"You are an absolute idiot" - Nathan Lyon recalls the backlash after announcing his decision to bat with a major injury
Australian spinner Nathan Lyon has spoken about the reactions of his wife and skipper Pat Cummins when he expressed his desire to bat with a major calf injury during the Lord's Test. Lyon suffered the injury while fielding during England's first innings and was immediately taken off the field.
The majority believed that Lyon's contest was over, but he hobbled out to bat at No. 11 during Australia's second innings in a bid to extend their lead. He scored four runs off 13 deliveries and was involved in a 15-run partnership for the final wicket.
Lyon revealed on the Willows Talk podcast that his wife called him an "absolute idiot" for taking the decision to bat with the injury.
"Em (Lyon's wife, Emma) was over there with me and I said that morning ‘just so you know, I’m going to bat if required’ and she just looked at me and said 'you are an absolute idiot - I’m helping you in the shower and everything like that, you’re an idiot," he said.
Further stating that he got the green flag from head coach Andrew McDonald and the medical team following a stern refusal from skipper Pat Cummins.
"I went to the ground, spoke to the medical team in the morning, they said 'nah, you’re not batting', so I went to Pat (Cummins) and Pat said 'you’re not batting, Gaz, get it out of your head," Lyon added.
"I went to Ron (McDonald) and said 'I am batting' and he goes 'good, I’m thinking the same thing.So Andrew McDonald was the one who said yep, and I said 'I need you to talk to the medical team', so he went to talk to the medical team. I knew the risks, I couldn’t (injure) it any worse," he continued.
Given the severity of the injury, it was no surprise that Lyon was ruled out of the remainder of the series following the Lord's Test. He was replaced by Todd Murphy in the third Test at Headingley, Leeds, a formula which Australia are likely to continue with.
"I knew I was out for the next 10-12 weeks" - Nathan Lyon
Much like Graeme Smith coming out to bat with a broken arm during a Test in Sydney against Australia in 2009, Nathan Lyon also negotiated with a great deal of pain while battling against the bowlers out in the middle.
Lyon stated that since he knew his series was over, he decided to take the leap.
"If it was a minor tear, I probably wouldn’t have gone out to bat understanding we had a decent break and may have missed the third Test and be right for the fourth and fifth Tests," he said.
"But I knew I was out for the next 10-12 weeks, so I took a couple of tablets, got strapped from my knee down, couldn’t move my foot at all, and hobbled out, stood in the Long Room and waited to bat," Lyon added.
The fourth Ashes Test is slated to take place on Wednesday, July 19, at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.