Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon has hit back at former England batter Kevin Pietersen for suggesting the injured spinner only batted to be hit in the head and eligible for a concussion substitute.
In what the UK Telegraph described as a “masochistic cameo”, Lyon hobbled to the crease for a 15-run partnership with Mitchell Starc. Lyon even struck a boundary before he was eventually caught by Ben Stokes as Australia were bowled out for 279.
He requires crutches to walk while off the field, and often used his bat as a walking stick while in the middle.
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Under the rules, teams are allowed to make a like-for-like substitution if a player shows symptoms of a concussion from a blow sustained in the match – which Pietersen pointed out in commentary.
“Imagine if he (Lyon) had been hit on the head and got concussion,” Pietersen said.
“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.”
It was under this rule Marnus Labuschagne made his first appearance in a Test match, batting for Steve Smith in the second Test of the 2019 Ashes series, also held at Lord’s.
But Lyon, who was on the field the day Phil Hughes was fatally struck by a bouncer in a Sheffield Shield match in 2014, slammed the suggestions.
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“I have heard comments that people thought I went out there to get hit in the head … I’m really against that because I’ve lost one of my mates due to being hit in the head,” he said in reference to Hughes.
“I think that’s a really poor excuse or conversation being had.”
The calf injury is almost certain to rule Lyon out of the remainder of the Ashes series.
“It’s been a lot more down than up,” he said of his past two days at Lord’s.
“I have been absolutely shattered. I have been in tears, I have been upset, I have been hurting. That shows this team means everything to me.
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“And I will start this rehab journey now to get back and play my role and keep loving what I am able to do.”
“This is a little bump in the road. I can learn from it and get better. But right now, I am pretty shattered.”
Play will get underway on day five with England 4-114 still requiring 257 for victory.
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