GALLE, Sri Lanka // Nathan Lyon, the Australian debutant, said taking five wickets in the first Test against Sri Lanka on Thursday was like living a dream.
"It's been the best couple of days of my life," the 23-year-old off-spinner said after claiming five for 34, including a wicket with his first ball, to put Australia in command at the Galle International Stadium.
"To receive the baggy green cap from [former Australian captain] Greg Chappell before the match and then take five wickets on debut is something pretty special. I will hold it really close to my heart."
Sixteen wickets fell on the dusty, deteriorating track during the eventful second day's play that ended with the tourists enjoying a lead of 283 runs with four wickets in hand.
Lyon's five-wicket haul - in only his sixth first-class match - helped Australia skittle Sri Lanka out for 105 after they were themselves restricted to 273 in the first innings.
The tourists closed the day at 115 for six in their second knock, setting the stage for an early finish in the opening contest of the three-match series.
Lyon never looked back after removing Kumar Sangakkara with his first delivery in Test cricket - the first Australian in 117 years to achieve the feat.
Brought on after the morning drinks break, he had Sangakkara edging the first ball toward the slips where Clarke dived to his left to take a low catch.
Lyon, who served on the Adelaide Oval ground staff till a year ago, then ran through the tail to justify his much-criticised selection for the tour. He is only the 14th bowler in history to take a wicket with his first ball in Test cricket, and the second Australian since Arthur Coningham did it against England in 1894.
Lyon said he was surprised when Sangakkara edged the ball.
"I would not say it was the perfect ball," he said. "I thought it was a bit wide, but I was quite happy with it in the end.
"I could not breathe in the middle. I was just full of so much excitement. The biggest highlight was just walking into the field as part of the Australian team."
Lyon said he hoped for similar surfaces in the remaining two Tests in Pallekele and Colombo.
"Having such a wicket is fantastic," he said. "I want to take it everywhere."
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
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The stats
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Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
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TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
The biog
Name: Gul Raziq
From: Charsadda, Pakistan
Family: Wife and six children
Favourite holes at Al Ghazal: 15 and 8
Golf Handicap: 6
Childhood sport: cricket
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Suggested picnic spots
Abu Dhabi
Umm Al Emarat Park
Yas Gateway Park
Delma Park
Al Bateen beach
Saadiyaat beach
The Corniche
Zayed Sports City
Dubai
Kite Beach
Zabeel Park
Al Nahda Pond Park
Mushrif Park
Safa Park
Al Mamzar Beach Park
Al Qudrah Lakes
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