Ashes cricket: The sky is the limit for Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon became the fourth Australian bowler in Test history to take 350 wickets when he tore England to pieces in a triumph for the ages at Edgbaston on Monday night (AEST).

Even so some will say the former groundskeeper couldn't possible be mentioned in the same breath as Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath or Dennis Lillee.

How could a gangly off-spinner be considered just as good as a group of genuine Australian cricket legends?

Yes, he may be nicknamed "The GOAT" because he's the greatest Australian off-spinner of all time. But a legend? Well, we'll see.

His 6-49 - the 15^th five-wicket haul in Lyon's 87-Test career - burned Fortress Edgbaston to the ground after Steve Smith stormed the gates with twin tons to rescue the visitors from a perilous position.

Australia now head to Lord's with a 1-0 Ashes series lead and Lyon's 352 Test scalps have the former ACT Comets skipper in elite company with the game's greats.

Only Warne (708), McGrath (563) and Lillee (355) have taken more Test wickets for Australia. Lyon, an improbable hero, or as some in the UK have dubbed him, "the accidental great" will likely rise to third on that list next week.

Yet some still believe Lyon's name does not belong with those in the upper echelon of Australian cricket. Perhaps the era he plays in unfairly costs him, because numbers say he is a modern great.

This Australian XI is not an all-conquering outfit like those that have gone before - but coach Justin Langer believes names like Lyon and Smith belong in those discussions.

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"Like a few of our players, like Steve Smith, I didn't realise how good Nathan Lyon was until I took over coaching the cricket team," Langer says.

"I just can't believe how good a bowler he is. He is a brilliant bowler, he has such good control, he spins, he gets some bounce, great fielder, really good in the team.

"He's the song master, so that tells you something about his character. He is a gun bowler, 350 wickets, that's an incredible achievement isn't it?"

Lyon has taken more wickets than any Test bowler in the world since he debuted in Galle in 2011. Australian captain Tim Paine expects there will be plenty more.

"The ball is coming out as well as ever," Paine says.

"He's a bit the same as Smithy, I feel like every Test match or every series, they seem to get better which is astonishing at their age.

"If you come and watch both of them train, you see why they keep improving and why they keep getting better. They're a great example for the rest of our group."

Smith's insatiable work ethic is well documented. One of cricket's finest batsman views every ball as an opportunity to do something special.

His sheer love of the game sees him playing shots in his hotel room and his obsession to bat separates him from the rest.

Much like Lyon, Smith was an unlikely luminary.

The latter a baby-faced leg-spinner who was not quite mesmerising with the bat, the former a man whose rise to become Australia's greatest off-spinner started with a gig as a curator's apprentice.

Doubters waited for Lyon at every turn and for some time he rarely exuded absolute belief.

His first 19 chances to bowl in the fourth innings bore 24 wickets at an average of 36, and a strike rate of 78. Then everything changed on that final day in Adelaide in December 2014.

Australian cricket was in mourning throughout the first Test played after Phillip Hughes' death, and Lyon took seven to emerge as the fourth innings hero through sheer willpower and trust.

His 19 fourth innings outings since then? Forty wickets at 29 with a vastly improved strike rate of 52. He has become Australia's go-to man on the fifth day, much like he was for Paine in the Ashes opener.

"Nathan has played on all different surfaces now, he knows exactly what he is doing in all different situations," Paine said.

"I don't know, but I think he bowled a little bit quicker which he tends to do over here because the pitch, he doesn't get the bounce he does in Australia or as sharp turn as consistently.

"He nailed the speed he needed to bowl, he controlled it beautifully, and as we saw he is going to be a real threat in most conditions which is a great thing for us as a team.

"He doesn't rely on day five wickets, he can take wickets for you at any stage of the game. When you've got a spinner like that, it change a game really quickly."

Perhaps it can change the fate of a nation that hasn't left England with the urn for 18 years.