STRANGE CRAZE SEES AUSSIES TOP CHRISTMAS TREES WITH PICTURES OF NATHAN LYON

The off-spinner has been in excellent form for Australia during the Ashes

Australia's love affair with Nathan Lyon shows no sign of abating, and the off-spinner is now gracing Christmas trees the country over.

Lyon backed up his pre-series fighting talk with impressive form with the ball in the first two Tests of this season's Ashes, bamboozling England's batsman and claiming 11 wickets at less than 23 runs apiece.

Now the GOAT - the nickname 'greatest of all time' given to him due to his status as the most successful finger spinner in Aussie Test history - is being seen as something of a guardian angel by his compatriots.

And where does an angel go at Christmas? On top of the tree, of course.

^{Nathan Lyon is finding himself atop Christmas trees in Australia}

^{The spinner has had a successful Ashes series so far}

A series of pictures of firs - both real and artificial - capped with Lyon's face has popped up on social media in recent days.

The Lyon angels come in all shapes and sizes, from cutouts of the bowler in full celebration, to photos haphazardly thrown onto the upper branches.

The Facebook group 'Nathan Lyon Appreciation Page' has curated a collection of some of the best. They enthusiastically urge supporters: "Get into the Christmas spirit by putting a true star on the Christmas tree!"

England will be hoping to knock both the GOAT and his adoring public off their perch in Perth this week.

The third Ashes Test is due to start at the WACA on Thursday.

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