Offspinner Nathan lyon, a former groundskeeper with less than three years of playing for Australia, showed all the class of a veteran test bowler Saturday as he dominated England with a five-wicket haul - including his 100th test dismissal - to give Australia a shot at a fourth straight Ashes win.
lyon claimed the vital wickets of Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Ben Stokes, Tim Bresnan and Stuart Broad to reach the milestones in his 29th test and prove he belongs in an Australian side that has been less than sure it needed him over the years. The 24-year-old has been discarded several times over the past few years as Australia tried other spinning options, making Saturday’s achievements all the sweeter.
lyon’s effort boosted Australia’s chance of winning a fourth-straight Test over England with the hosts requiring a further 201 runs in the final innings with all 10 wickets in hand. lyon’s five wickets helped Australia bowl England out for 179 in its second innings Chasing 231 for victory, Chris Rogers scored 18 and David Warner 12 as Australia moved to 30-0 at stumps. Australia had started the day at 164-9 in its first innings and added 40 runs for the last wicket, with Brad Haddin continuing his fine form with 63 runs off 68 balls while lyon hit an unbeaten 18 as the home side was bowled out for 204.
Batting at No. 7, Haddin has been by far Australia’s most consistent batsman this series, producing innings of 94 and 53 in the first test, 118 in the second and 55 and 5 in the Ashes-clinching third test at Perth. He was eventually caught behind off Jimmy Anderson (4-67), who had his most productive innings in an otherwise disappointing series.
After his effort, lyon was ecstatic. “Not sure if it’s sunk in yet with the whole emotion of the Ashes test match,” said lyon, who became just the sixth Australian offspinner to take 100 wickets. “It’s still riding pretty high. I’m pretty proud of the achievement today, but I don’t get the results I got today without the help of the fellow teammates.”
“It seemed like a long way away when I first started but lucky enough to get there and no one can take them off me.” lyon has 13 wickets so far this series, which Australia clinched to regain the Ashes with three consecutive wins. Australia now faces its biggest challenge to claim a fourth victory at Melbourne.
The Australians need a further 201 runs in the final innings with all 10 wickets in hand and two days to play, but after managing just 204 in its first innings, a win is no certainty. “We’re definitely confident we can get the job done, but we know it’s going to be a tough challenge,” lyon said. “We know how well England bowled in the first innings and we know we have to come out and play well, have good intent with the bat and be patient. “When the ball gets 30 overs old it’s going to be quite hard with the reverse swing and the skill of Jimmy Anderson. It’s going to be a tough job and a tough chase, so fingers crossed, we’ll see how we go.”
Brief Scores
England: 255 and 179 (Alastair Cook 51, Kevin Pietersen 49; Nathan lyon 5-50, Mitchell Johnson 3-25) lead Australia: 204 (Brad Haddin 65, Chris Rogers 61; Jimmy Anderson 4-67) and 30-0 (Chris Rogers 18 not out, David Warner) by 200 runs.