Nathan Lyon 500 !!

He is a legend ! though may not be a GOAT !  .. .. way back in Aug 2011, in the 1^st Test at Galle – he debuted, accomplished as he took 5 wickets in an innings, the first victim being Kumara Sangakkara.  He has not looked back since and Australian Board must be appreciated for their continued faith in an off-spinner in a land where fast bowlers come a dime and dozen.  When English Fred Trueman took 300 wickets in Test Cricket, not many thought that his record could be broken.  Kapil Dev held the record of max no. of Test wickets at 434 for quite sometime ! 

 

Today at Perth, Nathan  Lyon’s lbw shout against Faheem Ashraf was initially turned down, but Australia’s review proved successful as the ball-tracking technology showed the ball would have hit leg-stump. The crowd erupted and Lyon was hugged by each of his teammates when the DRS decision was handed down.   Pakistan was rolled for 89, the nation’s fifth-lowest team total against Australia in Tests, but more focus was on Lyon as the veteran off-spinner claimed his 500th Test wicket. The hosts only needed 30.2 overs to knock over the visitors on Sunday afternoon, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.  The massive 360-run win set up by Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh's partnership, before visitors folded for 89.  

In Feb 2023 in the Nagpur Test – the most experienced Nathan Lyon had a poor match bowling 49 overs – 13 maidens – giving away 126 runs for a solitary wicket but debutant Todd Murphy had a great match – 47-12-124-7 !!    Interestingly, Lyon had completed  a unique record to his name which no other bowler has managed to maintain in Test cricket. Lyon has bowled a total of 30064 balls in Test cricket and has never overstepped during this massive spell.   

Today  Offspinner Nathan Lyon claimed his 500th Test wicket as Australia's formidable attack crushed hapless a Pakistan on a difficult Optus Stadium surface to win the first Test inside four days. , Lyon became the eighth bowler to reach the milestone when he dismissed Faheem Ashraf   to spark jubilant scenes of celebration among the Australia players and the sparse crowd of 9000 fans. He joined Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath as the only Australians to the landmark.  Lyon then clean bowled Aamer Jamal later in the over to cap a successful return, after taking five wickets for the match in his comeback from a calf injury that had prematurely ended his Ashes series.   

An offspinner whose work as a curator took him from Canberra to Adelaide, Nathan Lyon completed a remarkable rise when he was picked in Australia's Test squad in July 2011. The previous year, he had taken up a job on the Adelaide Oval groundstaff, and his bowling talent was spotted by the Redbacks' Big Bash coach Darren Berry.  By 2015, Lyon had become Australia's most successful Test offspinner of all time, passing Hugh Trumble's tally of 141 wickets, and he was affectionately nicknamed by his teammates as the GOAT - greatest of all time - as a result.

Without doubt 500 is a great achievement  - here is the comparative figures of the 500 club:

1. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) – 800 – 133 matches – 44039 balls

2. Shane Warne (Australia) – 708 – 145 - 40705

3. Jimmy Anderson (England) - 690* - 183 - 39217

4. Anil Kumble (India) – 619 – 132 - 40850

5. Stuart Broad (England) – 604 – 167 - 33698

6. Glenn McGrath (Australia) – 563 – 124 - 29248

7. Courtney Walsh (West Indies) – 519 – 132 - 30019

8. Nathan Lyon (Australia) - 501* - 123 - 31614

 

Breathing closer is our Ravichandran Ashwin 489 wickets in 94 Tests having bowled 25113.  For sure, Ashwin, would have completed 500 earlier with more support from his Captains and Team management.  Ashwin debuted more or less similar intime  on Nov 6 2011 against West Indies at Kotla and his first victim was Darren Bravo.   A few years ago,  Nathan Lyon was on 390 wickets and Ashwin on 365 - both in the race to 400. While Lyon was  static  at 399-  Ashwin  zoomed past the mark.    

Lyon’s record will not have more crowd in the 500 list as in the 400 list there are 9 others with only Ashwin playing still.  That list reads :  Aswin 489 (94); Dale Steyn 439 (93); Kapil Dev 434 (131) Ranganna Herath 433 (93); Sir Richard Hadlee 431 (86); SM Pollock 421 (108); Harbhajan singn 417 (103); Wasim Akram 414 (104); Curtly Ambrose 405 (98)  

Well  Bowled  - Nathan Lyon the latest entrant to 500 Test wickets club !

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
17.12.2023.