Nathan Lyon has been ruled out of the Ashes in the second test match at Lord’s. Australia is 2-0 up after winning games at Edgbaston and Lord’s. Lyon, who has been ruled out of the entire series will most probably be replaced by Todd Murphy in the third test match. Interestingly, Lyon was playing his 100 consecutive test match for Australia.
Todd Murphy
Todd Murphy made his senior team debut in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. The right-arm off-spinner has played four test matches so far. He picked up 14 wickets in the four games in India. His average in the four matches has been 25.71. His only 5-wicket haul in his short first-class career came against India in his debut game at Vidarbha Cricket Stadium in Nagpur.
Murphy is quite similar to Lyon as he is also someone who can get the ball to drift and beat both edges of the bat. He made his first-class debut for Victoria in the 2020-21 season.
The 22-year-old has only played only 12 first-class matches including the four test matches in India. He has 43 wickets at an average of 26.32.
Nathan Lyon ruled out, big blow for Australia
Nathan Lyon has been Australia’s frontline bowler for a long time now. The achievement of playing 100 test matches consecutively is a testament to the fact that he will be missed in the crucial Ashes series. A big positive for Australia would be that they already have won two games in Ashes 2023. Australia needs to win one out of the remaining three games to win the Ashes or at least draw a game to retain the Ashes.
But how big much of a big miss would be Nathan Lyon?
In 30 Ashes matches, the Australian veteran spinner has picked up 110 wickets. His bowling performances have often helped the Australian team to win matches. Even in England where the conditions are in the favour of fast bowlers, Lyon has picked up 54 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 31.24. With England continuing to play test cricket with the ‘Bazball’ approach, Lyon’s immense control over his line and length is something that the Pat Cummins-led side would miss the most.
Can Todd Murphy replace Lyon?
With the little test cricket Murphy has played he has impressed a lot of experts. One can draw a lot of similarities between him and Lyon. Murphy’s whole test career of four matches has been in India, a place where conditions favour spinners a lot. Australia would hope that he is able to bowl with similar control as he did in India. On the other hand, England would be delighted with a relatively inexperienced bowler playing. The Bazball approach would mean that they attack the young spinner. With the conditions suiting fast bowlers, Murphy for the Australian side will play the role of holding one end while fast bowlers are brought on rotation from the other end. However, Murphy won’t be the lone spinner in the attack. Australia would bank on Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne and even Steve Smith if a need arises. The match at Headingley would be special for Smith as well who will be playing his 100th game in the red ball format for Australia.
Also Read: World Cup 2023: How does the schedule benefit India?
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