Nathan Lyon takes 500th Test wicket as Pakistan crumble in Day 4 defeat

Nathan Lyon has officially joined the greats, becoming just the third Australian in history to notch a remarkable feat in Test cricket as Australia rolled Pakistan.

Australia has won the first Test of the summer in Perth, running riot in the fourth innings with the ball to dismantle Pakistan.

A David Warner duck and concern around a Marnus Labuschagne injury were the only real issues for the home side on Day 3 with Usman Khawaja (34*) unbeaten at stumps.

Khawaja went on to make 90 alongside Mitchell Marsh (63*) to pose an imposing 450 target for the tourists.

The pitch was playing plenty of tricks by the lunch break, and Pakistan’s top order just couldn’t keep on top of the variable bounce as Australia’s quicks had a party.

Opening bowlers Mitchell Starc (3-31) and Josh Hazlewood (3-13) both did serious damage, and Nathan Lyon took his 500th and 501st poles to help them along the way.

Mitchell Marsh (90, 63* and 1-34) was named man of the match over David Warner, who scored a commanding 164 in the first innings but fell for a duck in the second.

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“They have been relentless, this Australian team. From day one, they haven’t let it go,” Kerry O’Keeffe said.

7.30pm - Hazlewood closes out the innings, Australia win

Josh Hazlewood has taken his second wicket of the innings with a ball that stayed low and caught Saud Shakeel off guard. He opted for a Hail Mary DRS review but hawkeye proved he was out of luck.

He fell for 24, leaving Pakistan nine down.

No. 11 Khurram Shahzad came out and tried flashing at Hazlewood but edged it straight to Warner, giving Australia the Test by 360 runs.

7.15pm - Nathan Lyon has done it

Nathan Lyon took his 500th wicket with wife Emma cheering him on in the stands.

The GOAT has taken his 500th Test wicket late on day four, trapping Faheem Ashraf LBW with a brilliant ball spearing into the pads. The umpire wasn’t convinced, but hawkeye showed the ball to be hitting leg stump.

The crowd went absolutely wild as he brought up the milestone, making him just the third Aussie and eighth in the world to snag 500 poles.

And he did it again for good measure three balls later, clean bowling Aamer Jamal for a duck to make it 501.

“Just unbelievable,” Ian Smith said from the commentary box. “An absolute champion.”

The moment Nathan Lyon picked up his 500th in Test cricket.

- One of the greatest spinners!pic.twitter.com/BHwmq15P7X

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 17, 2023

6.44pm - Chaotic mix-up opens up the lower order

Agha Salman was run out after batting partner Saud Shakeel backflipped on a call of yes after turning the ball away to fine leg.

Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head combined for a clinical run-out, leaving Pakistan in a whole heap of trouble at 6-65.

Stick around, because Nathan Lyon has just started a new spell and is searching for his 500th wicket.

6.31pm - Starc takes his third

Mitchell Starc is thriving in these conditions. The Aussie left-armer took his third wicket of the innings shortly after the tea break. This time it was Sarfaraz Ahmed who was the victim of the unpredictable bounce, as the ball popped up on a length and caught the shoulder of his bat.

Mitch Marsh took the catch in the gully, leaving the visitors at a lowly 5-57 with 450 to chase.

5.54pm - Cummins removes Babar Azam

Pat Cummins has sent Pakistan’s danger man packing. Babar Azam was showing glimpses of his best form to begin the innings, effortlessly driving Mitchell Starc to the boundary and pulling off some juicy on-drives.

But it all came to an end in the Aussie captain’s third over when he caught the outside edge with a ball that rose off an uneven patch on the pitch.

Azam fell for 14 off 37 deliveries as Sarfaraz Ahmed arrived to the crease.

5.16pm - The demolition begins

Mitchell Starc has struck again in the seventh over of the innings, dismissing Imam-ul-Haq LBW for 10.

Babar Azam and No. 5 Saud Shakeel now have a mountain to climb until tea as Australia’s quicks have a field day.

The crowd gave a cheer when Nathan Lyon was thrown the ball for the 12th over. The Aussie off-spinner is sitting on 499 Test wickets and is poised to join Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in Australia’s 500 club.

5.09pm - Hazlewood joins the fun

Josh Hazlewood has got the new ball talking as well.

After toying with Shan Masood’s outside edge for a few balls, Hazlewood finally got a faint edge, offering Alex Carey his 100th Test dismissal with a regulation catch behind the stumps.

4.47pm - Starc strikes early

Mitchell Starc has begun the fourth innings with a brilliant first over.

The left-arm quick caught the edge of Abdullah Shafique with a brilliant ball that nipped away from the bat. The Aussie quicks are looking threatening with the new ball.

Pakistan’s batsmen will need to make a few decisions here as the pitch deteriorates -- they might be better suited to just throwing the bat at it like Mitch Marsh after lunch.

Mitchell Starc of Australia celebrates with Mitchell Marsh of Australia after dismissing Abdullah Shafique.

4.33pm - Khawaja falls for 90, Australia declare with 449 lead

Usman Khawaja opened up the floodgates after lunch and looked on his way to another century to close out his stellar year with the bat. But the opening batsman ended up slicing one off Shaheen Shah Afridi to third man.

He fell for 90 and Pat Cummins whistled them back to the sheds.

Pakistan’s top order will need to put on a heroic performance to win this match.

