Australian spinner Nathan Lyon takes 500th Test wicket

Jasper Bruce and Oliver Caffrey | December 17, 2023

Star offspinner Nathan Lyon has become the third Australian to take 500 Test wickets.

The 36-year-old joined legendary pair Shane Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563) in the exclusive 500-club when he took his fourth wicket of the victorious first Test against Pakistan.

“(The milestone) is something I’m pretty proud about,” Lyon told Fox Cricket after Australia’s 360-run win in Perth.

“From a young kid growing up in country NSW, 500 wickets is a bloody long way away.

“A lot of hard work, but something I’m proud about.”

Lyon claimed the scalp of allrounder Faheem Ashraf to reach 500 on Sunday, having been stranded on 499 after the first innings.

Nathan Lyon. — Nathan Lyon celebrates at Optus Stadium with teammates after claiming his 500th Test wicket. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

Lyon, playing his first Test on return from a long-term calf injury, had multiple close calls earlier in the second.

Umpire Richard Illingworth denied two shouts for lbw either side of the tea break and a review for caught-behind on Ashraf was also unsuccessful.

But sending an lbw shout upstairs was enough to bring up the milestone and for good measure, Lyon (2-14) bowled Aamir Jamal later in the same over.

Lyon’s first wicket proved the beginning of the end for Pakistan, who slumped to 7-79 and were all out only three overs later.

The spinner joked he would celebrate the achievement “in ‘Warnie’ fashion” as a reference to the late leggie’s trademark fun-loving ways.

“I’ve got my family here as well, my wife, brother and uncle,” Lyon said.

“We’ll have a couple of cold beers for the 500.”

After being plucked out of relative obscurity to make his Test debut in Sri Lanka in 2011, Lyon has become Australia’s greatest offspinner across 123 matches.