The second Test match between England and Australia is interestingly poised at the moment with the hosts responding strongly to Australia's 416 runs in the first innings. England ended day 2 at 278/4 only 138 runs adrift. While the visitors did pull things back in the final session thanks to the bouncer barrage, Australia are sweating on Nathan Lyon's injury who pulled his calf while attempting a catch.
He didn't return to bowl for the rest of the day and Steve Smith also provided a concerning update regarding the off-spinner. Lyon also seems to have been ruled out of the rest of the Lord's Test at least. "I haven't been up in the sheds yet, but obviously it didn't look good. It doesn't look ideal for the rest of the game. I'm not sure how he actually is. But obviously if he's no good, it's a big loss for us," Smith said after the end of day's play.
This was the milestone match for Nathan Lyon as he was playing his 100th consecutive Test match becoming only seventh player in history and third from Australia to do so. Lyon had also bowled well until then conceding only 35 runs in 13 overs. Generally, calf injury takes around two months to recover completely and so, if Lyon gets ruled out of the rest of the series, then Australia could be in a fix.
Todd Murphy is the only other spinner in the Australia squad who can replace Nathan Lyon in the last three Tests. Australia might announce a replacement for Lyon but Murphy is the prime candidate to replace the veteran. The off-spinner did well on the India tour earlier this year picking up a total 14 wickets in the series including a seven-wicket haul. However, it remains to be seen if Murphy will be able to make an impact like Lyon.
