Nathan Lyon has passed “The King” Shane Warne to become the most successful bowler in almost 140 years of Adelaide Test cricket history.
Claiming Jermaine Blackwood caught and bowled on Friday evening as the West Indies went to stumps on the second day of the second Test at 4-102, Lyon moved to 57 wickets at the ground, one more than Warne managed.
Nathan Lyon celebrates the wicket of Jermaine Blackwood.Credit:Getty
Lyon can be excited about more to come on Saturday with Australia still 409 ahead after acting captain Steve Smith declared at 7/511 and sent the West Indies in to bat under lights.
The off-spinner achieved the historic feat during his 12th Adelaide Test at an average of 26. Warne took 13 Tests for his 56 wickets at 30.
The door was opened for Lyon by Michael Neser, who claimed the first two wickets.
For the second Adelaide Test in a row, Neser has been flown in as a reserve and played, this time at the expense of Josh Hazlewood.
Michael Neser took two wickets for Australia.Credit:AP
The Queensland seamer took the wickets of stoic captain Kraigg Brathwaite (19) and Shamrah Brooks (8), who were both caught behind.
And Cameron Green’s uncomfortable bounce saw Devon Thomas (19) chop the ball into his stumps.
The appreciative crowd of 27,409 took the total for the first two days to 51, 858, significantly more than Perth Stadium’s 41,918 for the full five days of the first Test, and comfortable more than the 46,000 average for Perth Tests over the past 50 years.
This suggests the problem is not Test cricket or the Australian team but rather Test cricket in Perth. This comes despite the many fine players Western Australia has produced.
Frustration. Travis Head kneels on the ground after he is run out.Credit:AP
Australia’s domination was built around Marnus Labuschagne (163 from 305 balls) and Head (175, made in 219 balls with 20 fours). They had a double century for the taking, but neither could grasp it, unlike Labuschagne during the first Test in Perth.
The pair picked up where they left off the night before, milking a heavily depleted attack.
Then there was a flurry of excitement in the middle, Labuschagne was gone, and the West Indies were celebrating. This was not a normal part of a lopsided tour.
Attempting to guide a ball from the medium pace of Devon Thomas square on the offside, Labuschagne nicked it and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva took a sharp catch standing up.
It ended a 297-run partnership which took the game from surprisingly balanced to one of Australian domination.
After the first break, the closest thing to a cricket tragedy unfolded when Head, the hometown hero, was run out.
This was not in the script. There were runs for the taking and Head had been taking them at a fair clip.
His batting partner Cameron Green had been struggling to settle in when he glanced a ball fine and pushed for two. They both stopped then Head went again and was sent back, diving for his crease. Replays showed he was out by the merest fraction.
He stayed down on his haunches while the replay took place and then lingered in a moment of disbelief before rising and marching off in frustration.
Green didn’t last much longer, struggling to nine from 42 balls before making a late decision to leave fast bowler Alzarri Joseph. The ball crashed into Green’s bat and flew into his stumps.
After hours and hours of watching Labuschagne and Head do as they liked, suddenly batting wasn’t so easy. This may have been because the prolific pair had batted for hours in Sheffield Shield matches leading into the Test series and then hours in the Test series.
The way Labuschagne and Head brought up their 150s highlighted the way they approach the game. Head hammered a cut from the off-spin of Roston Chase forward of point to the boundary and a short time later Labuschagne turned a ball from seamer Anderson Phillip to square leg for a single.
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