The 21-Test chase facing Nathan Lyon in his bid to eclipse Shane Warne's legendary record

ADELAIDE: With Nathan Lyon passing Glenn McGrath for wickets taken, the attention now turns to whether he can eclipse the great Shane Warne.

Warne finished his career with 708 and is the Everest of Australian bowlers. When it comes to the world leaders in the art of spin, Anil Kumble (619) and Muttiah Muralidaran (800) are in front of him too.

To reach Warne, 144 wickets are needed from Lyon across what could be two years of jam-packed Test cricket.

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At 38, time isn't necessarily on Lyon's side but with the advantage of modern sports recovery, players are prolonging their careers longer than usual.

"The gap to the next best spinner is so extreme that Nathan Lyon, as long as his body holds up, could be bowling for Australia in his early 40s," Kerry O'Keeffe said on Fox Cricket's coverage.

"If you look at his strike rate, it's as statistically good as it's ever been so if you lock in an algorithm, he could be challenging the great king in 2027 on the Ashes tour so I wouldn't rule out he's aiming for 708?"

The battle to replace Lyon is less than fierce. Matt Kuhnemann and Todd Murphy have been the two bowlers preferred on the sub-continent, with Kuhnemann impressing the most.

Mitch Swepson and Corey Rocchiccioli are the other two options, with the pair taking 21 and 20 wickets respectively to lead the tally for spinners in the Sheffield Shield this season.

Lyon has previously made it clear he wants to play until the 2027 Ashes in England where he'll be pushing 40.

That means after Adelaide, he has a possible 21 Tests to take 144 wickets.

In August next year, there'll be two Tests against Bangladesh at home followed by three in South Africa.

The next summer will involve four Tests against New Zealand. He is likely to feature in all four considering there's no pink ball Test.

A five-Test tour of India will be next with Lyon expected to play a prominent role there.

The 150th anniversary Test against England at the MCG will be on March 11, 2027. That will be a pink ball Test but Lyon not playing at the MCG would be a shock.

The World Test Championship final is also scheduled for June 2027 if Australia makes it.

What follows will be the five-Test Ashes in England and if Lyon is still performing, the reality is he'll be the frontline spinner despite his veteran status.

If he can defeat Warne by then, do we dare border on the ridiculous and say Murali next?