Wellington (New Zealand): Australia off-spinner Nathan Lyon added one more feather to his illustrious cap, becoming the only third bowler to pick a five-wicket haul in at least nine different countries.
He achieved this rare feat after claiming a six-for against New Zealand in their second innings on day four of the first Test at the Basin Reserve here on Sunday.
With this exceptional bowling performance, Lyon has now joined an elite club of bowlers including legendary Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan (9) and late Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne (9) to take five-fors in the most number of Test-playing nations.
The 36-year-old registered his maiden five-wicket haul in New Zealand, which happens to be a ninth Test host country, where he has taken five wickets in an innings. The right-arm off-spinner has 24 five-wicket hauls under his belt in the red-ball format.
He holds the record of having a five-for in all nine World Test Championship (WTC) teams - Australia (9), India (5), England (1), New Zealand (1), West Indies (1), Pakistan (1), Bangladesh (3), South Africa (1) and Sri Lanka (2). Notably, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the only place in the globe where he has bowled in eight innings but has not picked a five-for in the longest format of the game.
Apart from Warne, Muralitharan and Lyon, three pacers have taken five-wicket hauls in eight Test host countries.
Meanwhile, Lyon has also achieved a unique record of becoming the player with the most runs (1,501) without scoring a fifty or a century in Test cricket. After coming to bat as night-watchman on the second day of the first Test, he played a crucial 41-run knock in Australia's second innings to help the Kangaroos post 164 runs on the board.
Lyon, who recently crossed the 500 Test wickets mark against Pakistan, bowled a match-winning spell of 6 for 65 for his country. He picked the wickets of former Black Caps skipper Kane Williamson, Tom Lathan, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips and skipper Tim Southee, helping the visitors bundle out hosts for 196 runs and take a 1-0 lead following a 172-run victory. Lyon ended with match figures of 10 for 128.
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