Nathan Lyon’s push for 700 victims; true story behind near-empty stadium: Perth Test Talking Points

Australia’s Test summer has gotten off to the perfect start, toppling Pakistan by 360 runs in the series opener at Perth Stadium.

The tourists were rolled for 89 following a dramatic collapse on Sunday afternoon, with veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon taking his 500th Test wicket.

The second Test between Australia and Pakistan gets underway at the MCG on Boxing Day.

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LYON JOINS 500-WICKET CLUB … BUT CAPTAIN WANTS MORE

Australian captain Pat Cummins believes champion off-spinner Nathan Lyon is capable of taking 700 Test wickets, provided he stays healthy after ticking off another major career milestone in Perth on Sunday.

The 36-year-old became just the eighth bowler to take 500 Test wickets when he captured Faheem Ashraf LBW in the latter stages of Australia’s dominant win in the opening Test against Pakistan.

“He has still got another four or five years (to go) at least and if there are 10 games a year, I would say he still has four to five years and there is ten a year, so that makes 50,” Cummins said.

“(He) probably averages four a game. So that is another couple of hundred. 700 (wickets).”

Should the prophecy prove correct, Lyon would be within range of overtaking champion leg spinner Shane Warne, who is Australia’s leading wicket taker with 708. Sri Lankan Murali Muralidaran leads all-comers with 800 wickets.

Asked whether he had looked at the seven champions ahead of him on the all-time Test list, Lyon quipped; “I failed maths at school. I’m not good at numbers. We figured that out when Pat and I were batting at Edgbaston that time. I’ve got no idea.”

Cummins immediately interjected.

“He knows exactly which person he ticks off every time. Exactly,” he said.

The Australian captain praised the efforts of Lyon, stating he was a critical cog in the bowling attack.

“I don’t think it is a secret that he is probably the most important cog in our bowling line-up,” Cummins said.

“This game is probably a little bit different, but most games he is bowling 30 overs a game and basically just putting down one end. He’s not going to go for many runs. He’s going to take a few wickets and then us quick bowlers can just rotate through the other end.

“No doubt he was missed over there in England, for sure. Even as a captain, it makes it a lot easier knowing that a bloke who has played 100-odd Test matches, who knows his craft and can bowl pretty much in any conditions, you can just let him get to work.

“It is great having him back. Yep. Another 500 (wickets) to go.”

‘UNFLAPPABLE’: UZZIE SHINES AGAIN DESPITE SHOCKING BACKLASH

The day before the Perth Test against Pakistan, Usman Khawaja was bombarded with a tsunami of vile messages. The Australian opener’s Instagram was flooded with hateful comments, some calling for the 36-year-old to be dropped from the Test side.

His crime? Claiming that all lives were equal, perhaps the most inoffensive remark imaginable.

Khawaja had donned shoes with the phrases “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” while training in Perth on Wednesday, pictures of which circulated online ahead of the series opener. The ICC barred him from displaying the humanitarian message on his clothing during the Perth Test, while Cricket Australia backed the organisation’s stance on the issue.

Instead, Khawaja wore a black armband for the duration of the Perth Test, a reminder to everyone watching at home that some things are more important than cricket.

His critics are terrified of politics creeping into the sporting world, which for some is treated as an escape from the realities of life. But Khawaja refuses to stay silent on what matters to him.

“If me saying all lives are equal has resulted in people being offended, to the point where they’re calling me up and telling me off, isn’t that the bigger problem?” Khawaja asked in a video uploaded to social media on Wednesday evening.

“These people obviously don’t believe in what I’ve written, and it’s not just a handful of people, you’d be shocked about how many feel this way.”

The Queenslander fell short of what would have been an emotional Test century in the second innings at Perth Stadium, dismissed by Pakistan quick Shaheen Shah Afridi for 90 while Australia chased a declaration on day four.

It wasn’t his most elegant innings, and it certainly wasn’t his most memorable – but it was gutsy.

