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Nathan Lyon has been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series, with Todd Murphy to replace the injured spinner at Headingley.
Lyon was on Sunday night given the news he would not return for any of the final three Tests, with medical staff confirming the 35-year-old had suffered a badly torn calf.
It means the offspinner’s run of 100 straight Test matches is over, leaving Murphy to step in as chief tweaker after 10 years of Lyon holding the role.
Murphy’s inclusion could be one of multiple changes for Australia at Leeds, given the short turnaround after the tourists sent down 81.3 fourth-innings overs in their 43-run win at Lord’s.
One option had included Australia going without a frontline spinner and banking on part-timer Travis Head at Headingley, allowing for four quicks and allrounder Cameron Green to play.
Nathan Lyon is checked on by Joe Root. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
But coach Andrew McDonald indicated Murphy would take to the field.
“Todd is pretty well placed,” McDonald said. “We like to have a spinner in our attack, it’s a different balance.
“As you saw (at Lord’s), at certain times we had to do it differently without Nathan Lyon down the other end which we’ve been so used to. At times it looked a bit chaotic. We do like to have that spin option in the attack.”
Murphy’s place is further shored up by the fact Australia opted not to include another spinner in their squad.
Matt Renshaw has been released from squad duties given the form of Australia’s openers, however he will remain in England as a reserve player in case of injury. The selectors have more to consider for Headingley.
Mitchell Starc proved his value after being recalled for Lord’s, producing one of the balls of the series so far in the first innings to draw Ben Stokes’ edge.
He bettered that delivery in the second innings, when he swung one back through Ollie Pope’s bat and pad to knock middle stump out of the ground, delivering an early blow to the hosts’ chase of 371.
Starc missed the first Test at Edgbaston, but would be confident of playing at Headingley after his pace lent extra fire to Australia’s short-pitched approach.
Pat Cummins is all but certain to play as captain, leaving selectors to decide between picking Josh Hazlewood for a third straight Test or returning a fresh Scott Boland to the team.
“We’ll assess where everyone’s at and assess the surface and weather conditions up there,” McDonald said.
“To see (Starc)’s impact with the new ball … (he and Cummins) gave us a really good start early (in the fourth innings). Four down really put (England) on the back foot.
“It’s promising signs for Starcy but we feel as though we have a really good collective to get through the series.”
© AAP
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