Australia achieved a remarkable 2-wicket victory in the opening Test match of the Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston against England. It was their first encounter against Ben Stokes‘ England, and the Aussies managed to forge a remarkable 55-run partnership for the 9th wicket to snatch victory from the brink of defeat. Australia’s captain Pat Cummins remained unbeaten on 44 off 73 balls, while Nathan Lyon played a supporting role with an unbeaten 16 off 28 balls.
It was a thrilling contest that witnessed intense battles between the two teams over the course of five days. The match had its fair share of twists and turns, particularly during the last day, which added to the excitement and drama.
Meanwhile, speaking to the Australian media on the eve of the second Test, Lyon shared a funny incident from the tense final day of the Edgbaston Test. According to the veteran off-spinner, umpire Marais Erasmus lightened the mood by jokingly reminding him of the Headingley Test from 2019 Ashes.
“Marais, the umpire, said, ‘Oh, this will be a bit similar to Headingley.’ And I said, Yeah, thanks Marais, one way to calm my nerves,” the 35-year-old said.
During the 2019 Ashes, England’s current Test captain Stokes played a heroic innings to secure a stunning victory for his team in the third Test at Leeds. Chasing 359 runs on the final day, Australia were reduced to 9/286 at one stage. Stokes then played an unbeaten knock of 135, leading England to a remarkable one-wicket win. Lyon’s missed the runout opportunity of Stokes in the match that had contributed to England’s dramatic one-wicket victory.
Lyon also lauded skipper Cummins for handling the pressure and said that they tried to lighten each other’s mood during the chase in the final innings.
“Pat and I didn’t talk about it. Pat was really calm. Every time us bowlers tend to bat. We try and lighten each other’s mood a little bit, try and get us to smile and relax a little bit. Pat played a pretty amazing role just with me personally,” Lyon said.
Lyon is set to play his 100th consecutive Test match if he is selected for the Lord’s Test. On the other hand, England has announced an all-pace bowling attack for the upcoming match at Lord’s.
