‘Mate, don’t give up on it’ - Steve Waugh reveals motivational message to Nathan Lyon post calf injury

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh revealed that he wanted Nathan Lyon to stick around in the ongoing Ashes 2023 and, if possible, play the fifth and final Test at Kennington Oval. Notably, after playing 100 consecutive Test matches for Australia, Lyon suffered an unfortunate injury in his calf muscle while fielding, and it led to him getting ruled out of the marquee series.

The Pat Cummins-led side has suffered the consequences of him not being in the mix in the third and the ongoing fourth Test in Manchester. In Edgbaston, Todd Murphy replaced Lyon in the playing XI, but the cricketer could not make any sort of impact, and thus, the visiting team decided not to play any specialist spinner in the fourth Test. That has already made a difference, as England are all over Australia in the fourth Test.

Thus, Waugh wanted Lyon to fight in order to make a comeback but also understood that it is a lot tougher for a bowler to make a quick return after a calf injury. The former cricketer also pointed out that the physios these days don’t really allow cricketers to play through an injury like it used to happen during his playing days.

“I actually sent Nathan Lyon a message after he did his calf. I said, ‘Mate, don’t give up on it, you’ve got 18 days, you might be able to get back for the last Test match’. But obviously being a bowler it’s harder than a batsman. I sort of bluffed my way through that last Test match and did it more on willpower and knowing that I didn’t have another Test match for about six weeks after. Which I needed because I got a DVT (deep vein thrombosis) on the way home on the plane so I had to get some injections for the next six weeks.

“It was just one of those things. Back in our era we had more opportunity to play through injury. The physio trusted you and knew what your pain tolerance was and what you could get through,” Waugh said on SENQ Breakfast.

Meanwhile, even though Australia are currently leading 2-1 in the ongoing series, there’s immense pressure on them. England are fighting back strong, and thus, the visiting team should be cautious of their approach.