Nathan Lyon hobbles out to bat for Australia in the Ashes despite significant injury

Nathan Lyon’s commitment to Australia’s Ashes cause cannot be questioned after he hobbled 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 this week.

Lyon, 35, was forced off at Lord’s after injuring himself while fielding, and was seen arriving at the cricket ground on crutches, with many fans and pundits fearing he wouldn’t feature for his country again this series.

Cricket Australia confirmed that Lyon’s issue was a ‘significant calf injury’ but did not rule him out for the remainder of the contest. 

With Australia looking to set a score too big for England’s aggressive batting lineup to reach, Lyon defied logic to hobble back out to the crease to score runs for his side. 

Despite suffering a significant calf injury, Lyon walked out 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 struck the ball well but, given the severity of his injury, was unable to run between wickets, with Sky Sports commentator Andrew Strauss questioning the rationale behind the decision to send him out to face England’s short-bowling onslaught. 

‘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. 

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.

The hosts must score 371 runs to win the second Test. 

Kevin Pietersen attempted to explain the thinking behind Pat Cummins’ decision to send Lyon out. 

‘I think [taking] time out of the game and also eking out every single run,’ he said on Sky Sports. 

‘They’ve been bossing this Test match and because there is so much time left in the game, they’ll think they can take the wickets. 

‘Imagine if he [Lyon] had been hit on the head and got concussion, he’d have got a like-for-like replacement and a world class spinner [Todd Murphy], based on how he performed in India, it gives food for thought.’