Nathan Lyon has railed against the suggestion that he tried to take advantage of the concussion sub rule by coming out to bat with an injured calf against England in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

Lyon received a standing ovation as he limped out to bat, despite a significant calf injury he had sustained earlier in the game. The blow may yet rule Lyon out of the remainder of the series, but he stuck around with Mitchell Starc to add 15 runs for the last wicket.

Cricket’s rules only allow full substitutions in specific circumstances – if a player returns a positive Covid-19 test, or if a player is concussed. With Lyon’s injury neither of those, Australia were left short, with his absence especially glaring given they would be without a frontline spinner in the fourth innings.

Given that, there were suggestions from some that Lyon might attempt to get hit on the head, in order to utilise the concussion sub rule and allow Australia to bring in a fully fit spin bowler. Kevin Pietersen, on Sky Sports coverage, was one of the most prominent voices to air the theory. “Imagine if he (Lyon) had been hit on the head and got concussion, he’d have got a like-for-like replacement and a world-class spinner (Murphy), based on how he performed in India, it gives food for thought,” Pietersen said.

Lyon has come out strongly against that school of thought, raising the poignant example of Philip Hughes, the Australia batter who died after being struck by a bouncer during a 2014 Sheffield Shield game.

“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,” he said. “I think that’s a really poor excuse or conversation being had, if I’m being honest with you.”

Lyon also disagreed with the idea that substitutes should be allowed more widely in cricket. “Injuries are part of the game unfortunately, and I’m now experiencing that but no, I don’t think [substitutes should be allowed] for soft-tissue injuries or anything like that,” he said. “But for Covid or concussion, yeah, definitely because that’s obviously a pretty big risk. So I’m happy for that. But any other injuries? No. That’s my opinion.”

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