Nathan Lyon puts Australia in charge with roaring display

Bowler credits advice from Ricky Ponting for helping take five wickets against West Indies in the second Test.

Australian bowler Nathan Lyon, second from right, took five wickets against the West Indies.

The rain was pelting down in Trinidad on Tuesday and Nathan Lyon did not have a wicket to his name in the second Test so he decided to use the spare time to get some answers.

He approached the Australian team coach Mickey Arthur and the team's elder statesman, Ricky Ponting, and asked them for some advice.

Then, when the sun came out and the ground dried up enough for play to resume, he produced a seven-over spell of sublime offspin, in which he captured five wickets, including the West Indian dangerman Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 94 to turn the match back in Australia's favour.

The West Indies will start the fourth day later today on 252 for nine, 59 runs behind Australia.

"There was no problem but you can always look to improve and get advice from people you trust," he said.

"We just sat down purely because there was a big break and we had a chance to look at my bowling and try to improve."

Lyon would not reveal exactly what Arthur and Ponting told him but said he was only too eager to learn anything he could from them.

"This is my 12th test match and my 20th first-class game so I've got a lot of work to do and a lot of learning to do about cricket full stop," he said.

"It was just another chance we saw to sit down and talk and debrief and get something out of it."

It was just the second time Lyon had taken five wickets in an innings for Australia.

The first time was on his test debut against Sri Lanka last year, when he made an incredible start to his test career, capturing a wicket with his first delivery.

The 24-year-old did not show the same boyish excitement as he did with his first five wicket-haul although he said it was more rewarding in some ways because of the hard work that went into it.

"It's certainly amazing to get another five-for for Australia," he said.

"Today was a really hard toil and I thought all our bowlers as a bowling unit bowled pretty well.

"We could have been better in a few different areas but in saying that we stayed with it and the investment session before lunch, someone was going to get the rewards and I was just lucky enough to get the rewards at the end of the day."

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