Nathan Lyon

Rising from being a pitch curator to Australia's Test squad in 2011, Lyon built a career second only to Shane Warne's among Australia's spinners, becoming the side's most reliable wicket-taking option in all conditions through the 2010s, combining accuracy, bounce and relentless control.

A classical offspinner who gives the ball flight and shape, Lyon struck with his first delivery in Test cricket, dismissing Kumar Sangakkara in Galle, and over the next four years established himself as Australia's most successful offspinner, as effective on bouncy home pitches as on the spin-friendly surfaces of Asia. Some of his finest performances came on the subcontinent, though, including match-defining spells in India such as his eight wickets in an innings in Indore in 2023, to go with his 8 for 50 in Bengaluru six years before.

He took ten wickets at 12 apiece in the two Tests against New Zealand in his first home season, and then 13 in the three Tests against West Indies. On his first tour to India, he took 15 wickets in his three Tests of the infamous Homeworkgate series. At the tail end of that year, in the Ashes that will forever bear Mitchell Johnson's name, Lyon quietly made his own mark with 19 wickets. A year on, in Adelaide, his home ground, he took 12 in the match against India.

His first great purple patch kicked off late in 2016 and ran through to early 2019, in the course of which he reaped 122 wickets from 24 Tests, including 22 in a phenomenally productive away series against Bangladesh that not even his best efforts could swing Australia's way.

Lyon hit another high in the second World Test Championship cycle, finishing with 88 wickets in his 20 Tests, which culminated in the title for Australia, including 12 in the 1-0 series win in Pakistan, and nine in Australia's win in the Galle Test three months later. In 2023, against Pakistan in Perth, he became only the eighth bowler in Test history to get to 500 wickets, underlining both his longevity and consistency.

His career was not without bumps in the road. Lyon was dropped twice in 2013, but he returned to cement his place and went on to become one of the first names on the team sheet. He played 100 consecutive Tests before a calf injury at Lord's in the 2023 Ashes finally broke the streak. He returned later that year and continued to play a central role.