looks on. On 26 July 2011, Lyon was selected in the Australian Test squad for the
tour to Sri Lanka in 2011. He took two wickets for Australia against the Sri Lanka Board XI in the three-day warm-up match at the
Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium. Lyon made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Galle on 31 August 2011, he had his Baggy Green cap presented to him by
Greg Chappell. Lyon took his first wicket off his first ball in Test cricket on 1 September 2011, his victim was
Kumar Sangakkara. With this feat he became the third Australian (and seventeenth international player) to take his
first wicket off his first ball in Test cricket, and the first Australian since
Arthur Coningham, in 1894. He finished with 5/34 in his first innings, becoming the 131st player to take five wickets on debut in a Test match. In November 2011, Lyon became just the seventh
number 11 batsman to have the top score in his team's innings, when he scored 14 in Australia's second-innings total of 47 in the
1st Test against South Africa. Lyon played his first Test in Australia at
the Gabba starting on 1 December 2011 against
New Zealand in the first Test match of
the series. Lyon took 4/69 in the first innings and 3/19 in his second innings, culminating in match figures of 7/88, the best Test match bowling figures by an Australian off-spinner at the venue. He played in three of the four Tests of the subsequent
home series against India—being left out of the team for the third Test on the pace-friendly
WACA Ground—taking seven wickets at an average of 41.57. Former Australian off-spinner
Ashley Mallett criticised Lyon's delivery method during the series, saying he had been bowling too wide on the crease. On 24 April 2013, Lyon was named as the only spinner in the upcoming
2013 Ashes series for the Australian squad. It held true until hours before the first match when he was dropped from out of the lineup in favour of shock debutant
Ashton Agar, who then went on to score 98 on his Test debut, which was also a world record for a no. 11 batsman. However, Lyon was recalled to the team for the third Ashes Test, and in the fourth Ashes Test at
Chester-le-Street, he took figures of 4/42 on the first day to help restrict England to 238 in their first innings. On 28 December 2013, during the
Boxing Day Test match at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground, Lyon took his 100th Test wicket and also his first five wicket haul in Australia. He became just the sixth Australian off-spinner to take 100 Test wickets. On 5 January 2014, Lyon became only the second cricketer ever to not be dismissed in any innings during a five-Test series. Lyon made 60 runs during his six innings, with a strike rate of 52.63. On 13 December 2014, Lyon was named man of the match in the first Test of the
Border–Gavaskar Trophy series against India at the
Adelaide Oval after taking a personal best haul for the match of 5 for 134 in the first innings and 7 for 152 in the second. This was the first match the Australian team had played after the death of
Phillip Hughes just two weeks earlier. After taking the final wicket of the match to secure the victory for Australia, Lyon knelt down and patted Hughes's Test number 408 that had been painted on the field for the match. In 2015, Lyon was not named in Australia's final squad of 15 for the
2015 Cricket World Cup.
Xavier Doherty was picked in his place as a specialist spin bowler. In June 2015, Lyon took his 142nd Test wicket, passing
Hugh Trumble to become the most prolific wicket-taker of all Australian off-spinners. Lyon made his
Twenty20 International debut for Australia
against India on 29 January 2016. On 28 July 2016, Lyon became the first Australian off-spinner to take 200 Test wickets. He achieved this feat during the first Test
against Sri Lanka at the
Pallekele Cricket Stadium by dismissing
Dhananjaya de Silva. During the 2016
Test series between Australia and South Africa, the phrase "Nice, Garry!" became affectionately associated with Lyon after wicketkeeper
Matthew Wade repeatedly yelled it after every ball bowled by the spinner (a joking reference to the
Melbourne FC footballer
Garry Lyon). This phrase was adopted by cricket fans throughout Australia, elevating Lyon to cult-hero status. A Facebook campaign was started up for fans at the 2016
Boxing Day Test against
Pakistan to yell "Nice, Garry!" in unison after Lyon's third ball bowled; however, their attempts were replaced by cheering, as he took the wicket of
Sami Aslam with his third delivery. On 4 March 2017, in the second Test between Australia and
India in
Bangalore as part of the
2017 Australian tour of India, Lyon took figures of 8/50 and finished with the best figures ever recorded in India by a visiting bowler. On 27 August 2017, Lyon became the 8th Australian bowler and the second Australian spinner after
Shane Warne to take 250 Test wickets. He achieved this feat during the first Test
against Bangladesh at the
Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium by dismissing
Mehedi Hasan Miraz. In September 2017, in the second Test between Australia and Bangladesh in
Chittagong as part of the
