McGrath’s reaction to Lyon breaking his record is going viral

ADELAIDE: Australia’s top cricketer Glenn McGrath’s reaction after Nathan Lyon surpassed his Test record of 563 wickets quickly went viral on Thursday.

The 38-year-old, a classic throw-the-ball spinner, bowled England’s Ben Duckett to reach the milestone on day two of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide – his 141st Test.

Lyon said he was humbled after taking his 564th wicket to move past McGrath into sixth on the all-time Test bowling list.

In Lyon’s achievement, the cameras focused on McGrath in a radio commentary box, with the former superstar cheekily pretending to slam his chair to the floor.

McGrath then paid tribute to Lyon, saying: “What a bowler. Nathan Lyon deserves to get this.”

“You wondered what impact Nathan Lyon would have on this game. First over, and that was a gem of a ball,” he added.

It was one of two wickets in an impressive opening over which Ollie Pope also accounted for.

Lyon said: “I grew up idolizing Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath and those guys in my childhood were my heroes.”

“And to think about getting past Glenn… it’s pretty humbling to be honest with you and it’s something I’ll look back on at the end of my career or even tonight.

“I’m going to sit back and try to have a moment because it’s an extremely special moment for me,” says the off-spinner.

“But I couldn’t have done it without the guys on the other end, my teammates,” he added.

Next in his sights is England opener Stuart Broad, who has 604 wickets, followed by Indian great Anil Kumble’s 619.

Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan at 800 is the all-time leading wicket-taker, followed by Warne (708) and England’s Jimmy Anderson (704).

Lyon recently said he was in some of the best form of his life and had no plans to quit, with his longevity partly down to not having played international white-ball cricket since 2019.

But he was surprisingly left out of the second day-night Ashes Test in Brisbane, responding by saying he was “absolutely filthy”.

Lyon was also omitted for a pink-ball Test in the West Indies in July, marking his first omission while fit in 12 years.

It was business as usual in Adelaide.

“I’ve been around this team long enough to understand my role in it and it’s an amazing team to be a part of,” he said.

“I’m going to continue to enjoy it as much as I can, it’s a very special team and I’m very grateful for this opportunity I guess.

“Same feelings as usual, nervous, but that’s me.”

Affectionately known as “Garry” after former Australian rules footballer Garry Lyon, he made his debut in 2011 and has best figures of 8-50.

— With additional input from AFP.