Last Updated on 18 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Nathan Lyon is racing the clock to be ready for the first Test against Bangladesh which begins on August 13 in Darwin. Lyon is recovering well from a serious hamstring injury suffered in December during the third Ashes Test, but still has hurdles to overcome to be ready for the opening match of the series.
Todd Murphy and Matt Kuhnemann on standby with Nathan Lyon still to prove full fitness
Earlier this month, Lyon said he is on track to be fit for the series and that he is committed to playing every Test for Australia. “Yeah, 100% [of making the Bangladesh series]. Absolutely flying. I feel really good, really confident, very happy with the way it’s gone,” he said.
“It’s been a lot of hard work; there’s no point in hiding behind that, a lot of long days and stuff, but that’s all been part of it. I’m not ready to give up this.”
However, a CODE Sports report revealed that Lyon still has fitness tests to pass. According to coach Andrew McDonald, Lyon is tracking well but has more work to do to get to the high-level running required.
“The information on Nathan’s positive at this stage, he’s still got a little bit to go, sort of at the back end of the preparation for that Test series. He seemed relatively optimistic that he’d be available,” McDonald said.
“So, we’ve got those camps coming up in July, so we’ll see him in front of us there. So at this stage, there is no news to say that he won’t be available, but he’s got a little bit to go to get up to the high speed running, to the demands of Test cricket, so we’ll just wait and see whether he can tick that off. I don’t think skill’s going to be the question with Nathan.
“I think it’s more going to be around where his body’s at and is he capable of being ready for that first Test match, and if he’s not, then there’s a lot of Test matches after that as well. So it would mean that the medical team’s made a decision that they’re respecting the surgery, and there’s a lot of Test matches after that.”
If Lyon is ruled out, either Todd Murphy or Matt Kuhnemann could make their home Test debut. Left-arm spinner Kuhnemann has taken 25 wickets in five Tests at an average of 22.20, including matchwinning performances in India and Sri Lanka. Offspinner Todd Murphy has 22 scalps in seven Tests at an average of 28.13 and is considered the frontrunner after he was selected in the squad for the final two Ashes Tests.
“Todd will be part of that (training) group, so will Matthew Kuhnemann, so he’ll be up there as well in preparation for that,” McDonald said.
Australia’s Test series against Bangladesh will be the start of a massive 12 months for the men’s team. They will embark on at least 20 Tests (21 if they reach the WTC Final) over the next year, including away tours to South Africa, India and England. With such a high workload, Australia also face the challenge of managing the fast bowlers, especially Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins who have had injury problems.
“Josh is committed to that work that’s been put in place. He’s preparing accordingly around that, so the proof will be in the pudding around whether it does assist, but once again, this feels like an out-of-season block,” McDonald said.
“It feels like the one that’s really hit us at certain times has been the entry into the Australian Test summer, so even if we do get past this one, we’ll still be making sure we’re investing the time that we need into hopefully giving Josh the best runway possible for the back end of his career.”
