Nathan Lyon completes 400 Test wickets, bowls Aussies to big Ashes win

In the period between January 2007—Shane Warne called time on his decorated international career—and August 2011, Australia went through a tumultuous phase in the quest to find their next frontline spinner. From flash-in-the-pan off-spinners to left-arm orthodox spinners to leg-spinners who were much better batters (think Steve Smith) to left-arm wrist-spinners, as many as nine different options were tried in Test cricket, but none was able to nail down a spot in the eleven for a variety of reasons. It seemed as though the sprawling country was being desperately scoured with futile outcomes.

All of that changed on a quintessentially hot and sultry day in Sri Lanka a decade ago when Nathan Lyon—a lean, balding off-spinner with an action that was more of a throwback to spinners of a bygone era—entered the fray. We didn’t know then that a man who was grafting away as a curator at the Adelaide Oval not long before his debut would be the answer to Australia’s travails.

On Saturday morning, against England at The Gabba in Brisbane, Lyon took his 400th wicket and set Australia on their way to claiming a 1-0 series lead courtesy of a nine-wicket win. In doing so, he achieved a feat that only two other Australians—Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563)—have. The legendary standing of the other two should be enough to signify the enormity of Lyon’s latest accomplishment.

After toiling away on the third day without much going his way, Lyon’s applause-soaking moment arrived in just the fourth over of the fourth day. He had been on 399 for an eternity it seemed, having not taken a wicket since dismissing Washington Sundar in the second innings of the Gabba Test in January. It wasn’t entirely Lyon’s fault of course even though the series against India saw him take only nine scalps at an average of 55.11. Between the two Gabba Tests, separated by 10 months, Australia hadn’t played a Test.

Lyon’s wait was clearly starting to get on his nerves. At the end of Day 3, the 34-year-old had sent down 33 overs across the two innings without anything in the wicket column. His newly-appointed Test captain, Pat Cummins, hadn’t missed an opportunity to let him know about it.

“Mate, forget about it. You are never going to get to 400. Maybe it will happen next summer,” Cummins told his seniormost bowler in jest on Friday night.

So when Lyon drew Dawid Malan out of his crease in the 74th over and got him caught at silly point, there was a sense of jubilation and relief among all the Aussie players. They knew once the landmark was out of the way, the weight would be off Lyon’s shoulders and he could carry on with his wicket-taking efforts. He did too, taking another three to finish with figures of 4/91. England’s innings was wrapped up for 297 as they lost their last eight wickets for 74 runs, leaving Australia with the formality of 20 to get for victory.

Lyon’s value to Australia was eloquently summed up by Cummins after the game.

“I think he is our most important bowler. He is a wicket-taking option but also the amount of overs he bowls (is crucial). Even on Day 3, he bowled without luck but went at 2.5 runs an over and bowled around 20 overs on a hot day, which is a huge asset for us. He came out on Saturday and showed why he is one of the greatest,” said Cummins after a successful beginning to his captaincy stint.

Lyon would argue that a bit of luck deserted him during the India series as well. Against India, where his battle with Rishabh Pant made for an intriguing duel in Sydney and Brisbane, Pant did benefit for instance from Tim Paine’s mistakes behind the stumps. But these have been small hiccups in a journey that began with the wicket of Kumar Sangakkara off his very first ball in Test cricket and a five-wicket haul in his maiden innings at Galle.

Among the refreshing features of Lyon’s bowling has been the ‘old-school’ approach that he still gives primacy to. Blessed with an action in the classical mould, he largely relies on just his off-break and arm-ball to do the trick. The extra bounce his deliveries generate and the overspin he imparts are natural allies.

His variations are rather subtle, like using different release points at the crease as opposed to funky new deliveries. Lyon, too, did indulge in a bit of gamesmanship during the middle phases of his career with pronouncements about new mystery deliveries and what not, but soon realised that he was reaping more rewards by keeping it simple.

As Lyon nears the final stages of his career, Australia will dearly hope the wait to find a successor doesn’t take anywhere near as long as it took to find him.