Australia international Nathan Lyon joins Lancashire for 2024 season

The spinner, who has previously represented Worcestershire on the county circuit, will be available in all formats for the whole season

Lancashire have signed Australia international Nathan Lyon for the duration of the 2024 season.

The spinner, who has previously represented Worcestershire on the county circuit, helping them to the Division Two title in 2017, will be available in all formats.

Best known for his red-ball bowling, the 36-year-old has taken 736 wickets at 33.02 in 204 first-class appearances, including 496 wickets in 122 Tests for Australia.

With the white ball, he has taken 90 wickets in 81 List A matches and a further 57 wickets in 51 T20s.

^{Lyon represented Worcestershire in 2017 [Harry Hubbard/Getty Images]}

Lancashire chair Andy Anson teased Lyon's arrival during an interview with Lancs TV which was released on November 29. Addressing the lack of trophies won by the club, he said: "We've got to figure out how we build a team that wins at Emirates Old Trafford. If it means we've got to have a great spinner who's better than anyone else in the County Championship, then that should be our focus."

Last season, with Matt Parkinson either out of favour or on loan at Durham, Tom Hartley led the spin attack, taking 19 wickets in 10 first-class appearances. Jack Morley chipped in with eight wickets in five outings.

On signing for Lancashire, Lyon said: "I love playing cricket in England. I'm keen to keep learning, keep improving my game and hopefully I can contribute to winning matches for the Red Rose and pass on some of the experiences that I have gained over the years throughout my career.

"They have a strong squad at Lancashire and Emirates Old Trafford is a really great venue to play cricket at, so I am looking forward to that. It will also be great to catch up with Jimmy Anderson too."

^{Tom Harltey was tasked with leading the spin attack last season [Stu Forster/Getty Images]}

Mark Chilton, Lancashire's director of cricket performance, added: "Nathan is an extremely skilled and experienced operator and, once we heard that he was available for the duration of next summer, we jumped at the opportunity to add him to our squad for the 2024 season.

"His bowling record in both international and domestic cricket speaks for itself, and we believe that he will be an important player for us with the ball as we look to achieve our goals in all competitions.

"We have several young spin bowlers in our squad and for them to have the opportunity to learn from and play alongside somebody with almost 500 Test match wickets will be invaluable in their development and I am sure Nathan will play an equally significant role off the pitch as he will on it."