Nathan Lyon uncomfortable in seat among Australia's greats

SAM MORSHEAD AT LORD'S: Lyon claimed three England scalps at Lord's on Thursday as the tourists reduced their hosts to 258 all out in the first innings of the second Ashes Test, to draw level with Dennis Lillee on 355 across his career

Scorecard | Talking Points| Simon Hughes | Huw Turbervill | Sam Morshead

“Those guys are true legends of the game and I’m just some bloke trying to bowl off breaks.”

Nathan Lyon has entered the top three in Australia’s all-time Test wicket-taker list, and the spinner feels somewhat uneasy about the whole thing.

Lyon claimed three England scalps at Lord’s on Thursday as the tourists reduced their hosts to 258 all out in the first innings of the second Ashes Test, to draw level with Dennis Lillee on 355 across his career.

It has been quite a ride for the 31-year-old former pitch curator, who made his red-ball debut for his country in 2011 and has collected his current haul from 88 matches.

But finding himself in the company of Lillee, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath took Lyon by surprise - he was not aware he had pulled alongside Lillee until the close of play, when he was informed of his achievement by media liaison Brian Murgatroyd - and he was still digesting the information as he sat down to talk to the media.

^{Nathan Lyon now has 355 Test wickets}

“I really struggle to see myself up with the likes of Warne, McGrath, Lillee, it doesn’t sit well with me,” he said.

“In my eyes those guys are true legends of the game and I’m just some bloke trying to bowl off breaks and trying to make Australian fans proud of the Australian cricket team. 

“It hasn’t really settled down with me yet, but I am sure I will have a message from mum and dad.

“I’ve always said I am not about personal milestones or personal achievements, it’s about winning Test matches and Test series for Australia, I haven’t really had the time to sit back and think about it.”

Lyon’s victims on day two at Lord’s included Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow and Stuart Broad as England were restricted to a modest total. But the spinner was not particularly pleased with his team’s overall bowling display.

“I don’t think we have had the best day, if I am being brutally honest,” he said.

“Josh Hazlewood was absolutely exceptional and the spell from Pat Cummins after tea really set the tone for us. For our standards I don’t think we were good enough for long periods of time. 

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“In saying that it’s still a good day for Australia, we’ve won the toss, we’ve created more than 10 chances, we haven’t played catch today, we can get better and that’s exciting but we were still able to bowl England out for 258 on a day one wicket so, yeah, there is still a lot of work to do. 

“We’re happy with the day but we know there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Lyon expects England to fight fire with fire on Friday - for what little play is permitted by yet another approaching storm - after the Aussie quicks pummelled the hosts’ tail with short balls.

“They've got a world-class bowling attack,” he said.

"It's Jofra's first Test but he's a world-class bowler, we all know that. You know that, the whole world knows that. Broad – same thing.

"Of course it's going to be challenging, but that's Test cricket, that's why we play it.

"Me, personally, I want to challenge myself against the best players in the world and these guys are the best bowlers in the world.

"So even though I can't bat, I'll go out and give it a go.

"Unless you want to do it for me."

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