2017 Australian tour of Bangladesh, Lyon took match figures of 13/154 and finished with the best figures ever recorded in Asia by an Australian bowler. He also took the most wickets in a two-Test series by an Australian bowler (22). Having missed out on the Champions Trophy squad, Lyon replaced
John Hastings to play for
Worcestershire. In 2017, Lyon became an Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador for the Australian Government. He would finish the year by taking more Test wickets than anyone else (63). On 6 March 2018, Lyon was fined 15 per cent of his match fee for a breach of the
ICC Code of Conduct during the
first Test against South Africa in Durban. Lyon took his 300th Test wicket during the 3rd Test in Cape Town by dismissing
Kagiso Rabada out stumped. In April 2018, he was awarded a national contract by
Cricket Australia for the 2018–19 season. Lyon finished the India–Australia Test series with 21 wickets and as the highest wicket taker, along with
Jasprit Bumrah. Lyon awarded the Men's Test Player of the Year at the
Allan Border Medal ceremony by the CA in 2019. In April 2019, he was named in
Australia's squad for the
2019 Cricket World Cup. In July 2019, he was named in
Australia's squad for the
2019 Ashes series in England. In the first Test of the
2019 Ashes, his figures of 3/112 in the first innings 6/49 in the second innings helped Australia to win a Test at Edgbaston for the first time in 19 years. Australia went on to retain The Ashes for the first time in 18 years. In November 2019, Lyon took seven wickets in two Tests against Pakistan, including a five-wicket haul in
Adelaide. In the
following series against New Zealand, Lyon was the leading wicket taker between both teams, finishing the series with 20 wickets as Australia won the series 3–0. This was capped off with match figures of 10/118 in the New Year's Test in Sydney, taking five wickets in each innings. On 16 July 2020, Lyon was named in a 26-man preliminary squad of players to begin training ahead of a possible
tour to England following the
COVID-19 pandemic. On 14 August 2020,
Cricket Australia confirmed that the fixtures would be taking place, with Lyon included in the touring party. On 11 December 2021, during the first match of the
2021–22 Ashes series, Lyon took his 400th Test wicket by dismissing
Dawid Malan. On 2 March 2023, Lyon become the highest wicket-taker in the
Border-Gavaskar Trophy during the second day of the third test in
Indore with a total of 112 wickets. He finished the match with figures of 11/99, taking 3 wickets in the first innings and 8 in the second, earning him player of the match honours. In the fourth test in
Ahmedabad, Lyon broke the record of most wickets taken by an overseas bowler in India, surpassing
Derek Underwood by taking his 56th wicket in the country. In the
2023 ICC World Test Championship Final, Lyon recorded figures of 1/19 and 4/41 as
Australia defeated
India by 209 runs. In the first test of the
2023 Ashes series at
Edgbaston, Lyon took figures of 4/149 and 4/80 in each innings. In the fourth innings, Lyon came to crease with Australia 8/227, 54 runs short of the winning target of 281. Forming a 55 run partnership with
Pat Cummins, Lyon helped Australia to an unlikely two wicket win, ending the match with 16 not out off of 28 deliveries. He recorded his 496th test wicket in the first innings by dismissing
Zak Crawley before succumbing to a significant calf strain on day 2, which prevented him from bowling in the remainder of the test. Despite arriving to the ground on crutches and having difficulty walking, Lyon came to the crease to bat in Australia's second innings and put on a 15 run partnership with
Mitchell Starc, scoring 4 runs himself. He received a standing ovation from the crowd and praise for his bravery in batting despite the nature of his injury. It was confirmed on the day following the test that Lyon would miss the remainder of the series as a result of the injury. This meant his streak of 100 consecutive test matches going back to the
2013 Ashes was broken. Lyon returned to test cricket in December 2023 for the match between Pakistan and Australia in
Perth. He took his 500th test wicket by dismissing
Faheem Ashraf lbw after a review. Just two balls later Lyon got his 501st test wicket by bowling
Aamer Jamal. He finished the match with five wickets in all, which helped Australia to a comprehensive victory by 360 runs. Trophy. Lyon played in the
2024–25 Border–Gavaskar Trophy. He took 9 wickets across all 5 Test matches, with one being the match-winning wicket against
Mohammed Siraj in a thrilling victory in Melbourne, trapping him out
LBW. He bowled at an average of 36.88 for the series. During the
2025-26 Ashes series, Lyon took 5 wickets at an average of 31.40, only playing 2 matches for the series because of not being selected for the Brisbane Test, and suffering a series-ending hamstring injury during the 4th innings of the 3rd Test at the Adelaide Oval while trying to field a ball. Lyon’s efforts in the third Test, as by getting wickets such as
bowling Harry Brook and getting
Zak Crawley out
stumped, helped Australia win the match and clinch the trophy, continuing their hold of the trophy since the 2017-18 Ashes series. ==Personal life==