Nathan Lyon has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series after suffering asignificant calf injury in Australia’s win over England at Lord’s. The veteran spinner suffered the injury on day two of the second Test last week.
Despite being seen on crutches in recent days, Lyon overcame the pain barrier to hobble out to the crease to score runs for his side at the weekend. That, however, will be the last part he plays in this Ashes series, after Cricket Australia announced the severity of the injury on Monday morning.
Lyon, who has missed only four of the 125 Tests Australia have played since his debut in August 2011, then disconsolately walked off the field alongside a team doctor. Despite being seen on crutches after suffering the injury, the 35-year-old miraculously returned to the crease on Saturday – receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.
He does however leave Australia in a commanding position, as their victory on Sunday means they hold a 2-0 lead over England. The injury happened when Lyon, fielding on the boundary, pulled up while running in to stop the ball.
He struck the ball well during his brave 13-ball innings but, given the severity of his injury, was unable to run between wickets. Sky Sports commentator Andrew Strauss questioned the rationale behind the decision to send him out to face England’s short-bowling onslaught.
Lyon’s time at the crease came to a close shortly thereafter, when he skied a Broad delivery into Ben Stokes’ hands to conclude the Australian innings. His absence will be a tough one for Australia to take, though they hold a comfortable 2-0 lead in the series.
‘I’m finding this hard to watch,’ he said. ‘This isn’t a good advertisement for Test cricket.’ Despite the fact Lyon was clearly compromised on his right leg, England’s bowlers continued to bowl short at the veteran, and eventually the Australian punished Stuart Broad by hitting him four.
On Sunday, they beat England by 43 runs after a dramatic final day, in which the major talking point was the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow before lunch. Bairstow’s dismissal out of his crease believing the ball to be dead as Alex Carey’s expedient underarm threw down his stumps overshadowed Australia’s win.
It led to Ben Stokes accusing Australia of forgetting the ‘spirit of the game’ , Stuart Broad lashing out at Carey while Lord’s suspended three MCC members after Australia stars Usman Khawaja and David Warner were confronted and accused of cheating.
