It took just two balls for Nathan Lyon to make an impact.
Called upon in the eighth over, with South Africa 0/27, Lyon pounced immediately.
Aiden Markram had started nicely, the dangerous Dean Elgar remained and despite a healthy Australian total of 351, the class of the South African middle order looked ominous.
On his second ball, Lyon found a leading edge, removing Elgar for seven with a nice catch off his own bowling. Hashim Amla arrived at the crease, and Lyon had him too; off the fifth ball, an inside edge onto his pad, caught by Cameron Bancroft at short-leg.
In one pivotal over, he had removed two batsmen with a combined career average of 91, and from that point on it was Australia’s day.
AB De Villiers played a lone hand; a classy and assured 71 not out, but his teammates came and went, one by one by one.
He may have only taken one wicket after his first over, but it was Lyon who pushed the first domino, playing a crucial role in restricting the Proteas to 162.
The former ground curator, whose first class and Test debuts were separated by just seven months, is now undoubtedly among the world’s elite cricketers.
His rise has been remarkable. Called upon to debut in Galle, Sri Lanka in 2011, he removed Kumar Sangakkara with his first ball, ending with figures of 5/34.
Just four years later, Lyon had become Australia’s most successful Test off-spinner, and the long search for a Test quality spinner following Shane Warne’s retirement had ended.
He now sits 10th in the ICC Test bowler rankings, and coming into the first Test had 290 Test wickets at an average of 31.49, 162 of which have come against England, India, or South Africa.
So where does the man dubbed jovially as ‘the GOAT’ sit among Test crickets all-time greatest spinners?
He’s currently the 34th highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, and at the age of 30, he still has plenty of years to climb this list. When the list is narrowed to spinners, just nine men sit above him; nine outstanding cricketers.
The top three on this list are all virtually uncatchable; no current bowler will match Muttiah Muralitharan (800 wickets), Warne (708), or Anil Kumble (619).
But beneath the top bracket of spinners lie a number of players whom Lyon can realistically match. Harbhajan Singh sits fourth, 124 scalps ahead of the Australian.
While 124 wickets won’t come easily, they are not beyond the realms of possibility. Lyon took 63 Test wickets in 2017 alone; the most by any player.
Sri Lanka’s Rangana Herath (415 wickets), and India’s Ravichandran Ashwin (311) are the only current players ahead of Lyon, with Herath likely to push ahead of Singh and claim the fourth position.
This leaves Daniel Vettori (362), Lance Gibbs (309), and Derek Underwood (297) as players Lyon will in all likelihood eclipse, given they will never add to their tallies.
(AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
So statistically, Lyon could quite conceivably end his career comfortably in the second bracket of spinners beneath Muralitharan, Warne, and Kumble, but all cricket fans know that a player’s legacy is judged by more than just numbers.
People remember players for the way they played the game, with Ricky Ponting’s iconic hook and pull shots more memorable than his average of 51.85. Lyon too will be remembered for more than just his statistics.
The off-spinner is loved by teammates and the public alike and has the responsibility of leading the famous team song – recognition of his display of team spirit.
He repeatedly endures brutal fast bowling as a night-watchman, with no mechanism for revenge and had crowds on their feet last summer, as Matthew Wade championed the phrase ‘Nice Garry’, triggering a world record attempt at the MCG.
Who could forget the roar when he dismissed Sami Aslam with his third ball of that 2016 Test match, with 60,000 jubilant people failing to break the world record?
Lyon truly is one of Australian cricket’s great characters, and his Test record is remarkable. He may not be in the top echelon of Test spinners, but he comfortably sits just below.
As Elgar and Amla found out, the Australian off-spinner is a game-changing weapon, which no statistic can ever truly define.
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