Nathan Lyon says ‘he thought the vast majority of England hates me’ earlier than his standing ovation at Lord’s… however the Australian off-spinner nonetheless goals an Ashes swipe

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has fired an early salvo forward of the 2025-26 Ashes by claiming his workforce would have overwhelmed England 4-0 final summer season had he not torn a calf muscle in the course of the second Check at Lord’s.

The Aussies received that recreation to maneuver 2-0 up, earlier than Ben Stokes’s Bazballers fought again in Lyon’s absence to degree the sequence at 2-2. 

Had rain not ruined the final two days of the fourth Check in Manchester, England would possibly even have regained the urn.

However Lyon, who’s again in England this summer season enjoying for Lancashire, mentioned: ‘I do imagine if I used to be right here it could have been 4-0 to Australia.’

Earlier than his sequence was over, nevertheless, he hobbled out to bat, incomes an ovation from the Lord’s crowd that decreased his spouse, Emma, and her mother and father to tears.

Lyon performed by the ache barrier and earned an ovation from the Lord’s crowd final 12 months

‘I in all probability didn’t perceive the extent of respect that was proven there after which,’ he instructed the BBC. ‘That’s one thing that I’m grateful to have the ability to look again on. I at all times thought the vast majority of England hates me.’

He additionally mentioned England didn’t have a monopoly on the Bazball model of cricket that emerged after Stokes took over the captaincy in 2022.

‘I simply really feel like we’ve been enjoying entertaining cricket for a lot of years now,’ mentioned Lyon. ‘We simply don’t have to name it a reputation to justify it. I’ve seen David Warner rating centuries in a session properly and really earlier than Bazball was invented.

‘It’s as much as them to maintain doing it now. They’ve actually acquired to go at six runs an over in any other case they’re not enjoying Bazball. For those who’re going to speak about it, you’ve acquired to do it.’

Worcestershire’s gamers will put on the No 33 on their shirts for the remainder of the season as a tribute to their former team-mate Josh Baker, who died tragically final week on the age of 20.

The membership’s chief government, Ashley Giles, mentioned: ‘Sporting Josh’s quantity on their shirts is a method for the workforce, and all concerned with Worcestershire cricket, to pay tribute to his reminiscence and hold his spirit alive on the sphere.’