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It was Nathan Lyon\u2019s wife Emma who told him that he was reputedly one of a quartet of senior Australian players making their last bow this summer.<\/p>\n
Channel Seven\u2019s advert for the home Test series against Pakistan, aired during the AFL grand final, suggested this would be the last chance to see Lyon, David Warner, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja.<\/p>\n
For Lyon, just recovered from a serious calf tear that cost him the last three Tests of the Ashes series earlier this year, the angle came as something of a shock. Having felt extremely down as he watched the remainder of the series from home, he is intent on carrying on until the next tours of India and England in 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was very surprised,\u201d Lyon told this masthead, stifling a laugh. \u201cEmma, my wife, said \u2018have you got something to tell me\u2019, to which I said \u2018no\u2019. So I couldn\u2019t believe it, but it\u2019s only promo stuff. I\u2019ve definitely reset some goals and changed the finish line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I came home I struggled a fair bit watching the guys in the last three games, just mentally. Seeing them and how the games were going and knowing you could potentially play a massive role in being the difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut being at home, watching the AFL grand final, the NRL grand final, allowing me to refresh and rehab … made me hungrier than ever before to get back. Watching those finals, seeing the jubilation of the celebrations and the heartbreak of the guys who\u2019d lost, it just reignited a little flame inside and made it burn a lot brighter.\u201d<\/p>\n
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England\u2019s players follow Nathan Lyon off the field at Lord\u2019s.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n As for Warner, the one cricketer who has<\/em> flagged this summer as the finishing line in Test cricket, Lyon was in no doubt that the left-hander deserved a final bow.<\/p>\n \u201cDavid\u2019s been incredible, and I honestly don\u2019t think the Australian public are going to realise the hole he\u2019s going to leave within the Australian Test team when the time comes for him to retire,\u201d Lyon said. \u201cHe\u2019s been an incredible player for a number of years in arguably one of the hardest jobs as a batter, opening against world-class bowlers.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d love to see Dave go out on a high, and in my opinion I think he deserves it, he deserves a Johnny Farnham farewell tour if you want to call it that. I\u2019m a big fan of the way he\u2019s gone about things, and \u2026 he\u2019s up there with the most generous people I\u2019ve ever met. That\u2019s no lie.\u201d<\/p>\n The next phase of Lyon\u2019s career has begun with a move from the Sydney Sixers to the Melbourne Renegades in the Big Bash League. On Monday he was in Sunbury, the birthplace of the Ashes urn, to unveil a mural and speak to students at Salesian College.<\/p>\n To them, he related the story of how he did not take no for an answer when he decided he wanted to bat with his blown calf on the fourth day at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cI went to Pat [Cummins] and told him I was going to bat, and he goes \u2018you\u2019re an idiot Garry, don\u2019t worry about it, you\u2019re not batting\u2019. The physio said I\u2019m an idiot, the doctor said I\u2019m an idiot, so I went to the head coach Andrew McDonald and said \u2018I want to bat\u2019. He goes \u2018good, you\u2019ll need to talk to the medical staff about how to do it\u2019,\u201d Lyon told his audience.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a heap of drugs, got strapped up from the knee down to my toes, couldn\u2019t move my foot. I knew I couldn\u2019t do it any worse, so it was like anyone else going to work, you\u2019ve had a bad day but you\u2019ve got to find a way to do it. I\u2019d do it again today or tomorrow. But it wasn\u2019t very fun though, getting hit when you\u2019re batting.\u201d<\/p>\n Lyon said the Jonny Bairstow stumping on the final day at Lord\u2019s will simply become another chapter in Ashes lore.<\/p>\n Nathan Lyon and Alex Carey combined for three stumpings.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n But he is scathing of those who used the episode to target Alex Carey, the Australian wicketkeeper on the receiving end of sustained abuse and threats for the remainder of the tour \u2013 not unlike Lyon\u2019s treatment after he missed a chance to run out Jack Leach amid Ben Stokes\u2019 2019 Headingley miracle.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt for \u2018Kez\u2019 in that I didn\u2019t really understand why the big noise about everything was aimed at him, and why he was getting attacked so much personally,\u201d Lyon said. \u201cIt\u2019s pretty disappointing as a professional athlete, the way that so many people can just feel like they\u2019ve got the right to say whatever they want.<\/p>\n \u201cI respect that everyone\u2019s got their opinion, but you don\u2019t need to verbally abuse someone. Everyone\u2019s human, everyone wants to be liked, loved or cared about, and it\u2019s not much fun being abused.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n