The volatile Perth deck was offering plenty of varied bounce as Pakistan’s bowlers created headaches with the Kookaburra on Sunday morning. Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh, who combined for a 126-run partnership for the fifth wicket, couldn’t reliably duck under short balls, while other deliveries reared off a good length and struck them on the gloves.

In the morning session, Khawaja copped a bouncer from Pakistan debutant Aamir Jamal in the arm, immediately wincing in discomfort. He needed several minutes of medical attention in the field before he could continue.

However, Khawaja powered through the pain. The 36-year-old couldn’t convert into triple figures, but he ensured Australia’s lead extended beyond 450 runs.

Later that day, Pakistan was rolled for 89, proving how well Khawaja handled the tricky batting conditions.

“His character and temperament really helped him today,” former Australian batter Michael Hussey told foxsports.com.au.

“He’s an unflappable sort of character.

“On that pitch, you need a lot of luck. You need to cop a few on the body, and he just stayed in his little bubble. He didn’t panic, he stayed in control, he kept playing his way, picked up the odd boundary whenever he could.

“It looked difficult out there, but it just showed how good he is.

“To make 90 on that pitch is pretty amazing.”

The initials of Khawaja’s two daughters were etched on his shoes throughout the Perth Test. No doubt they were on his mind as he wrapped the black armband around his arm each morning.

“When I see thousands of innocent people dying without any repercussion or remorse, I imagine my two girls. What if this was them? No one chooses where they’re born,” Khawaja continued in his video, which registered more than 5.4 million views on Twitter.

“And then I see the world turn their backs on them, my heart can’t take it.”

Khawaja has scored more Test runs than any cricketer in 2023, with 1168 runs at 55.61. He has also faced the most Test deliveries this year, soaking up 2689 balls in the middle.

The 36-year-old has nine 50+ scores in Tests this year, another record for 2023, while he currently averages 60.82 when opening in the five-day format.

“He’s in the twilight … but is he?” former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe asked Fox Cricket.

MASOOD MOMENT OF MADNESS CAPS SKIPPER’S NIGHTMARE OPENING TEST

Pakistan captain Shan Masood held high hopes of starting his tenure with a flourish in Perth but his first Test as the skipper proved a nightmare for the middle-order stalwart.

The 34-year-old arrived in Western Australia on the back of scoring a double-hundred in a tour game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra last week.

But reality kicked in on the third ball on Thursday with a misfield and it worsened from then on as opener David Warner set Australia on the path to dominating the first Test.

Sloppy fielding scarcely helped matters and Masood was chief among the culprits, as evidenced in a shocker on Sunday morning.

The truism that catches win matches may not have applied in this case given the Australian stranglehold. But Masood must have been feeling sick to the stomach after dropping Mitch Marsh.

The powerful Western Australian directed a drive off the bowling of Faheem Ashraf almost straight to Masood, who was fielding at mid-off, when on 23.

It had been a fruitful morning for Pakistan until that stage with Steve Smith and Travis Head already removed.

Another wicket would have given them the upper-hand in the session, at the very least. But rather than swallowing the chance, it ballooned from his hands, to the disbelief of his team.

Australian great Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket, “It’s a catch that should be taken. (It was a) very catchable height.”

Mike Hussey, who told Fox Sports in the infancy of the Test that the new captain would have a lot going through his head given the responsibilities of the task, empathised with Masood.

“(It is) one of the worst feelings you can have on a cricket field, dropping a catch,” he said.

Australia was at 4-139 when Masood made the mistake. By the time the hosts declared thirty minutes after lunch, Marsh had moved to 63, with the Aussies reaching 5-233.

Masood’s day only worsened when he was caught behind for two by Alex Carey off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood when thrusting at a delivery that did not to be played.

SUCCESS? PAR? FAILURE? EMPTY SEATS DO NOT TELL THE FULL STORY

On the eve of the final day of the Perth Test, fast bowler Josh Hazlewood noted the Aussies had not spotted a cloud during the week they had been in Western Australia.

