Adelaide record the next milestone for prolific Lyon

Fresh off sending a telling reminder of his improved late-game potency, Nathan Lyon heads to his favourite Test venue on the verge of a milestone that will only further add to his place in Adelaide Oval's folklore. 

Lyon, once questioned over his effectiveness in the fourth innings, snared six wickets as he carried a short-handed Australian attack missing captain Pat Cummins to victory in the NRMA Insurance Test opener in Perth.

Since the start of 2019, no bowler has taken more wickets in an opposition team's second innings than Lyon, while his 6-128 marked his fourth fourth-innings five-wicket haul over that period – also more than anyone else.

"I think he’s got plenty of different tricks now," Cummins, who suffered a quad injury, told reporters after the 164-run win. "He’s obviously always had a really good off-spinner but the way he moves around the crease – you saw him bowl over the wicket, around the wicket a lot.

"Felt like he could beat him on the outside of the bat or he could bring bat-pad into play.

"He just feels like he’s got a few different ways he can get a batter out and he’s happy chopping and changing between them, perhaps more than early on in his career.

"One thing he’s always been good at, but continues to get better and better, is he can bowl 25-30 quality overs in a day and there aren’t many bowlers in the world that can do that."

Lyon sent down a marathon 64.5 overs having had to take on greater role with the ball after Cummins went down mid-match.

"I definitely knew I probably had to take a few more overs that probably would usually go straight to Pat," the off-spinner told cricket.com.au. "But that's my role in this team and I'm more than happy to play that."

"Extremely satisfying, it doesn't matter where you are at or how many you end up taking.

"It's pretty special, but even more special when one of your bowlers goes down … it was even more (so) that us bowlers really stood up and looked out for each other."

The Lyon fairy-tale is inextricably linked to the venue for Australia's second Test against the Windies, having famously been a member of the Adelaide Oval's groundstaff.

His legacy in the South Australian capital will grow even greater next week during the pink-ball contest when he becomes the prolific Test bowler ever at the ground.

With 56 wickets from 11 Tests at Adelaide Oval, Lyon will go past the late Shane Warne (also 56 wickets in Adelaide, from 13 Tests) with his first victim.

Lyon is seldom willing to talk up his own Test record.

"My dad gave me the advice very early in my Test career that it was always about three or four other bowlers out there, that it's not always up to you to take the 10 wickets," he said.

Yet he may allow himself a moment to linger on this coming milestone given his adoration for the wicket he used to help prepare.

"(Head curator) Damien Hough, firstly he's my old boss, but he produces a contest wicket and that's what we love to see," Lyon said of Adelaide Oval.

"This wicket (in Perth) is probably a tad slower that what we're used to here. But in Adelaide, the seamers can get results if they're good enough to put the ball in (the right spot) for long periods of time.

"The spinners can get results as well, but also if you're good enough to bat you can get runs as well. It becomes all about the cricketers."

Having snared 34 scalps at 26.70 in 10 pink-ball Tests – the most by a spinner in day-night matches – Lyon would appear a near certainty to take the four scalps he requires to get to 450 Test victims.

Men's NRMA Insurance Test Series v West Indies

First Test: Australia won by 164 runs

Dec 8-12: Second Test, Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (day-night)

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner

West Indies squad: Kraigg Brathwaite (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Tagenarine Chanderpaul, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Marquino Mindley, Anderson Phillip, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales, Devon Thomas

Buy #AUSvWI Test tickets here