Nathan Lyon claims 500th Test wicket as Australia cruise to victory over Pakistan
Nathan Lyon has snared his 500th Test wicket and Mitchell Starc capitalised on a cracking Optus Stadium deck as Australia wrapped up a 360-run victory over Pakistan in the first Test in Perth.
Australia declared at 5-233 soon after lunch on Sunday when Usman Khawaja was caught at deep third man for 90.
Mitch Marsh finished unbeaten on 63 off 68 balls, following his impressive 90 in the first innings.
There were plenty of demons in the wicket on day four, with Marsh sustaining two blows to the helmet and Khawaja painfully struck on his right arm.
Chasing 450 for victory, Pakistan were rolled for 89 in 30.2 overs, with Starc (3-31), Josh Hazlewood (3-13) and Lyon (2-14) sharing the spoils.
The most memorable moment belonged to Lyon, who had to wait until his seventh over of the day before claiming the wicket he needed to get to 500 Test scalps.
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.
Lyon joined greats Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563) as Australians to have cracked the magical 500 barrier.
“(The milestone) is something I’m pretty proud about,” Lyon told Fox Cricket after Australia secured their win.
“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.”
The 36-year-old off-spinner had his second wicket of the innings four balls later when his delivery stayed low and crashed into the stumps to dismiss Aamir Jamal.
Pakistan’s hopes of pulling off the largest successful fourth-innings run chase in Test history evaporated quickly as Starc removed openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq.
Babar Azam fell to Pat Cummins for 14 shortly before lunch, and Pakistan were in dire straights at 5-56 when Sarfaraz Ahmed edged Starc to gully.
Salman Agha was run out following a disastrous mix-up to make it 6-63, and from there it was the Lyon and Hazlewood show as Australia stormed to victory and a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series.
Earlier in the day, Khawaja required medical treatment after being hit just below his right elbow by a 136km/h Aamir Jamal delivery.
A sizeable bump soon formed on Khawaja’s arm, but he bravely batted on to guide Australia safely to lunch.
On a busy morning for DRS, Steve Smith (45) was left cursing his luck after ball-tracking showed Khurram Shahzad’s delivery was going to clip the top of the leg-stump bail by the barest of margins.
Smith repeatedly shook his head in frustration as he trudged off the ground.
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Khawaja was 40 when given out lbw after being struck on the pads by a swinging Jamal delivery, but his review was successful given the ball had made contact marginally outside the line of off stump.
Marsh was given a life on 23 when Pakistan captain Masood dropped a straightforward chest-high catch at mid-off.
Khawaja went to lunch on 68, and Pat Cummins held off on a declaration call to allow the opener to close in on a century.
But with 10 more runs needed, Khawaja slashed at a wide Shaheen delivery and was easily caught.
Lyon joked after the match that he would celebrate the achievement “in ‘Warnie’ fashion” as a reference to the late leg-spinner’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 off-spinner across 123 matches.
He can now eye McGrath’s mark of 563 if he opts to play on into the coming years.
Lyon has previously flagged his desire to feature in a winning away Ashes series, with the next Test tour of England scheduled for 2027 when he would be 39.
The off-spinner sits eighth all-time for most Test wickets taken, with West Indies quick Courtney Walsh (519) next in his sights.
Most wickets in men’s Tests
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) - 501*
* still playing