"They took it to have a look at it all" - Nathan Lyon on not having 300th Test wicket milestone ball due to 2018 ball-tampering scandal
It is common practice in cricket for bowlers to take home the ball with which they achieve special milestones after the game. Yet, Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon shared he was denied that opportunity for the ball with which he took his 300th Test wicket.
It was the infamous Cape Town Test of the 2018 Australia-South Africa series. Unfortunately, Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were involved in ball-tampering during South Africa's second innings, resulting in future suspensions.
While the allegations happened in the 43rd over of the innings, Lyon picked up his 300th wicket with the second new ball, dismissing Kagiso Rabada stumped.
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph recently, Lyon recalled the milestone moment and how he later asked match referee David Boon about the ball.
"(Kagiso) Rabada stumped was my 300th wicket. It was at the Cape Town Test. I haven’t seen that ball since, unfortunately. Yeah, I think with everything that happened that game, they took it to have a look at it all," he said via Indian Express.
"It was actually David Boon. I bumped into him on the balcony of the team hotel in the Covid summer of 2020-21 and being an ICC match referee he reached out to them (the ICC) through his work and tried to find it, and apparently it’s gone missing. Don’t know where it is. There’s been no more correspondence. It is what it is," Lyon added.
Despite Lyon's incredible feat, the Cape Town Test remains one of the darkest moments in Australian cricket history.
The side also suffered a massive 322-run defeat to go 1-2 down in the four-match series.
"At the moment it’s just a blank space" - Nathan Lyon
![Lyon has achieved several milestones in his stellar Test career [Credit: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/ab1dc-17313855679651-1920.jpg?w=500)
Nathan Lyon elaborated on his wife's incredible artwork with all his milestone balls and achievements on a wall at home and how the place for the 300th wicket remains empty.
The 36-year-old is eighth all-time in Test wickets with 530 scalps, including 24 five-wicket hauls in 129 outings.
"My wife has done an amazing piece of artwork where she’s put all the milestone balls or achievements on a wall at home which looked pretty special. To see the success I’ve been able to have and understand that all the hard work can pay off. I’ve collected from the start," Lyon said in the same interaction.
"It goes back a long way but it’s something I’m proud about and now my girls are starting to get old enough to ask questions about what’s this and what’s that. I am grateful for that but at the end of the day I guess I can just throw a ball in there and say it’s the 300th and no one will know, will they? (At the moment) it’s just a blank space," he added.
Lyon is already third all-time in wickets among Australian bowlers and only 33 behind Glenn McGrath's 563 scalps.
He will be in action next when Australia play India in a high-octane five-match Test home series, starting in Perth on November 22.