"It's The Darkest I've Been Mentally": Nathan Lyon Opens Up On His Mental Struggles During Ashes 2023
Published - 12 Dec 2023, 07:10 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:23 AM
Australia spin spearhead Nathan Lyon has opened up on the mental struggle he underwent during this year’s Ashes series.
The off-spinner played in the first two games of the five-match series and helped Australia win both of them. In the first game played in Birmingham, he picked up an impressive 8 wickets as Australia beat the hosts by 2 runs to take the lead in the series. In the second game, he could bowl just 13 overs and picked up 1 wicket before being sidelined with a calf injury.
Australia had gone on to win the game. It was the first major injury of his Test career that saw him miss a Test for his team after playing 100 Tests in a row. His absence turned out to be a huge blow for Australia as they lost two of the last three Tests and the five-match series ended in a draw.
And as his team was struggling on the field, Nathan Lyon was finding it tough to deal with it mentally. Nathan Lyon has revealed that he was battling depression as he wrestled with the knowledge that he could well have been the key to ensuring his team’s first series win in England since 2001.
“It sounds arrogant, but I’m extremely confident in my skillset,” the 36-year-old explained, as quoted by DailyMail.
“I feel like if I was there for the remainder of that Test series, I feel like the results would have been totally different. I was able to watch it [the remaining Tests]. Was I a very good person to be around while I was watching it? Probably not.
“It’s the darkest I’ve been mentally, especially in and around sport and cricket,” he added.
Nathan Lyon on the verge of a major milestone:
Nathan Lyon will make his comeback in international cricket later this week when Australia take on Pakistan in the first Test, scheduled to begin on Thursday (December 14) in Perth.
The spinner will have the opportunity to become just the third Australian after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath to reach the 500-wicket mark in Tests, He needs only 4 wickets to enter the 500-wicket club.
