ADELAIDE: Australia’s ace spinner Nathan Lyon opened up after surpassing his childhood hero Glenn McGrath during the third Ashes Test against England here on Thursday.
Lyon claimed his 564th Test wicket, moving past McGrath and sitting behind only Shane Warne among Australian bowlers.
The landmark came in memorable fashion as the 38-year-old struck twice in his very first over after returning to the Test side, removing Ollie Pope before clean-bowling Ben Duckett to reach the milestone.
The achievement came on day two of Lyon’s 141st Test and underlined his enduring value to Australia’s red-ball setup.
Speaking after the day’s play, Lyon talked about his ideals and expressed pride in the achievement.
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“I grew up idolising Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and these guys in my childhood were my heroes,” he said.
“And to think of being able to overtake Glenn … it’s pretty humbling to be honest with you, and it’s something that I’ll look back on at the end of my career, or even tonight,” Nathan Lyon added.
The 38-year-old thanked teammates for standing by his side, noting that he would take time to reflect on what he described as an ‘extremely special’ moment in his long career.
“I’ll sit back and try and have a moment because it is an extremely special moment for myself. “But I haven’t been able to do that without the guys at the other end, my teammates.”
“I’ve been around this group long enough to understand my role inside, and it’s an amazing group to be a part of,” he explained.
“I’ll continue to enjoy that while I can, it’s a pretty special group, and just extremely grateful for that opportunity, I guess. “Same emotions as usual, nervous, but that’s me,” the veteran spinner concluded.