Copeland backs Murphy as Lyon’s replacement when veteran spinner is ruled out

On day two, Lyon ran in to catch Ben Duckett from Cameron Green’s bowling on the leg side after tea in the 37th over when he stopped sharply while running for the ball.

London: Former Australian cricketer Trent Copeland believes Todd Murphy is the perfect replacement for the injured Nathan Lyon should the veteran off-spinner be ruled out of the rest of the Ashes series.

On day two, Lyon ran in to catch Ben Duckett from Cameron Green’s bowling on the leg side after tea in the 37th over when he stopped sharply while running for the ball.

The injury was so serious that Lyon had to leave the field by enlisting the help of a member of the Australian team’s medical staff. On Friday, Lyon arrived at Lord’s on crutches as Cricket Australia announced that the main off-spinner has been diagnosed with a significant calf strain.

It added that a call for Lyon’s availability for the rest of the Ashes will be made once the ongoing second Test at Lord’s ends. With Australia looking to play Ashes minus Lyon, off-spinner Murphy is now in the process of becoming his replacement, with the third Test at Headingley starting just three days after the match ends at Lord’s.

“Todd Murphy is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to Nathan Lyon to me. We’ve seen that firsthand in India and I can’t be more confident that he’s ready to go. I just love what he’s about and how great is it that we’ve had a subcontinent tour to expose him to Test cricket alongside Nathan Lyon for the moment,” Copeland said on SEN Radio.

Murphy made his Test debut in the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India at Nagpur and impressed playing all four matches, taking 14 wickets at an average of 25.21, with a best figure of 7/124.

“I’m excited for Murphy, but I’m devastated for ‘Gaz’. If he misses not only the second innings of this Test, but maybe even more in arguably the greatest series ever, he’d be flat and we’re all feeling for him,” Copeland added.

Murphy has yet to play in an Ashes Test, but Australia’s Prime Minister Steve Smith believes the youngster could hit the ground running once confirmed to replace Lyon.

“Todd is bowling beautifully in nets and he bowled really well in India when he got his chance. I would be sure that if he came, he would do a great job for us,” he said during the press conference afterwards.