ENG Vs AUS, Ashes 2023: ‘I Have Been Absolutely Shattered’, Says Nathan Lyon After Suffering Calf Injury At Lord’s
New Delhi: Australian spinner Nathan Lyon shocked everyone by stepping out to bat at No. 10 while still suffering from a right calf injury during the fourth day at Lord’s in the second Ashes 2023 Test on Saturday. Lyon got injured on the second day while trying to save a boundary.
At Day 2 stumps, Cricket Australia confirmed that Lyon’s participation in the remaining of the Ashes series against England is highly uncertain. On the third day of the game, Lyon arrived on crutches with a white compression sock covering his right leg.
There’s been tears, there’s been pain, but nothing was stopping Nathan Lyon from doing everything he could to help his team #Ashes pic.twitter.com/q2ceFt0bYw
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 2, 2023
At 187/2 in their second innings, Australia was in a strong position before falling to England’s short-ball strategy and dropped to 264/9 in the last session of the fourth day. To everyone’s surprise, Lyon limped to the middle as the whole crowd gave him a standing ovation, and stitched the crucial 15-run partnership for the final wicket with Mitchell Starc.
The off-spinner who is playing his 100th consecutive Test match, said he is proud of his contribution and believed 15 runs may make a significant difference. “I’ve been having conversations since it happened with our medical team, I knew the risks. But I’ll do anything for this team,” Lyon told cricket.com.au.
“You never know how big a 15-run partnership can be in an Ashes series. I’m proud of myself for going out there and doing that. I love this team. I love playing cricket for Australia. And if I can help out my teammates here and there, I’ll do that,” Lyon said.
“It was my call. I spoke to Ron (coach Andrew McDonald) and Patty. Patty was probably a little bit hesitant but I’ll do anything for this team, and I’d do it again tomorrow,” he added. Lyon also talked about the conversation he had with England’s pacer Jimmy Anderson in the middle.
“He asked me if I was stupid, I said yes,” Lyon said. “Then I just said to him, ‘I may have to do a you and go to 40 (years old).’ He said, ‘If you keep loving the game, and keep trying to get better there’s no reason why you can’t. That was a nice little moment with Jimmy,” the spinner added.
The Australian spinner became emotional while talking about his injury. “It’s been a lot more down than up. I have been absolutely shattered. I have been in tears, I have been upset, I have been hurting. That shows this team means everything to me. And I will start this rehab journey now to get back and play my role and keep loving what I am able to do.
“I look to get better each and every day, and this is a little bump in the road. I can learn from it and get better. But right now, I am pretty shattered to be honest,” he concluded.