Nathan Lyon learns Ashes fate after serious calf injury at Lord's

Nathan Lyon has officially been ruled out of the remainder of the Ashes series, in a devastating but expected blow for Australia. Medical staff confirmed the 35-year-old suffered a badly torn calf on day two of Australia's ill-tempered second Test victory at Lord's, that saw them take a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series.

Pat Cummins' Aussie side now only needs to avoid defeat in one of the three remaining Tests to retain the famous Ashes urn. For the first time in 101 matches though, the Aussies will head to Headingley for the third Test - starting on Thursday - without their greatest off-spin bowler of all time.

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Lyon's stunning milestone of playing in 100 consecutive matches was ended at Lord's, with fellow off-spinner Todd Murphy to step in as chief tweaker after 10 years of Lyon holding the role. Aussie coach Andrew McDonald has all but confirmed Murphy will form part of the Aussie bowling attack for the third Test.

Murphy's inclusion could be one of multiple changes for Australia at Leeds, given the short turnaround after the tourists sent down 81.3 fourth-innings overs in their 43-run win at Lord's. Australia could go without a frontline spinner, with Travis Head filling in admirably in Lyon's absence at Lord's.

That option would allow the Aussies to take four quicks and have allrounder Cameron Green as a fifth fast-bowling option but McDonald says Lyon's spin offers Australia an important dimension. Describing some of the tactics used by his side in the field without Lyon as "chaotic", the Aussie coach indicated Murphy - who impressed on debut against India earlier this year - would be part of Australia's XI.

"Todd is pretty well placed," McDonald said. "We like to have a spinner in our attack, it's a different balance.

"As you saw (at Lord's), at certain times we had to do it differently without Nathan Lyon down the other end which we've been so used to. At times it looked a bit chaotic. We do like to have that spin option in the attack."

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As well as snapping Lyon's steak of consecutive Test matches at 100, his omission for the rest of the series also throws up the very real possibility the champion spinner has played his last Ashes Test in England. Lyon turns 36 later this year and despite showing few signs of slowing down, he'll be 39 the next time the Aussies return for an Ashes series in England.

Aussie bowling changes on the cards for third Test

Mitchell Starc proved his value after being recalled for Lord's, producing one of the balls of the series so far in the first innings to draw Ben Stokes' edge. He bettered that delivery in the second innings, when he swung one back through Ollie Pope's bat and pad to knock middle stump out of the ground, delivering an early blow to the hosts' chase of 371.

Starc missed the first Test at Edgbaston, but would be confident of playing at Headingley after his pace lent extra fire to Australia's short-pitched approach. Cummins is all but certain to play as captain, leaving selectors to decide between picking Josh Hazlewood for a third straight Test or returning a fresh Scott Boland to the team. "We'll assess where everyone's at and assess the surface and weather conditions up there," McDonald said.

"To see (Starc)'s impact with the new ball ... (he and Cummins) gave us a really good start early (in the fourth innings). Four down really put (England) on the back foot. It's promising signs for Starcy but we feel as though we have a really good collective to get through the series."

with AAP

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