Ashes 2023: Nathan Lyon exclusive video reveals tailenders’ mindset during heroics at Edgbaston
Australian Ashes hero Nathan Lyon has lifted the lid on the extraordinary Edgbaston miracle in an exclusive one-on-one breakdown of the remarkable win – and how a cool-headed captain Cummins helped guide them home. WATCH THE VIDEO INSIDE.
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Nathan Lyon has lifted the lid on the moment Ben Stokes dropped the Ashes, revealing how the England captain had actually goaded him into gifting the golden chance at Edgbaston.
The stunning drop with Australia still 37 runs away from its first Test miracle in June doubled as the ultimate personal redemption story for Lyon, who four years earlier had fumbled a run-out at the climax of Stokes’ epic run-chase at Headingley.
As Lyon prepares to reach the holy grail of 500 wickets in his long-awaited comeback Test in Perth this week, the Australian great has opened up on what he describes as the “pinnacle” of his career in an exclusive two part video special about one of the most unforgettable Ashes of all time.
When Lyon walked out to join his captain Pat Cummins at the crease on the final day of the first Test at Edgbaston with Baz Ball England only needing two tail-end wickets to clinch the victory which ultimately would have won them the Ashes … a turning point four years’ in the making soon silenced the Birmingham crowd.
WATCH NATHAN LYON BREAK DOWN THE INCREDIBLE FINAL DAY AT EDGBASTON IN THE VIDEO PLAYER AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE
Lyon has now revealed the byplay that took place between he and Stokes in the lead-up to the rash pull shot off Stuart Broad which would alter history.
“Stokesy said to me, ‘are you going to take it on?’ I said, ‘oh well Stokesy, if you bring up the field I’ll take it on. How about we do a deal,’” Lyon told this masthead in an exclusive emotion-charged video where he watches his Ashes roller coaster ride back for the first time.
“Stokesy just laughed and said, ‘no that’s no deal, but still take it on.’
“And stupidly I did take it on.
“It just happened to be my luck this time around, like (the luck) he had playing incredibly well in 2019 and just how the roles were reversing a little bit.
“Now I can sit back and look at that and it was pretty special.”
Lyon had tortured himself for months, needing the help of a sports psychologist to recover from the trauma of the extraordinary hundred Stokes scored at Leeds in 2019 which is surely the greatest Test innings of all time.
In the final overs of Stokes’ 73-run final wicket stand with No. 11 Jack Leach, Lyon should have had Stokes’ lbw only for the umpire to give it not out and Australia unable to challenge having blown all its reviews.
But the ultimate devastation was the botching of a run-out chance Lyon would have completed 99 times out of 100 if given the chance.
Lyon’s extraordinary hand in Edgbaston 2023 where he scored 16 not out, including two critical boundaries, set him free from the anguish once and for all.
“The cruelty in sport, it’s real. And it happens,” Lyon said.
“But I can easily sit here and say I’ve had a lot more bad days than good days.
“So when you have days like day five Edgbaston, you’ve got to soak it up and keep living it to be honest.
“It’s probably going to go down as pinnacle of my career and something I’ll never forget, that’s for sure.”
THOUGHT PROCESS OF THE GOAT
Lyon has always been known for the nerves that overcome him before he goes out to bat, and it was no different on day five at Edgbaston.
“I was nervous before I even got on the bus,” Lyon said.
But the calming words from Cummins when he arrived at the crease following the key dismissal of Alex Carey immediately locked him in to the task at hand.
“The first thing Pat said when I ended up walking out to the middle there at Edgbaston, he goes, ‘you all good?’” Lyon recalls.
“I said, ‘yep.’ Pat goes, ‘We’ve done 50-run partnerships before so no reason why not now.’
“And he just tapped my glove and walked off.
“To hear how calm Pat was set the tone for me.”
In 2019, Steve Waugh gave Lyon advice about how to bat as a tailender and it was all about doing it in 10s.
But all that was forgotten at Edgbaston as Lyon just tried to keep telling himself one thing – especially when he started out against fellow off-spinner, Joe Root.
“I was trying to tell myself not to sweep. Because that can be my downfall quite quickly,” Lyon said.
“Trying to not think like a batter. That’s when my dismissals come when I start to think like a batter.
“Trying to not drive Stuart Broad on the up through the covers understanding I’ll get caught behind or something stupid like that.”
