The Ashes: Nathan Lyon scripts history, surpasses Glenn McGrath on elite list after fiery opening spell on Day 2

Lyon clinched the wickets of both Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett in the first over of his spell and went on to become Australia's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, surpassing McGrath

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Nathan Lyon of Australia celebrates dismissing Ben Duckett of England during day two of the Third Test Match in the 2025-26 Ashes Series between Australia and England (via Getty)

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Nathan Lyon surpassed Glenn McGrath on an elite list

Lyon has now become Australia's second-highest wicket-taker in Tests

Veteran Australia spinner Nathan Lyon made a banging return and racked up two wickets in his first over of England's first innings at the Adelaide Oval. Notably, the spinner had surprisingly been benched for the second Test in Brisbane, but it is  safe to say that he returned with a vengeance. He clinched the wickets of both Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett during the 10th over of the innings  to restrict  the visitors down to 42/3.

These two wickets saw Lyon script history and become Australia's second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, surpassing the legendary Glenn McGrath. The spinner now has 564 wickets under his belt in comparison to McGrath's 563 and is  now only behind Shane Warne's tally of 708 scalps in the longest format.

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Most wickets for Australia in Tests -

1. Shane Warne - 708 wickets

2. Nathan Lyon - 564 wickets

3. Glenn McGrath - 563 wickets

4. Mitchell Starc - 420 wickets

5. Dennis Lillee - 355 wickets

Lyon moves up on the overall list too

Lyon is now also up to the sixth position when it comes to the highest wicket-takers in Test cricket overall. He has so far played 141 matches in red-ball cricket and has nothing short of a phenomenal record. There is a reason why the 38-year-old has been a key figure in Australia's Test set-up for over a decade now and is still going strong. He  so far has 26 four-wicket hauls and 24 five-wicket hauls under his name in Tests.

Most wickets in Tests -

1. Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka) - 800 wickets 

2. Shane Warne (Australia) - 708 wickets

3. James Anderson (England) - 704 wickets

4. Anil Kumble (India) - 619 wickets

5. Stuart Broad (England) - 604 wickets

6. Nathan Lyon (Australia) - 564 wickets

7. Glenn McGrath (Australia) - 563 wickets

Story of the 3rd Test so far

Coming to the match, Australia got bundled out for 371 runs early during the second day at the Adelaide Oval. Mitchell Starc's gritty half-century right at the end helped them massively in reaching the total. Jofra Archer was  the pick of the bowlers for England, recording figures of 5/53. In reply, the visitors didn't have a great start as Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett's opening 37-run stand was brought to an end by the returning Pat Cummins, who got rid of the former. 

Lyon would then go on to get two scalps in the same over before Cummins sent Joe Root back to the dugout for 19 runs during the second session. This wicket restricted England to 71/4 and it now remains to be seen as to how will their remaining batters fare on the tricky Adelaide surface.

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