Nathan Lyon, Australia’s off-spinner said reaching the milestone of 400 Test wickets in Saturday’s big 1st Ashes Test 2021/22 win and joining cricket’s greats had not yet sunk in.
A classical off-spinner, the 34-year-old removed Dawid Malan for 82 on the fourth day of the first Test against England to write his name in Australian sporting history.
Nathan Lyon: It’s Been Very Rewarding To Reach 400 Wicket Milestone
Australia has drawn first blood in the Ashes after taking an emphatic 1-0 lead after just three and a half days of the first Test at the Gabba. The hosts were set a target of just 20 to win the match after lunch following yet another batting collapse from England which saw the final eight wickets fall for just 74 runs.
Speaking immediately after playing a central role in Australia’s nine-wicket victory at the Gabba, Lyon said: “It hasn’t really hit me yet to be honest. No doubt I’ll get my phone and call my family and friends, and that will probably hit a little bit closer to home, I guess. But it’s something that I’m very proud of, there’s no doubt about that. It’s been some hard toil to get it, but it’s very rewarding, that’s for sure.”
Ahead of the Test, Nathan Lyon had nominated England captain Joe Root as the scalp he would like as his 400th, given they have played so much against each other. He had to make do with Dawid Malan, with Marnus Labuschagne taking the catch at silly mid-off.
Nathan Lyon Is Australia’s Most Important Bowler: Pat Cummins
Nathan Lyon, in his 101st Test and after a decade on the team, became just the 16th player worldwide to achieve the feat and only the third Australian after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan tops the all-time Test wicket-takers with 800 wickets, followed by Shane Warne on 708.
England star Jimmy Anderson is third on 632 scalps but was overlooked for the Brisbane Test, as was fellow paceman Stuart Broad, who is sixth on the list with 524. Nathan Lyon took 4-91 in the second innings to move to 403 wickets overall. Next in his sights is West Indies’ great Curtly Ambrose, who has 405 wickets.
Australian captain Pat Cummins stressed how important Nathan Lyon was to the team.
“He’s our most important bowler, not just for wicket-taking, but you saw how many overs he bowled yesterday,” Cummins said.
“He went for two and a half an over for 20 overs on a hot day.”
Nathan Lyon had been stuck on 399 Test wickets for 326 days and had to bowl 208 deliveries before finally reaching the milestone. England’s Dawid Malan fell bat-pad early on the fourth morning to help Nathan Lyon become the 17th Test bowler to reach 400 scalps.
Nathan Lyon took four wickets on the fourth morning, including that of Dawid Malan’s for his 400th to start the rot prior to the new ball being taken, while Cameron Green claimed the prized scalp of Joe Root for 89 as England lost 8 for 74 to be bowled out for 297 and set Australia just 20 runs to win.
His 401st wicket took just 11 more deliveries to get, bamboozling Ollie Pope with sharp bounce and turn as he tried to cut a ball that pitched wide off. It only took 37 more to reach 403 as Ollie Robinson gifted Nathan Lyon his wicket with an attempted reverse sweep while Mark Wood was bowled by a full ball that drifted and dropped under the bat.
Australia 425 and 1 for 20 (Harris 9*, Robinson 1-13) beat England 147 and 297 (Root 89, Malan 82, Lyon 4-91) by nine wickets