Ashes 2023: Nathan Lyon limps off the field after suffering right calf injury

Australia were dealt with a major injury scare on Thursday when premier offspinner Nathan Lyon limped off the field while fielding during day two of the second Ashes Test against England at LordsLyon who is playing in his 100th consecutive Test was running in to take a catch of Ben Duckett off the bowling of Cameron Green in the legside after tea when he pulled up sharply while running towards the ballThe injury looked so serious that Lyon had to go off the field by taking the support of a member of the Australian team medical staff and shook off in pain while clutching the calf region of his right legA statement from Cricket Australia confirmed Lyon has suffered a right calf injury and would be further assessed after the close of dayrsquos two play A further update if available will be shared in the morning it further saidThis doesnrsquot look good This could be a big moment in the Test match in the series hellip he is pivotal in this attack former England captain Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports commentaryLyon had completed 13 overs of his offspin bowling taking the wicket of Zak Crawley while maintaining an economy rate of 269 As the Australia camp holds its breath on Lyonrsquos injury and his participation in the rest of the match as well as the series it has drawn immediate comparisons to Glenn McGraths ankle injury during the 2005 AshesMcGrath had stepped on a ball during the prematch warmup at Edgbaston resulting in a seriesending ankle injury which proved a turning point in the seriesIf you look at the teams side by side he is the major difference He gives Australia balance and is a threat no matter what the conditions It would be a massive loss for Australia Lets see but you would have thought he would play little part in the rest of this Test match at least said former England captain Andrew Strauss His former teammate Kevin Pietersen also echoed the same views You could see from the way he walked around the boundary that he had all the weight on the right side of his foot I think he has popped a calf and if you pop a calf you are not coming back from that for a whileAlso Read Are you joking Kevin Pietersen lashes out at England players for performance in Ashes 2023 second TestMeanwhile England opener Ben Duckett who made 98 feels Lyon will be a huge miss for Australia as the game progressesI think we will be happy to chase on this pitch You never wish to see someone go down but if Lyon canrsquot bowl in the second innings it is going to be a massive miss for them said DuckettThe ongoing Lords Test saw Lyon become the first specialist bowler to bring up a century of consecutive appearances in the longest format of the gameLyon who made his Test debut in July 2011 has also become only the sixth player in the history of cricket to feature in 100 consecutive Tests Other players in the list are Alastair Cook 159 Allan Border 153 Mark Waugh 107 Sunil Gavaskar 106 and Brendon McCullum 101Coincidentally Lyon has achieved this rare landmark at Lords the same venue where he was dropped in the format for the last time This was almost a decade ago during Australias tour of England for the 2013 Ashes seriesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever