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Watch: Nathan Lyon limps out to bat, receives thunderous ovation from Lord's for act of bravery; ICC shares epic post
The iconic venue, which has witnessed some of the most heroic performances in cricket history, no matter the format, beheld an act of bravery.
For a brief moment on the fourth afternoon at the Lord's, England revival on the back of the short-ball ploy and Australia falling like nine pins was all forgotten. The iconic venue, which has witnessed some of the most heroic performances in cricket history, no matter the format, beheld an act of bravery. There was a rousing reception as Nathan Lyon had walked out to bat with little to offer his team, and amid a standing ovation did he walk back when Australia's innings was restricted to 279 runs in the second innings of the second Ashes Test.
It was a dramatic collapse for the Aussies who had no answer to the short-ball barrage from the England quicks. Eight wickets fell across the first two sessions of Day 4 for just 92 runs. And just when the home team, the crowd and the commentators reckoned it was over, Lyon walked out. The Aussie great had suffered a calf injury in the first innings and saw him on crutches that very morning when he had arrived at the venue. Yet he was out there to show support towards his side and say that every run counts.
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Limping his way through to the middle and writhing in pain after every delivery he played, Lyon managed four runs in 13 balls he faced which included a 15-run stand for the last wicket alongside Mitchell Starc, a boundary against Stuart Broad and a single for his partner that saw him hop on one leg to the other end of the crease.
ICC later shared a blockbuster tweet to hail Lyon. Sharing images of his moment when he walked into the field amid the reception, ICC captioned it: “Nathan Lyon is courage personified.”
Had Lyon been allowed a runner, it would have been different for Australia, but the Playing Conditions for international cricket, set by the ICC have barred the use of runners. Effective since 2011, Playing Condition 25.5 of the ICC laws reads: “Runners shall not be permitted”.
It was probably the last of Lyon seen in the ongoing Ashes. As per the latest update from Cricket Australia, the spinner is unlikely to play any further part in the series having suffered a "significant strain" on his calf.
