Sydney, June 15 (IANS) Veteran off‑spinner Nathan Lyon declared that he is set head and heart on playing every Test match for Australia ahead of their games against Bangladesh in Darwin happening this August, following a ‘pretty traumatic’ hamstring injury requiring surgery.

Lyon, who tore his hamstring during the third Ashes Test against England in Adelaide last December, has resumed bowling at Cricket Central in Sydney after a demanding rehabilitation programme that included clocking more than 700km on a road bike.

“Yeah, 100 percent. (I’m) absolutely flying. I feel really good, really confident … very happy with the way it’s gone. 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,” Lyon told reporters on Monday.

Australia are preparing for playing nearly 21 Tests in next 12 months, starting from August this year and Lyon, who has 567 Test wickets, said selectors’ guarded comments about his future had not gone unnoticed.

“I saw George’s comments, he’s had a phone call. I have seen Andrew’s comments, he’s had a phone call. But I wouldn’t be doing all this work right now if I didn’t want to play every Test match. No one has a given right to be selected for Australia, so I know I need to make sure that I’m performing, doing all the right things. But I’m, hand on heart, set on playing every Test match I’m available for,” he added.

Cricket Australia physical performance coach Ross Herridge described the injury as severe but said Lyon was progressing well. “It was a pretty traumatic injury. He planted his right leg and then dived over that to get the ball.

“It just puts that hamstring under extreme stress and you’re having to withstand pretty high forces. We’ve got physical markers that we check along the way and there’s checkpoints to make sure it’s going well and so far he’s hit all of them.”

Lyon admitted that retirement had never crossed his mind, with the competitive fire reignited while watching rugby league’s State of Origin game, where NSW came from behind to win the match. “Seeing those guys be able to write a fairytale script for so many people in the crowd and for a professional athlete to have that ability to do that, that’s what’s really driving me at the moment.

“I was sitting there with my wife and I literally said, I’m not ready to give up this, I’m missing this right now. Honestly, I felt like, before I blew my hammy off, I was probably bowling the best I’ve bowled in about six years. Now I know what I need to do to get to that standard. I’m really excited by that challenge.”

Lyon acknowledged conditions may dictate his involvement, having been left out of pink‑ball Tests last season and overlooked at the MCG and SCG despite Todd Murphy’s call‑up and signed off by hoping the pitches in upcoming Tests would strike a fine balance.

“A number of years ago it was too batter friendly, now we’ve swung around and now we’re probably too bowler friendly. I know how hard it is to make a good wicket, so I’m not going to sit here and criticise curators. I think if we get a nice healthy middle we’ll see some really good cricket.”

–IANS

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