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ADELAIDE: Australia’s veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon etched his name deeper into cricketing history during the third Ashes Test against England, overtaking Glenn McGrath to become the country’s second-highest wicket-taker in the format.
Lyon claimed his 564th Test wicket on Thursday, moving past McGrath and sitting behind only Shane Warne among Australian bowlers.
The landmark came in memorable fashion as the 38-year-old struck twice in his very first over after returning to the Test side, removing Ollie Pope before clean-bowling Ben Duckett to reach the milestone.
The achievement came on day two of Lyon’s 141st Test and underlined his enduring value to Australia’s red-ball setup.
Renowned for his classical off-spin and ability to extract bounce and drift, Lyon has now climbed to sixth place on the all-time list of Test wicket-takers.
Ahead of him on the overall charts are England’s Stuart Broad (604) and India great Anil Kumble (619), with Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan leading the list with 800 wickets.
Shane Warne (708) and James Anderson (704) complete the top three.
Lyon, affectionately known as “Garry”, has previously said he feels he is in some of the best form of his career and has no immediate plans to step away from the game.
His longevity has been aided by a singular focus on Test cricket, having not played international white-ball cricket since 2019.
The off-spinner has also spoken openly about his desire to continue until at least the 2027 Ashes in England, with Australia set to enter a heavy Test schedule from August next year onwards.
