Nathan Lyon surpasses Courtney Walsh to become seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test history

Australian spin wizard Nathan Lyon surpassed former West Indies cricketer Courtney Walsh, becoming the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket history. The 36-year-old now has 521 wickets to his name, surpassing Walsh’s tally of 519. He is currently behind fellow Australian Glenn McGrath, who stands sixth on the list with 563 scalps to his name in the longest format of the game.

Notably, Lyon picked up a four-for in the first Test against New Zealand at Basin Reserve in Wellington to achieve this feat. He picked up the wickets of Tom Blundell, Scott Kuggeleijn, Matt Henry and Tim Southee as the Kiwis were bundled out for 179 runs in the first innings. With that, Australia took a lead of 204 runs in the first innings and are in firm control of the match.

Meanwhile, Lyon began his Test career against Sri Lanka in 2011. Slowly, he became a regular in the national team and eventually, turned out to be a legend of the game. He has represented Australia in 128 matches in his career and bowled at an average of 30.73. In terms of wickets accrued by spinners, only Muttiah Muralitharan (800), Shane Warne (708), and Anil Kumble (619) have better numbers than him in Test cricket.

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Ahead of the ongoing match against New Zealand, Lyon has bowled 32,440 balls while donning the Australian whites, speaking volumes of his remarkable endurance, grit, and, most importantly, his desire to play the longest format of the game. Interestingly, the off-spinner has never bowled a no-ball in his career, which remains to be a unique feat.

When it comes to the match, Cameron Green (174*) hit a terrific century, which helped Australia post 383 in the first innings. The visitors had some trouble with the bat in the initial phase when they were reduced to 89/4 in the 42nd over of Day 1, but Green maintained his composure to help the team extricate itself from trouble. Josh Hazlewood supported him towards the fag end as their final-wicket partnership of 116 frustrated the hosts and added more pressure on them.

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The Kiwis, on the other hand, had a forgettable time with the bat. Barring Glenn Phillips (71 off 70), all the batters seemed to be under pressure and couldn't occupy the crease for a long-enough time as they were bundled for just 179 in the first innings, only managing to add five more runs than Green himself scored in the visitors' first innings.