Subdued celebrations as Lyon joins Morkel in 300 club

For the second time at Newlands this week, a bowler reached 300 Test wickets as Nathan Lyon followed Morne Morkel in achieving the landmark.

Published : Mar 25, 2018 17:42 IST

Nathan Lyon provided something for the Australian cricket team to smile about on Sunday as he claimed his 300th Test wicket.

The off-spinner had Kagiso Rabada stumped by stand-in captain Tim Paine as South Africa sought to build on their commanding advantage on day four of the third Test at Newlands.

It was the second time in the match a bowler had reached the landmark, the Proteas' Morne Morkel having done so on day two by dismissing Shaun Marsh.

While Morkel's celebrations were fervent, Lyon's were understated, given Australia's position in the match and the ball-tampering fiasco that continues to hang over the side.

Day three saw opening batsman Cameron Bancroft charged with "attempting to alter the condition of the ball" after rubbing it with a piece of tape that had been used to pick up granules of dirt from the Cape Town pitch.

In a media conference after play on Saturday, captain Steve Smith admitted the visitors' "leadership group" had hatched the plot in an attempt to get the ball to reverse swing.

It was announced on Sunday that Smith and vice-captain David Warner had been stood down from their roles for the remainder of the match, with wicketkeeper Paine stepping into the breach to skipper the side.

After dismissing Rabada, Lyon had Keshav Maharaj caught in the deep to move onto 301 wickets in his 77th Test. Josh Hazlewood then removed Morkel to ensure South Africa were all out for 373, a lead of 429.

Lyon is the sixth Australian to reach the milestone of 300 scalps, after Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Dennis Lillee, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee.

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