Australian spinner Lyon takes 500th Test wicket
Oliver Caffrey and Jasper Bruce |
Star spinner 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 first Test against Pakistan in Perth.
Lyon claimed the scalp of allrounder Faheem Ashraf to bring up the milestone on Sunday after being stranded one wicket short after the first innings.
He had multiple close calls in the second innings, with umpire Richard Illingworth denying two shouts for LBW either side of the tea break.
Australia reviewed a caught-behind appeal on Ashraf but that too failed to yield a 500th Test wicket, before an LBW shout Ashraf brought the milestone up.
The wicket consigned Pakistan to 7-79 in pursuit of 450 runs for victory.
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.
He is a chance to surpass McGrath’s mark of 563 if he opts to play on into the coming years; the offspinner has previously flagged his desire to feature in a winning away Ashes series, with the next one scheduled for 2027. Lyon would be 39 by that stage.
Lyon sits eighth all-time for most wickets taken in Test. Formidable West Indies quick Courtney Walsh (519) is next in his sights on the leaderboard.
MOST WICKETS IN TEST CRICKET:
1. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) – 800
2. Shane Warne (Australia) – 708
3. Jimmy Anderson (England) – 690*
4. Anil Kumble (India) – 619
5. Stuart Broad (England) – 604
6. Glenn McGrath (Australia) – 563
7. Courtney Walsh (West Indies) – 519
8. Nathan Lyon (Australia) – 500*
* denotes still playing
AAP
