, and anyone to talk to about it. In the early county season, he is trialling off-spin to go with his leggies and medium-pacers, because offies are what Queensland are missing back home. It has resulted in career-best bowling figures.

With franchise leagues growing and boards more keen to control their players’ workloads, it has never been more difficult for counties to sign quality overseas players. The days of season-long, year-after-year, Viv Richards-style associations between the world’s best players and a county are done. But across this round, there was plenty of evidence of the value of forming a bond with a player who wants to keep coming back, even around their international commitments.

Cheteshwar Pujara looks an increasingly permanent fixture at Sussex, and made his eighth hundred in 12 matches.. Michael Neser is into his third season with Glamorgan, and picked up a hat-trick. Azhar Ali made a hundred for Worcestershire, where he is into his second season; he is 38, but retired from international cricket and no doubt the county would like him to keep coming back. Mohammad Abbas was at it again for Hampshire, and Kemar Roach is having another good season for Surrey.

Labuschagne might be the best of the bunch. He can be a nuisance – just ask any batsman who has had to listen to his chirp, bowler who has watched him leave the ball or Yorkshire quick Mickey Edwards, who almost certainly had him caught behind cheaply on the first day at Headingley. Labuschagne appeared to walk, then change his mind, and the umpire shook his head.

But the world’s best batsman is desperate to give back to his county (whether by scoring runs or working with youngsters), and that makes Labuschagne the consummate modern overseas pro. We should treasure that, even if it does get his eye in for the Ashes.

Talking points

Long live the draw? Ben Stokes is on record saying how much he hates these things, but there was something beautiful about some of the stalemates on Sunday night at the end of a rain-affected round. Yorkshire and Notts survived by one wicket, Surrey by three. There were men round the bat and real dig-ins.

A quote from Gareth Batty was a reminder of the value of a draw, even if they are only worth five points these days. “We definitely play every game to win, right up until that last 25 overs we were still playing to win,” said Batty. “But whilst I can still breathe we are not going to give people easy points.” In a title race, you cannot just gift points away.

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There is always one disappointing finish, mind. Derbyshire thought they had three overs to chase 54 having worked hard to bowl Leicestershire out for a second time. Then, alas, the umpires realised there had been a miscalculation and, in fact, they had one over to chase 54. Instead of what could have been a strange conclusion, we got Leicestershire’s part-time spinner Colin Ackermann charging through that over in double-quick time in order to bring the over-rate down. The Derbyshire coach Mickey Arthur certainly didn’t look too impressed.

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A word, briefly for James Vince’s form in a horribly misfiring Hampshire batting order: he made 186 at Northants then, in a shocking defeat to Warwickshire, 75* and 52*. The second innings effort was especially remarkable. Hampshire went from 26 for one to 35 for nine, at which point he had one not out. He then shared 62 with the last wicket with Mohammad Abbas, to add a single iota of respectability to the drubbing.

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Henry Brookes, one of the more exciting young seamers on the circuit, had to leave Warwickshire on loan to get a game, and made quite a splash with a stunning six-wicket haul for Derbyshire. Brookes is out of contract at the end of the season. Expect a decent tussle for his signature.

Performance of the week

Ollie Robinson: 14-117 v Worcestershire

With a word for Michael Neser and Chris Rushworth, who took seven-wicket hauls, this has to go to Ollie Robinson, because he took a seven-wicket haul twice. Robinson was hard on himself at the end of the game, saying it felt “in vain” because he had not carried Sussex to victory. But in truth he was ploughing a lone furrow alongside inexperienced bowlers well below his level. He needs support.

Match of the week

Nottinghamshire v Lancashire

There were nine-wickets-down draws at Headingley and Trent Bridge, but the prize has to go to the latter, because of its see-sawing nature. Nottinghamshire led on first innings yet, after Lancashire batted well second time around, were the ones clinging on for dear life at the end.

Quote of the week

“I am going to play some shots that will have people tearing their hair out and maybe suffer some awful dismissals, but it is all about making sure I am confident and fully committed.”

Somerset’s new boy Tom Kohler-Cadmore, after reaching stumps on 95 from 71 balls. The next day, he hit his first ball for six to bring up a memorable maiden century.

In an era when tour matches are ever rarer, Australia are set to go through an Ashes summer in 2023 without playing any county opposition for the first time.

Rather than playing any county sides, Australia will warm up for the World Test Championship final and Ashes with a golf trip to Formby in Merseyside and a training camp at Kent’s ground in Beckenham. There, they will have centre-wicket practice and nets.

India, Australia’s opponents in the World Test Championship final, will also warm up just with a camp, at Arundel, which was once known for hosting tour curtain-raisers with a fixture against the Duke of Norfolk’s XI.

Australia have led the charge on a scene that makes it increasingly unfashionable for touring teams to hold formal warm-up matches against local opposition. Ahead of the 2019 Ashes, they held an internal match during a camp at the Ageas Bowl, and they did not play any matches ahead of their tours of India this year (they lost 2-1) and Pakistan (they won 1-0) in 2022. In 2019, they did, however, take on Derbyshire in a tour match between the third and fourth Tests.

This tour will be a far cry from those of old, when the Australians would take on counties in all corners of the country ahead of – and between – the Tests. Sir Donald Bradman’s “Invincibles” of 1948 played 12 matches before the first Test, winning 10 of them.

Even as recently as 2015, Australia played matches against Kent and Essex before the first Test, and fixtures against Derbyshire and Northamptonshire later in the tour.

Darren Lehmann, who was Australia’s coach on that tour, was not impressed with the lack of competitive action on this tour.

“You need games to acclimatise first and foremost,” Lehmann told SEN . “To get used to the ball and wickets and pressure. No tour game is not a good idea. I hope it works but if it doesn’t, ‘who made that decision’ will be asked.

“I think we win the Ashes anyway 3-1 but if we don’t, wow.”

Many Australians – including leading batsmen Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith – are acclimatising in England by playing county cricket, but some players will come in straight from the Indian Premier League, while others – such as skipper Pat Cummins – will go into a Test without having played for months.

England are also increasingly uninterested in playing local opposition – which is often a long way below what they face when the Tests roll around. Ahead of their tour of Pakistan this winter, they faced England Lions in Abu Dhabi, in a three-day match that was eventually shortened to two. In Australia before the Ashes in 2021-22, they played an internal match, but that was partly down to the restrictions placed on them by Covid bubbles.

Some England players will also go into the Test summer undercooked. Joe Root and Harry Brook could return from the IPL less than a week before the Test against Ireland on June 1. Ben Stokes, the captain, has at least confirmed that he will return before the tournament’s knockout stages if his team, Chennai Super Kings, make it. Stokes is sidelined with a toe injury, and has chronic knee issues.