Veteran Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon shrugged off the notion of ‘Bazball’ being played by England during the two Ashes Tests he participated in earlier this year before being sidelined for the subsequent three matches due to a calf injury.
The term ‘Bazball’ emerged from the nickname ‘Baz’ associated with England’s Test coach Brendon McCullum. Lyon, reflecting on the Ashes series, expressed his satisfaction with Australia’s 2-0 lead against ‘Bazball’. “It’s not something I buy into. To me, it’s an exaggerated form of cricket that England seems to endorse. It’s even made its way into the dictionary, which I find quite extraordinary,” Lyon stated on Channel 7’s Front Bar show.
Despite the series ending in a 2-2 draw, it was overshadowed by the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow by Alex Carey during the second Test at Lord’s, sparking a debate on the ‘spirit of cricket.’
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Lyon, with 496 Test wickets for Australia, attributed the dismissal to Bairstow straying out of his crease when Carey executed the throw. “The solution is simple: stay in your crease, and you won’t face the risk of getting out.”
Reflecting on the incident while sidelined due to injury, Lyon admitted to celebrating fervently in the change rooms. “It was quite a moment. Personally, I think I celebrated more than anyone. It was quite remarkable. I’ve seldom witnessed such a reaction from a crowd.”
The aftermath of the dismissal saw unsavory scenes in Lord’s Long Room, leading to bans for several MCC members who verbally abused the Australian cricketers. Lyon found the English reaction amusing, mentioning, “We found it rather amusing. Looking at the Long Room, we joked that our odds were higher for getting sued than punched. It was a surprising reaction. After lunch, it felt like the members had been reprimanded by the headmaster, reverting to a group of school kids.”
