The summer of 2018 was a tumultuous one for Australian cricket, with the infamous Sandpaper-gate scandal rocking the nation. During the third Test against South Africa in Newlands, Cameron Bancroft was caught attempting to alter the ball’s condition using sandpaper. This led to a lengthy ban for Bancroft (nine months) and 12-month bans for captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner.
The fallout was immense, with leadership changes marking a new era for Australian cricket—Tim Paine was appointed captain and Justin Langer took over as head coach. However, during the chaos surrounding the scandal, Nathan Lyon’s milestone achievement was overshadowed.
In that very Test, Lyon claimed his 300th wicket in Test cricket when he dismissed Kagiso Rabada. Unfortunately, the moment was marred as the ICC confiscated the ball, leaving Lyon without a physical reminder of this historic achievement. Reflecting on the incident ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Lyon shared his disappointment.
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“Rabada stumped was my 300th wicket. It was at the Cape Town Test. I haven’t seen that ball since, unfortunately,” he said. “I think with everything that happened that game, they took it to have a look at it all.”
🚨 HOW NATHAN LYON GOT CAUGHT UP IN SANDPAPER SCANDAL
The Australian spinner became unintended collateral in the infamous ball-tampering incident that rocked cricket.#NathanLyon #SandpaperGate #AustralianCricket pic.twitter.com/E4vO0KHQRp
— João Neves (@jon_snow_pt) November 9, 2024
Nathan Lyon also recounted his efforts to recover the ball, reaching out to ICC match referee David Boon, but to no avail. Boon, who Lyon ran into during the 2020-21 Covid summer, tried to investigate the ball’s whereabouts but was met with no further updates.
“Apparently, it’s gone missing. Don’t know where it is,” Nathan Lyon added. “There’s been no more correspondence. It is what it is.”
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Despite this, Lyon remains proud of his career milestones. He keeps a collection of mementoes, including his first wicket in the Big Bash League, his debut five-wicket haul, and other key moments, but the space for his 300th wicket remains empty.
