Nathan Lyon reveals cheeky dig from umpire Marais Erasmus throughout nervy closing moments of Ashes opener

By India Today Sports Desk: Australia eked out an unimaginable 2-wicket victory within the opening Test match of the Ashes 2023. Playing for the primary time towards Ben Stokes’ England, Australia put collectively an unimaginable 55-run partnership for the eighth wicket to eke out a victory from the jaws of defeat. While Australia captain Pat Cummins remained not out at 44 off 73 balls, Nathan Lyon performed second fiddle hitting 16* off 28 balls.

Ahead of the second Test match at Lord’s, Lyon revealed a hilarious story from the nervy moments of ultimate day of the Edgbaston Test match. Speaking to the Australian media, Lyon stated that umpire Marais Erasmus tried to lighten the temper by taking a dig at him. Erasmus reminded Lyon of the Headingley Test match from 2019, the place Lyon’s missed runout led to England’s well-known victory at Leeds.

“Marais, the umpire, said, ‘Oh, this will be a bit similar to Headingley.’ And I said, Yeah, thanks Marais, one way to calm my nerves,” Lyon laughed whereas recalling the story.

The veteran spinner, one of many greats of Australian cricket lauded Pat Cummins for dealing with the strain and stated that they tried to lighten one another’s temper through the chase within the closing innings.

“Pat and I didn’t talk about it. Pat was really calm. Every time us bowlers tend to bat. We try and lighten each other’s mood a little bit, try and get us to smile and relax a little bit. Pat played a pretty amazing role just with me personally,” Lyon stated.

In case Lyon is chosen for the Lord’s Test match, will probably be his one centesimal consecutive sport within the longest format. England have already introduced their line-up for the Lord’s Test match and have determined to go along with a all-pace bowling assault.