‘It didn’t look good’, Steve Smith fears worst for teammate after horrible injury

It was not the best of days with the ball for them, and now an injury to one of their star bowlers must have dampened the mood further in the visiting camp.

Aussie spinner Nathan Lyon managed to injure his calf while trying to take a catch. Lyon damaged his right calf muscle while attempting to grab Ben Duckett’s lofted pull shot off Cameron Green in the 37th over of England’s innings.

The sight of Lyon holding the back of his calf and being forced to hobble off the pitch brought back memories of Glenn McGrath’s busted ankle on the eve of the second Ashes Test in the 2005 series.

It was a painful affair and the spinner was taken off the field immediately. And Australian batter Steve Smith fears it looks like the end of Lyon at least for the second Test.

Upon asked about Lyon’s injury, Smith said the severity of the injury can be big and missing Lyon will be a major setback for the team.

“Yeah, I haven’t been up in the sheds yet but obviously it didn’t look good,” Smith said.

“I mean it doesn’t look ideal for the rest of the game. I’m not sure how he actually is, but if he is no good, it is obviously a big loss for us,” he added.

Lyon made history in the Test by becoming the first frontline bowler to play consecutive 100 Tests, and it will be a shame if the 101st one doesn’t arrive, which looks very likely at the moment.

Smith, who earlier scored his 32nd Test century, reckons his team will miss Lyon’s services, but has faith in Todd Murphy, who made his debut earlier this year against India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy.

“Nathan, if he is no good, would be a huge loss. However, we have Todd Murphy waiting in the wings, who has been bowling beautifully in nets and bowled really well in India when he got his opportunity,” the Aussie continued.

After getting bundled out for 416 runs, the Aussies were put to the sword by England’s openers. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett made stormy starts as they added 91 runs for the opening wicket.

At the end of Day 2, England are 278 for 4 with Harry Brook and Ben Stokes at the crease.