Australia's 5 highest wicket-takers at Lord's in Test cricket
Australia will take confidence from their thrilling win against rivals England in the Ashes opener in Birmingham. Pat Cummins and his men shunned all the hype around England's Bazball mantra. Australia showcased their strong character on the pitch even though it looked like they lagged behind their opponent to hasten for runs.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon picked up 8 for 229 with the ball, while Cummins bagged a four-fer after going wicketless in the first innings. Australia's bowling has been one of their major strengths in red-ball cricket, regardless of where they play.
Lyon, who is set to play his 100th consecutive Test match, has picked six wickets in two games at the iconic Lord's venue at an average of 41.67. Only pace bowler Josh Hazlewood has more wickets (8) than the veteran spinner at Lord's in the current Australian bowling unit.
Let's take a look at the five most successful Australian bowlers at Lord's in Test cricket.
5 Australian bowlers with the most wickets at Lord's
#5 Dennis Lillee (17)
Dennis Lillee is ranked one of the greatest bowlers to have played longer formats such as Tests and One-Day Internationals. Ruthless by nature, Lillee formed a great pair with Jeff Thomson to terrorize the best batting line-ups in their time.
Lillee was the first bowler to reach 350 wickets in Test cricket. He finished his career with 355 Test wickets, including the dismissal of Sarfaraz Nawaz on his final delivery in international cricket.
However, Lillee was eluded from etching his name on the historic Lord's Honours Board. He picked up 17 wickets in four Tests at the venue, including two four-wicket hauls — 4/84 (1975) and 4/43 (1980).
#4 Geoff Lawson (18)
Geoff Lawson played 46 Tests and 76 One-Day Internationals in his career that spanned between 1980 and 1989. The outswinger was his potent weapon. He went on to take 180 Test wickets at an average of 30.56.
Lawson played three of his 46 Test matches at Lord's, across three Ashes series. In his first Test here in 1981, the pacer bagged 7 wickets for 81 runs in the first innings.
The likes of Graham Gooch, Geoffrey Boycott, David Gower, and Ian Botham fell against Lawson, who was playing only his second Ashes Test at that point. The New South Wales-born accounted for 18 wickets at Lord's at 27.56 with 7/81 being his best figures.
#3 Shane Warne (19)
The late Australian spin wizard came into the limelight with the dismissal of Mike Gatting at Old Trafford. The delivery released by Warne, which baffled Getting and many others, is termed the Ball of the Century.
Warne also had a decent record at Lord's, picking up 19 wickets in four matches at 19.58. He couldn't manage to register a five-wicket haul at this venue and hence never got featured on the Lord's Honours Board.
He picked up eight wickets in his debut Test at Lord's in 1993 with figures of 4/57 and 4/102. Warne's third four-wicket haul (4/64) at Lord's was achieved during his last Test at the home of cricket in the pulsating 2005 Ashes.
#2 Charles Turner (19)
Charles Thomas Biass Turner, also known as Charlie Turner, was regarded as one of the finest bowlers Australia produced. He still remains the fastest bowler to reach 50 Test scalps in just six matches, and second quickest to 100 Test scalps in 17 matches. Interestingly, the right-arm fast-medium played all of his 17 Tests against England. He played three Tests at Lord's between 1888 and 1893.
Turner claimed a 10-wicket haul in his debut Test at Lord's with five-fors in each innings — 5/27 and 5/36. He registered his best figures of 6/67 at the stadium in the 1893 drawn Test. He finished his tally at Lord's with 19 wickets in three games at 14.63.
#1 Glenn McGrath (26)
Glenn McGrath has the most wickets by any overseas bowler at Lord's. McGrath was a menacer who barely erred with his lines and lengths. Accuracy and bounce were key to McGrath's success in international cricket.
The 'Pigeon' saw tremendous success against England in Test cricket. He claimed 157 of his 563 Test wickets against the Englishmen, 87 of them were picked in their own backyard. McGrath accounted for 26 dismissals with the red cherry in just three matches at Lord's at an average of 11.50.
The home of cricket witnessed McGrath's talent for the first time in 1997 when he recorded figures 8 for 38, which is the second-best bowling figure at the venue at present. He dismissed the likes of Mark Butcher, Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, and Nasser Hussain.
The lanky Australian pacer bagged two more five-wicket hauls in the 2001 Ashes (5/54) and the 2005 Ashes (5/53).