But as unlikely as it might seem, another 144 wickets is not an impossibility. Lyon, 38 last month, was aware enough in Barbados.
โI still pinch myself, seeing my name with those guys,โ he said of the McGrath mark looming large. โI thoroughly enjoy playing cricket, doing my role for this team, and itโs nice to have taken a few wickets along the way.โ
And what about Warneโs 708?
โI donโt know. It depends how many raggers we play on in the coming years.โ
Lyon has targeted playing on until the 2027 Ashes in England, and has grown well practiced in rebuffing the increasingly regular questions of retirement with his advancing years.
Australia will play 20 Tests between August next year and that Ashes tour, 21 if they qualify for the World Test Championship final.
Lyonโs 564 wickets have come at a very neat four per Test across his career, so no one is suggesting heโll crank that up to seven each outing to catch Warne on English soil.
But Lyon can at least hope to fare better at the selection table provided he is fit and able.
Australia are off to South Africa next October โ hardly a happy hunting ground for Lyon, with 28 wickets from nine Tests there previously.
Instead, his superb records against 2026 tourists Bangladesh (22 wickets at 14) and New Zealand (63 wickets at 18) holds far more promise for next winterโs two Tests (venues to be confirmed) and the summerโs four Tests against the Kiwis.
Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg confirmed on Thursday that each of those four Tests will be red ball affairs, including Lyonโs favourite at Adelaide Oval.
Only the March 2027 one-off Test against England at the MCG (celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Ashes) will be played over the day-night format that prompted Lyonโs ommission in Brisbane, despite his impressive record with the pink ball.
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Five Tests for the next Border-Gavaskar series in India could yield anything for Lyonโs wicket tally given the pitches produced by the BBCI of late. So too, Indiaโs stunning fallibility against visiting spinners, with South African journeyman Simon Harmer having taken 17 wickets in two Tests at an average of 8.9 last month.
From there, the Ashes loom. Lyonโs calf tear during the second Test in 2023 was pivotal โ Australia did not win a Test in his absence as England came from 2-0 down to square the five-match series at 2-2.
The tourists have no such hope here. Similarly, Lyon must still be considered an outside chance of catching Warneโs all-time mark. But heโs a good shot of getting closer than youโd think.
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