Cummins’ extraordinary Lyon call brings Warne territory into play

Nathan Lyon has been tipped by his captain to enter coveted areas of Australian cricket after taking his 500th Test wicket on Sunday.

In perhaps the biggest milestone achievement for Aussie talents in the game since Shane Warne’s 700th Test wicket on Boxing Day in 2006, Lyon claimed the wicket of Faheem Ashraf to tick his Test wicket tally over to 500.

It’s a mantle just two Australians had reached before him. Warne, who Lyon reveres as the greatest cricketer who has ever lived, has 708 Test wickets, while Glenn McGrath has 563.

Speaking after Australia claimed a 360-run win over Pakistan, Cummins backs his off-spinner to play on for years to come.

“I still think you’ve got, say 40, 50 Test matches (left),” Cummins said to Lyon at a joint post-match press conference.

“That’s four or five years, 10 (Tests) a year. You probably average what? Four a game? That’s another couple hundred; 700.”

If Lyon plays 40 more Tests and bowls 30 overs – both conservative figures – a match, at his strike rate of 63.10 he would finish his career with around 615 Test wickets.

But the 36-year-old is still bowling as well as he ever has and if he plays 50 Tests and averages 40 overs with a strike rate of 55, he would be well on track to exceed 700 Test wickets and challenge Warne’s record.

Lyon has played 20 Tests since the start of 2022.

While the future is out of Lyon’s hands and the fact he suffered the first major injury of his career with a significant calf strain during the Ashes suggests he might be getting on, Australia’s best-ever off-spinner has put his intent on the record for the future.

Lyon has indicated he wants to get back to England and claim the Ashes on UK soil, a series that comes around in 2027. He also wants to defeat India in India in a Test series, with that next opportunity coming in 2027 as well.

Australia won’t have won a Test series in either country for well over two decades by 2027.

Lyon’s strength comes in his durability, having played 123 Tests since debuting back in 2011. Warne and McGrath played 145 and 123 respectively.

Ricky Ponting is the most-capped Australian Test cricketer with 168 matches to his name, a number Lyon would likely need at least four years to exceed.

Lyon finished with match figures of 5-80 against Pakistan in his first Test since June and will look to play four more Tests this home summer before two more matches against New Zealand in February and March.