Melbourne sign Nathan Lyon on three-year contract

Melbourne Renegades announced the signing of offspinner Nathan Lyon for a three-year contract, which begins with Big Bash League 13.

Nathan Lyon expressed his happiness after joining the franchise.

"I am absolutely thrilled to be part of the Melbourne Renegades. (Marvel Stadium is) a place where I enjoy bowling, it tends to spin a little bit. I'm looking forward to hopefully joining up with 'Zamps' in a really good partnership and putting a show on for the Renegades fans," Lyon said, according to the club.

"I've got some really good friends who are part of the Melbourne Renegades, and that's one of the reasons I wanted to come down. There's a good group of senior players there who I've played a lot of cricket with internationally and also domestically, then you look at the younger guys throughout the roster - it's a pretty powerful squad in my eyes."

Melbourne Renegades will be the veteran spinners third team in the Big Bash League. He started his journey in the the BBL with Adelaide Strikers before finding home in Sydney Sixers. With BBL seasons often overlapping Australia's Test commitments, Lyon has only featured in a total of 38 matches in the competition so far and picked up 44 wickets.

James Rosengarten, Melbourne Renegades General Manager expressed his excitement after Lyon's arrival.

"It's fantastic to have a player and person of Nathan's calibre joining the Melbourne Renegades. Nathan's success over a sustained period at the highest level of the game speaks for itself, and he will be an incredible asset to our group with his skills and experience."

Renegades will kick off their BBL 13 campaign on December 8 against Lyon's former side, Sydney Sixers.

Melbourne Renegades squad: Nic Maddinson (capt), Aaron Finch, Mackenzie Harvey, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Jonathan Wells, Will Sutherland, Adam Zampa.