Nathan Lyon stumbles off to bat for Australia in the Ashes despite a significant injury
Nathan Lyon gets a standing ovation from Lord’s crowd after stumbling out for a brave 13-ball innings despite a ‘significant calf injury’ in the second Ashes Test… and he even hits a boundary!
- Nathan Lyon bravely stumbled out to play a part in Australia’s second innings
- The 35-year-old sustained a serious calf injury during the second test
- He received a standing ovation from the faithful of the Lord for his courage
Nathan Lyon’s commitment to the Australian Ashes cause cannot be questioned after he stumbled out to help his side in the second Test at Lord’s.
The veteran spinner received a standing ovation at the Home of Cricket as he made a stunning return to the crease despite suffering a significant calf injury on Day 2 earlier in the week.
Lyon, 35, was forced to leave Lord’s after injuring himself during field work, and was seen arriving at the cricket ground on crutches, with many fans and pundits fearing he would not play for his country again this series.
Cricket Australia confirmed Lyon’s problem was a ‘significant calf injury’ but did not rule him out for the rest of the match.
As Australia looked to score too high for England’s aggressive batting side to reach, Lyon defied logic to stumble back into the crease to score runs for his side.
Nathan Lyon received a standing ovation at Lord’s after coming to bat
Despite a significant calf injury, Lyon walked away to face the England attack
He hit a boundary as Australia set England a target of 371 runs to win the second Ashes Test
He hit the ball well but given the severity of his injury was unable to run between the wickets, with Sky Sports commentator Andrew Strauss questioning the rationale behind the decision to send him off to head offer to England’s short bowling attack.
“I find this hard to watch,” he said. “This is not a good advertisement for Test Cricket.”
Despite Lyon being clearly compromised in his right leg, the England bowlers continued to fall short of the veteran, and eventually Australian Stuart Broad punished by hitting him four times.
Lyon’s time at the crease came to an end soon after, when he skied a wide pitch into the hands of Ben Stokes to end the Australian innings.
The hosts need to score 371 runs to win the second test.
Kevin Pietersen tried to explain the thinking behind Pat Cummins’ decision to send Lyon.
‘I think [taking] time out the game and also stretch every run,” he said on Sky Sports.
“They have dominated this Test match and with so much time left in the game they will think they can take the wickets.
‘Imagine him [Lyon] had been hit on the head and suffered a concussion, he would have been given an equal replacement and a world-class spinner [Todd Murphy]based on how he performed in India, gives food for thought.’