He was terrorising England’s batsmen at the MCG on Saturday, claiming his 100th Test wicket and a five-wicket haul, but when Nathan Lyon came back to Canberra last week no one recognised him. Lyon cemented his place as Australia’s No.1 Test spinner with some brilliant bowling in the Boxing Day Test. His 100th Test wicket continued a remarkable journey from Manuka Oval groundsman to Australian star. But the off-spinner enjoyed anonymity in Canberra before Christmas. Lyon was in the capital to catch up with family and friends just days after Australia won the Ashes urn with a victory in Perth. He went for dinner at the Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club and even avid cricket fans didn’t spot the former ACT Comet. That was until a grandfather-grandson duo approached Lyon to settle a $10 bet. The grandson was convinced it was Lyon enjoying a meal with a mate but the grandfather was adamant it couldn’t be him. Lyon smiled and confirmed his identity. But when grandma came back from the bathroom, she still didn’t believe it was Lyon and she approached him again for confirmation. Lyon could be back in Canberra again next month if he gets picked for the Prime Minister’s XI clash against England.
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Kyrgios soaks up his two days of family fun
Tennis teenager Nick Kyrgios might be a star on the rise but his trip back to Canberra for Christmas was as far away from the first-class world of grand slams as you can get. Kyrgios was granted two days of holidays to spend Christmas with his family in the capital. To get back to Canberra, his mum, Nill, drove from the capital to Melbourne to fetch her son. They turned around almost immediately and stopped in Albury to visit Nick’s grandma before getting back on the road for the rest of the journey. “His grandma got a bit of surprise when Nick showed up at the door, she didn’t want to get out of bed,” Nill laughed. “Nick did a question and answer on Twitter for the rest of the drive so at least he had something to do. When we got back to Canberra, I could just see Nick’s face relax.''
PM pauses on selection
Cricket Australia and government officials have postponed the announcement of the Prime Minister’s XI team until at least the end of this week. Cricket ACT is hoping for a massive crowd at the revamped Manuka Oval for the day-night fixture on January 14. But promotion of the game has hit a hurdle as selectors juggle Big Bash League commitments before finalising the team to play against England. England’s dour efforts in the Ashes haven’t helped ticket sales either. Former Test opening bowler Brett Lee will captain the PM’s XI, with Canberra's Nathan Lyon and Ryan Carters firmly in contention for selection.
A festive Fisher
He’s known around Brumbyland as “Lord Laurie” but director of rugby Laurie Fisher will have a new nickname when he returns to Super Rugby training on January 6. Fisher got in the festive mood and dressed as Santa before sending a Christmas message to his Twitter followers. Fisher wasn’t the only Brumby dressed to impress on their holidays. Wallabies and ACT prop Ben Alexander was dressed as a bull at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as part of his buck’s party celebrations. The Brumbies are back at training next week in preparation for the Super Rugby season-opener on February 22. The club is also poised to add an extra player to their squad, potentially as early as next week.
Famer or framer?
Suspended Canberra cyclist Michael Rogers’ future as an ACT Sport Hall of Fame member could be in jeopardy after testing positive to a banned substance. But ACT Sport officials will wait for the final details of his ban before deciding on three-time time trial world champion Rogers’ Hall of Fame eligibility. Rogers tested positive to clenbuterol after a Japan race in October. He is fighting to clear his name and claims he was the victim of contaminated food in China. It’s the third doping-related issue ACT Sport has had to consider in less than two years. Former Tour de France competitor Stephen Hodge asked to be removed from the Hall of Fame after he confessed to doping during his cycling career. Essendon champion James Hird’s status among Canberra’s sporting royalty is still up in the air while ACT Sport waits for ASADA to finish its investigation before ruling Hird in or out. Rogers isn’t part of the Hall of Fame, but would have almost certainly been included at the end of his career had it not been for the doping allegations. Rogers is facing a maximum two-year ban. “We’ve got a bit of a policy on this, we take all cases on their merits,” ACT Sport president Jim Roberts said. “So we’d wait and see what they do, but we’d certainly have to take everything into consideration. We wouldn’t move at all until the decisions are made by the authorities. It’s like the James Hird situation – what we’ve done there is we’ve let the AFL sort it out first and then we’ll take into account all the information we’ve got on hand and make a decision based on that.”