The sky was blue. The sunshine was blazing and local star Mitch Marsh was flogging fours to all parts of Perth Stadium. It was perfect conditions to play and watch cricket.

This begged the question on every morning of the Test. To borrow from an old advertising campaign featuring the ex-partner of a former Australian captain; “Where the bloody hell are ya?”

Or, more to the point, where were the local fans who had been called on in the lead-in to the match to save Test cricket in Perth by outgoing WACA chief executive Christina Matthews?

The optics of row upon row of empty seats looked poor at times through the four days. This was particularly the case in the areas where there was no shade, for the sun did have significant sting.

But some context and nuance is necessary when considering whether the crowd for this Test was at par, a success or a raging embarrassment.

Just under 50,000 fans attended the opening three days of the Test, which was a record attendance for a Perth Test featuring Pakistan.

Another 9,244 fans filed in for the final rites on Sunday.

Had the match been held at the historic WACA Ground, which had a capacity of “18,000 at best” according to Matthews, the atmosphere would have been superb.

The decision to move from the WACA Ground, which is now being renovated, to Perth Stadium midway through last decade was controversial at the time and resentment lingers.

Fox Cricket broadcaster Brendon Julian, a proud Western Australian who represented his nation at the WACA Ground, said last week he wished Tests were still hosted there.

“Personally, yes, I think it is such a shame that Test cricket moved from the WACA. Everyone knows and loves the WACA around the world,” he told foxsports.com.au.

“Perth Stadium is a great stadium, there is no doubt about that. It is great for football. But from a cricket point of view? I would rather it at the WACA.

“It is one of those things where it would be like moving cricket from Adelaide Oval, or from the MCG, or from the SCG. You just don’t want to see that. It is a bit of a shame.”

Matthews, who said the WACA was about $2 million better off per Test for playing at Perth Stadium, said she found the debate about the venue “interesting”.

“If we don’t provide the players with the best facilities, they won’t want to come here, and eventually we will be usurped by other states. That is number one,” she told ABC Grandstand.

“Secondly, no matter what we do with the WACA Ground, it is a certain size and it can only fit so many spectators in and every Test we have played here has exceeded any historical numbers at the WACA Ground. It shows more people want to come here.

“It fascinates me. It is part of (the issue) that people in sport don’t want change. We get so romantically attached to things that we can’t see the wood for the trees.”

Australian captain Pat Cummins knows there is a debate as to which city should host the opening Test of each summer series but said he did not “have a strong opinion on that”.

“I think the last few years … they are all quite Australian wickets with fast, bouncy wickets with sideways movement. I’m not too fussed, to be honest,” he said.

Nonetheless, there is agreement that more needs to be done to fill those empty stands in summers to come.

Certainty around dates will help, with officials hoping to know when Perth will be hosting India and England by the end of this season in order to assist with planning purposes.

The local cricket associations still play on Saturday during the Perth Test, which clearly has an impact on attendances. And while the stands were empty in the morning, they started to fill once the ‘Fremantle Doctor’ kicked in early in the afternoon.

Matthews, whose 12 year reign will finish at the end of the summer, believes the West Test would benefit from a broader theme as well.

Having worked on the introduction of the Pink Ball Test at the SCG for the Jane McGrath Foundation, she said honouring Australia’s Indigenous cricket culture is a concept worth considering for the West Test.

It has been raised with Cricket Australia and the WA Government.

“One of our members, during our recent elections, proposed that we could make this Test a celebration of Aboriginal culture,” she said.

“Aboriginal culture is very front and centre in WA. This ground is designed along a cultural narrative line, so why not make this the unique thing about this Test?

“We in WA have a very strong Aboriginal cricket history. We are doing great work with Aboriginal communities now. Why not educate people about that and use this Test match to do it?

“I think it is something Western Australians would really buy into and it would be the cricket version of ‘Dreamtime at the ‘G’.”