Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon lashed out at Kevin Pietersen for his “concussion” comment during the fourth day of the second test in the 2023 Ashes series at the Lord’s, London. The former cricketer had opined that Australia sent Nathan Lyon to bat, despite injury, in the hope that they could get a concussion substitute if the off-spinner is hit by the bouncer.
Nathan Lyon suffered a “significant strain” to his calf during the match. He was unable to take to the field and was seen arriving at the ground on crutches. However, the veteran cricketer showed immense courage to walk out to bat in the second innings for Australia. Sharing his views on Nathan Lyon walking out to bat, Kevin Pietersen spoke about concussion. He said,
“I think (Taking) time out of the game and also eking out every single run. (But) Imagine if he (Lyon) had been hit on the head and got a concussion, he’d have got a like-for-like replacement and a world-class spinner (Todd Murphy) … it gives food for thought.
Following the fourth day’s play, Nathan Lyon responded to Kevin Pietersen’s comment. He said, “I have heard comments that people thought I went out there to get hit in the head, and I’m really against that because I’ve lost one of my mates due to being hit in the head. So I think that’s a really poor excuse or conversation being had.”
There's been tears, there's been pain, but nothing was stopping Nathan Lyon from doing everything he could to help his team #Ashes pic.twitter.com/q2ceFt0bYw
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) July 2, 2023
I’ll do anything for this team: Nathan Lyon
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon further opened up on his decision to bat despite the calf injury. He expressed that it was tough, but he knew the risks. He added that he was willing to bat for the team as every run matters a lot in cricket. Explaining his decision, Nathan Lyon said,
“I would have been timed out. The lifts here are pretty slow, so I had to go down the stairs. It was interesting being in the long room rather than the pavilion waiting to bat. It was like being in the zoo, a lot of eyes were on me watching what we were doing, and what we were talking about. But I’ll do anything for this team.”
“I knew the risks. But the way I look at it, as I said before, I’ll do anything for this team. You never know how big a 15-run partnership can be in an Ashes series. I’m proud of myself for going out there and doing that,” he added.
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