{"id":354255,"date":"2023-12-17T18:08:20","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T19:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354255"},"modified":"2023-12-18T02:04:09","modified_gmt":"2023-12-18T02:04:09","slug":"lyon-credits-tough-ashes-setback-for-500th-wicket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=354255","title":{"rendered":"Lyon credits 'tough' Ashes setback for 500th wicket"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon<\/a> has become just the third Australian and first of his type to notch up 500 Test wickets.<\/p>\n

Just six months ago, that special number, which puts him alongside Shane Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563), was a mere dream.<\/p>\n

After sustaining a high-grade calf injury during the 2023 Ashes tour that ruled him out of the final three Tests<\/a> as Australia went on to retain the urn, Lyon found himself wondering if he'd ever get back to his best.<\/p>\n

RECAP:<\/strong> Australia v Pakistan first Test day four\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Simple reason 'awkward' duck won't worry Warner<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE: \ufeff<\/strong>UFC bosses back NRL's 'crucial' Vegas expansion<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Fearful that he may never play again, he reset his goals, with hopes of reaching that special 500 back on home soil.<\/p>\n

He would go on to do just that in the very first Test of the summer, as Australia pummelled Pakistan by a whopping 360 runs<\/a>, bowling them out for 89 in their second innings.\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

"I've had a lot of time to reflect and dream of getting back out here on this stage\ufeff and performing here for Australia," Lyon said on Fox after the win.<\/p>\n

"I had a tough couple of nights watching the guys in the last three Ashes Tests, but also a lot of time to reflect and reset some goals.<\/p>\n

\ufeff"This is where my passion lies, I absolutely love playing cricket for Australia. I never take it for granted.<\/p>\n

"I'm pretty proud of where we are at the moment\ufeff. I just love playing cricket for Australia."<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Now that he has reached the elusive club, which holds only eight Test cricketers worldwide, Lyon looked back fondly on his way to becoming Australia's best ever off-spin bowlers.<\/p>\n

"(The milestone) is something I'm pretty proud about," Lyon said.<\/p>\n

"From a young kid growing up in country NSW, 500 wickets is a bloody long way away.<\/p>\n

"A lot of hard work, but something I'm proud about."\ufeff<\/p>\n

\"Lyon<\/p>\n

Lyon had to wait again for his 500th wicket after reviewing Faheem Ashraf for LBW.<\/p>\n

"I was pretty confident about it. Everyone said that the height was okay, it was just whether it was sliding down leg," he said.<\/p>\n

"500 wickets is pretty amazing. To do it here (in Perth) and contribute to a pretty impressive team win makes things a lot better."<\/p>\n

Despite the fourth day belonging to the 36-year-old, he was quick to heap praise on Australia's "quality bowling attack", headlined by Pat Cummins, Mitch Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who ripped through Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\"Nathan<\/p>\n

"We know the class of the three big quicks, but a lot of credit has to go to Usman (Khawaja) and Mitch Marsh for the way they batted out there on a pretty challenging wicket against a quality bowling attack," Lyon said.<\/p>\n

"Our three quicks, what can we say? It's pretty amazing to be part of this bowling attack, that's for sure\ufeff."<\/p>\n

\ufeffAs for his celebration plans ahead of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Lyon will spend time with his family.<\/p>\n

\"PERTH,<\/p>\n

"I've got my family here as well, my wife, brother and uncle," Lyon said.<\/p>\n

"We'll have a couple of cold beers for the 500."<\/p>\n

Australia take on Pakistan in the second Test, starting on December 26 in Melbourne.\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Off-spinner Nathan Lyon has become just the third Australian and first of his type to notch up 500 Test wickets. Just six months ago, that […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":354257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354255"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354255"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":354261,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354255\/revisions\/354261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/354257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}