STOKES PULLS THE WRONG REIN
At the end of 86 overs with Australia still requiring just over 20 runs to win, England staged a conference out in the middle about who would take the second new ball.
Stokes had hesitated for ages about whether or not to take it given the opportunity the hard new rock would present for Lyon and Cummins to find the boundary.
But finally it was time to pull the trigger with Australia halving the runs’ required and now a genuine chance at victory.
Stokes decided to give the responsibility of conjuring a new ball wicket to Ollie Robinson.
Australia were stunned with his choice.
“I was pretty surprised Jimmy Anderson didn’t take the new ball,” Lyon admitted.
“Considering you’re bowling to three No. 11s. With his record, with his skill set, with the new ball, dark, late on day five – it’s pretty amazing.
“In my head I thought they would have gone Jimmy Anderson, just with his swing ability and pitched up more, understanding I’m every chance of nicking it.”
THAT BOUNDARY
The moment when Lyon and Cummins truly believed they could pull off an Ashes miracle at Edgbaston in the first Test came when the ticker came down to 7 runs to win.
Australia got to that point thanks to an elegant lofted drive over mid-on that Lyon put away for four off the bowling of England master Stuart Broad.
Short of Cummins’ boundary off Ollie Robinson to bring up the win itself, Lyon’s four was the single-most important shot in the 55-run partnership.
It crushed England, and convinced Australia this was their moment.
“There wasn’t footage of it, but I walked back and on purpose put my head right down so cameras couldn’t see, and I just tapped Pat on the gloves and said, ‘Shot Garry’, and then just kept walking past,” Lyon said.
For a bowler who has taken 496 wickets and won dozens of matches for his country, this rare moment of genius with the bat will stay with him forever.
“I think in the big scheme of things, it wasn’t planned, so yeah, it probably is the best shot I’ve ever played,” Lyon said.
“I don’t know how it happened so don’t ask me that.
“It’s just pure instinct. I never thought I would be able to hit Stuart Broad over mid-on that’s for sure.”
USMAN’S WORDS OF WISDOM
However, at least somewhere in his subconscious before pulling the trigger on Broad, Lyon recalled the sage words opener Usman Khawaja had delivered to Australia’s batsmen on the final morning of the Test about the intricacies of this Edgbaston pitch.
“Uzzie actually spoke in the morning about if you’re going to drive, it’s probably easier to go aerial than along the ground on that type of wicket at Edgbaston,” Lyon said.
“I can sit here and say I listened to him, but I definitely wasn’t thinking about hitting Stuart Broad back over his head for a couple of bounces for a boundary.”
THE NERVES
Cummins proved himself to be the ultimate ice man at Edgbaston, traits he would bring to the fore during two crucial partnerships with Glenn Maxwell during the ODI World Cup as well.
But Lyon said beneath the surface, Cummins was human.
“I couldn’t believe it. Obviously Pat is pretty intelligent. A lot more intelligent than what I am. Probably did a lot better at school than what I did,” Lyon said.
“But he’s constantly asking me how many runs do we need.
“I said, ‘Pat, are you taking the piss here or what? It’s on the scoreboard, mate.’
“That was him thinking out loud and understanding the pressure of the game and the expectation of being Australian captain and going out to win the first Test of the Ashes.”
Lyon gets emotional when talking about the moment Cummins hit the winning runs.
“That’s one of the things where you’ll get the image and put it up somewhere at home or put it in a book. It’s amazing when you see the footage,” he said.
“You see the reactions of your teammates.
“Reactions of the support staff and you see the impact on the Australian fans. It’s pretty amazing.
“To see that image of Pat and I embracing out in the middle. It’ll go down as the pinnacle of my career.”
WHAT IT MEANT IN THE DRESSING ROOM
Earlier in the year, captain Cummins flew home from the Test tour of India after two Tests and didn’t return.
His mother, Maria, was terminally ill with cancer and he returned to be with his family by her bedside.
When Cummins came off the field at Edgbaston after the finest of captain’s knocks, his father, Peter was there to greet him.
“When we walked off the field we had our family members there straight away. It was pretty amazing the embrace between Pat and his dad,” Lyon said.
“That was quite emotional to see that.
“To have our families around to take it all in, that’s why we play the game.”
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Originally published as Ashes 2023: Nathan Lyon exclusive video reveals tailenders’ mindset during heroics at Edgbaston
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