After Cricket Australia (CA) confirmed that Nathan Lyon will not take further part in the ongoing second Ashes Test at Lord’s owing to a calf injury he sustained during the 2nd innings, it seems like history has repeated itself. For those who are unaware, similar to Lyon, Australian legend Glenn McGrath suffered a leg injury in the second Test of the 2005 Ashes series. Unlike Lyon, though, McGrath had sustained an ankle injury before the start of the test in Birmingham. Australia went on to lose that Test in Birmingham in 2005, and after losing Lyon at Lord’s, the threat of defeat looms over Australia’s head.
With this injury, Lyon’s participation in the remaining Ashes series against England is highly uncertain. The off-spinner did not take the field on the third day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. He had arrived on crutches, wearing a white compression sock on his right calf. He joined his teammates out in the middle during the pre-play address.
Medical scans on Thursday evening confirmed the injury. While Australia could still use him to bat during this match, the 36-year-old seems to be highly unlikely to bowl for the remainder of the series.
Lyon spent Friday morning talking to spin back-up Todd Murphy, who is four Test old right-arm spinner. Lyon’s absence would no doubt be a huge blow to Australia as they will have to rely on an inexperienced Murphy and part-time spin back-ups Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith.
Murphy looks almost certain to the play the Headingley third Test next week, after making a solid debut against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year.
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The Lord’s Test was a special one for Lyon as he was playing his 100th consecutive Tests and is just four wickets away from 500 Test wickets. He might not reach the 500-mark during this series.
Australia will finalise their decision on Lyon’s availability in the series once the Lord’s Test ends, but have not confirmed a grading for his strain other than describing it as “significant”.
A period of weeks for rehabilitation seems highly likely. Mitchell Swepson and Matthew Kuhnemann are also leading contender to replace Lyon in the squad.
In the absence of Lyon, Head’s tidy off-breaks will have to work really well for Aussies. He was in discussions with Aussie spin coach and former New Zealand great Daniel Vettori before the day’s play. Smith and Labuschagne were also warming up to bowl.
All-rounder Cameron Green could also experience an uptick in his workload.
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