'Australia would've won Ashes 2023 4-0' - Nathan Lyon makes sensational claim about demolition of Bazball

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has made a huge statement that the Baggy Greens would have actually won the 5-match Ashes Test series if he wasn't injured.

Nathan Lyon, who is Australia's second-highest wicket-taker in the longest format of the sport, had sustained an unfortunate injury after the first 2 Tests. The Aussies had won both of the games that took place in Edgbaston and Lord's. The visitors had won the 1st Test by 2 wickets and then claimed victory in the following match by 43 runs. 

Nathan Lyon issues statement against England 

While speaking to BBC Sport recently, Nathan Lyon issued a fiery statement against arch-rivals England. After being part of the wins in Edgbaston and Lord's, Lyon was sidelined from the remaining 3 Test matches itself due to the injury blow. That somehow weakened the Aussies who could not win a single match after those two wins. 

Australia were high on confidence following their maiden World Test Championship trophy win against India in the WTC 2023 final. They channeled that belief into the Ashes series and grabbed victories in both of them. 

Nathan Lyon's performance across those two Test matches was extremely crucial, especially in the 1st Test match at Edgbaston. In the 1st innings, the right-arm off-spinner had registered figures of 4/149 from 29 overs, scalping the wickets of Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali. 

Then in the 3rd innings, Nathan Lyon again picked up 4 wickets of Joe Root, Brook, Bairstow, and Ollie Robinson and conceded just 80 runs from 24 overs. He also came in handy with the bat, scoring 16 off 28 with the most important thing being the fact that he didn't lose his wicket and held himself strongly from the other end. 

Nathan Lyon watched his skipper Pat Cummins score the winning runs of the match. In the 2nd Test match, however, Lyon was not able to carry himself that well as he bowled in just one innings, picking up just one wicket. Due to his absence, the Aussies went on to lose the 3rd Test in Headingley by 3 wickets. 

In the 4th Test match at Old Trafford, the match had remained a draw and in the 5th Oval Test match, England had come out on top by 49 runs. In that context, Nathan Lyon claimed that if he had been there in the team, then the Aussies would have claimed victory in Ashes 2023 by 4-0.  "I do believe if I was here it would have been 4-0 to Australia," Lyon told BBC Sport. 

Where is Nathan Lyon right now? 

Nathan Lyon is currently playing for Lancashire in the English 2024 County Cricket season. Lyon has been part of all the matches as of now and has performed as per expectations.

His wicket-taking spree kicked off against Hampshire in the 2nd game wherein he collected 5 wickets across both innings. In the 3rd match against Essex, Lyon had figures of 2/65 and in the most recent match against Kent, the 36-year-old had picked up 3/50 and 2/48.