Nathan Lyon is chuffed to have ticked off yet another milestone as he approaches the 300-wicket mark, while teammate Mitch Marsh says the offspinner's career-best form is on the minds of bamboozled opponents.
Marsh lavished Lyon with praise after the tweaker overtook Craig McDermott and claimed sixth spot on Australia's list of all-time leading Test wicket-takers.
Marsh and Mitchell Starc grabbed the headlines as Australia took control of their first Test against South Africa in Durban on day two, claiming a first-innings lead of 189 runs.
But Lyon played a pivotal role in busting the game open, snagging two wickets in his first over of the series.
Lyon now has 293 Test scalps, meaning Brett Lee (310) and Mitchell Johnson (313) will soon be within striking distance if he continues to dominate.
"It's an amazing achievement, something I'm very proud of. When you start passing the likes of Craig - you're hitting the real legends of the game," Lyon told cricket.com.au.
"Mum and dad have sent me a couple of messages.
"It's a very special moment, but hopefully there's a few more to take in this series and the rest of my career."
Marsh described Lyon's past 12 months as amazing.
"You know he's always going to have an impact," the allrounder said of the world's leading Test wicket-taker in 2017.
"And teams know that now ... he's one of the best spinners in the world.
"It's a great weapon for us."
Lyon came on after just seven overs following the change of innings at Kingsmead on day two. It proved a masterstroke from Steve Smith.
Dean Elgar went for seven when Lyon held a diving return catch then Hashim Amla was out for a third-ball duck.
Lyon later broke the Proteas' biggest partnership of the innings, clean bowling Quinton de Kock for 20.
AB de Villiers, who finished 71 not out, denied that Lyon had a mental edge over his teammates.
"We had him under pressure at times but unfortunately we kept losing wickets so that allowed him to bowl with a bit more freedom," de Villiers said.
"We play spin well. It didn't show today.
"It just happens. There's nobody with a flaw in their game when it comes to spin bowling.
"Lyon was the top wicket-taker in 2017, he's bowling well and he's a confident guy but I don't think we played him badly."
MOST TEST WICKETS FOR AUSTRALIA (as of stumps on day two of this Test):
708 - Shane Warne 563 - Glenn McGrath 355 - Dennis Lillee 313 - Mitchell Johnson 310 - Brett Lee 293* - Nathan Lyon 291 - Craig McDermott
