Nathan Lyon has had quite a journey: from a groundstaff member in 2009 to being fondly nicknamed the ‘GOAT’ to taking his 500th Test wicket in 2023.
On Sunday, as Australia nudged closer to another home Test match win over Pakistan – their 15th in a row – all attention was on Nathan Lyon as he was on 499 Test wickets when he came on to bowl in the second innings of Pakistan in Perth.
After 6 wicketless overs for only 11 runs, on the first ball of his 7th over, Nathan Lyon scripted history to become only the third Australian bowler – after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath – and only 8th bowler in history to take 500 Test scalps.
He, though, needed assistance from the DRS referral.
From around the wicket angle, Lyon pinged Faheem Ashraf on his pad, beating his inside edge and all the Australians went up in unison in a big appeal. The umpire denied it though. Pat Cummins, after consultation with Lyon and wicketkeeper Alex Carey, decided to send it upstairs through a DRS.
On Hawkeye, Faheem Ashraf was found out, with Hawkeye displaying three reds. As soon as the ‘Hitting’ was shown on Hawkeye, which meant Australia had successfully overturned the on-field umpire’s decision from not out to out, all the Australian players mobbed Nathan Lyon in celebration and everyone let out big roars. The Perth crowd stood up on its feet to applauds Lyon and share this moment of the ‘GAOT’ reaching the 500 Test wickets milestone.
Video: the moment Nathan Lyon got his 500th Test wicket; gets a standing ovation from the Perth crowd
The moment Nathan Lyon picked up his 500th in Test cricket.
– One of the greatest spinners!pic.twitter.com/BHwmq15P7X
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 17, 2023
Lyon took the wicket of Aamer Jamal also in the same over. A couple of overs later Josh Hazlewood snapped the remaining two wickets to bundle Pakistan for only 89 runs in their second innings. Australia won the Perth Test by a big margin of 360 runs.
“Great feeling to take 500 wickets. Nice to get back after the injury, I have not taken anything for granted, especially playing for Australia, appreciate every moment of my career,” Nathan Lyon said.