4.10pm - Marsh brings up second fifty of the game

Mitchell Marsh has played some brilliant strokes to work his way to another fifty for the match. The powerful all-rounder has put the variable bounce out of his mind and has looked to up the tempo after lunch.

But he had to wear a few as the pitch played tricks. One ball from Khurram Shahzad bounced steeply and smashed into the stem guard on the back of his helmet. He was cleared to play on and continued his assault to bring himself into the 60s.

Meanwhile, Usman Khawaja has begun to free up his end in a different manner, using the pace of the ball to guide several deliveries to the third man fence.

Australia’s declaration is imminent.

2.50pm - Pakistan skipper drops a sitter

Pakistan Shan Masood dropped an absolute sitter after Mitchell Marsh pumped a powerful drive to mid-off. Masood rushed his hands at it and the ball just bounced out.

Pakistan great Wasim Akram threw his hands up in disappointment in the Triple M commentary box. Pakistan have a horrendous fielding record in Australia and a sitter being put down like that is doing nothing to help their already slim chances this Test.

The Aussie pair have tried to up the tempo despite the uneven bounce on day four. Usman Khawaja hit two boundaries in the following over to bring up a hard-fought fifty, as Australia’s lead built to over 360.

Australia progressed to the lunch break with a 400 run lead, all but burying Pakistan’s hopes at keeping the game alive.

Wasim Akram wasn't happy with that one.

2.10pm - Head falls, pitch playing tricks

Travis Head looked like he wanted to open up the scoring on day four but never quite got into a rhythm. The in-form No. 5 looked scratchy as he attempted a lofted cover drive off Aamer Jamal that went directly to Imam-ul-Haq.

He fell for 14 off 19 deliveries as Mitchell Marsh joined Usman Khawaja at the crease.

The drama with the pitch continued a few balls later when Marsh looked to have popped up a catch from a shorter ball hitting his hand. A review showed he hadn’t gloved it and he survived.

But then Khawaja had to deal with the pitch’s latest trick as a full ball kept low and looked to have him plumb LBW on 40. DRS showed the Aussie opener clipped the ball with his bat and was granted another life.

Scoring is looking increasingly hard on this Perth deck and Pakistan will have a mountain to climb later today when they kick off their second inning.s

1.45pm - Steve Smith fumes over DRS

Steve Smith stormed off shaking his head after a cruel DRS verdict.

The Aussie vice-captain was dismissed for 45 when Pakistan quick Khurram Shahzad got his scalp for the second time this Test.

It's easy to see why his was filthy. Photo: Fox Cricket.

After being trapped on the pads as he stumbled across his stumps, Smith was given out by the on-field umpire. The finger had barely gone up before Smith immediately signalled to challenge the decision.

The DRS ball tracking technology showed the ball was going on to clip the very top of a bail.

With jus a coat of varnish separating Smith from being given not out, he looked murderous when walking off the ground.

Steve Smith reacts after being dismissed for lbw by Khurram Shahzad. Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images.

There was nothing in it. Photo: Fox Cricket.

1pm - Pitch movement ‘on Richter scale’

The Optus Stadium pitch is unravelling in Perth with the deteriorating conditions set to provide a major twist to the battle out in the middle.

After Australia and Pakistan scored freely on the opening two days of play the deck began to produce uneven bounce late on Day 3 — and it appears it is going to be a nightmare for batsmen on Day 4.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne both took heavy blows to the body when misjudging shorter deliveries that showed unpredictable bounce.

Labuschagne took a blow to his hand and needed treatment in the dressing room with concerns he had suffered a broken finger.

Cricket Australia told reporters on Sunday Labuschagne is expected to be fit for the Second Test on Boxing Day.

Michael Vaughan inspects the pitch on Fox Cricket.

Aussie test great Kerry O’Keeffe told Fox Cricket the pitch is going to shake around with wide cracks opening up.

“I’ve just gone out and looked at the pitch. It would register three on the Richter scale,” he said.

“Tony Greig’s keys would be lost forever so batting’s not going to get any easier on this deck.”

Aussie Test legend Matthew Hayden said on Channel 7 the cracks were running across the pitch, rather than in a straight line from one set of stumps to the other.

11am - Mitchell Johnson has another dig

Mitchell Johnson is standing his ground after three days of scorn surrounding his newspaper attack on David Warner.

Johnson was widely mocked throughout the opening three days after Warner’s swashbuckling first innings knock of 164 — having declared last week Warner’s recent form was not good enough for Test selection.

However, he’s come out again and suggested selectors still should have picked Warner’s eventual successor for the Pakistan series.

Mitchell Johnson and David Warner. Photo: Getty and Twitter, Triple M Cricket.

“On day one of the first Test against Pakistan Warner rode his luck early on — and it could have gone either way — and you take that and he went on to make 164,” Johnson wrote for the West Australian.

“He did what he was paid to do in the first innings before Saturday’s duck in the second innings.

“Warner may have denied he cares about criticism of his form, but it definitely does drive him as shown in his performance in the first innings.

“That sort of atmosphere is something Warner revels in.”

He went on to write: “I think my opinion in this column a couple of weeks ago is still valid.

“He hadn’t scored runs in about three years apart from the double century last summer.

“Another point made was that a soft summer like this, with Australia expected to comfortably beat Pakistan and the West Indies, was the perfect time to look at blooding some new players into an ageing team.

“They could have given some new guys some really good time out in the middle this summer and backed them in. That’s going to be much harder across the next two summers when India and England visit for five-Test series.”