Ashes 2023: Nathan Lyon reveals fallout from Bairstow incident extended to Lord's lunchroom

Nathan Lyon has shed light on how the aftermath of Jonny Bairstow's controversial stumping incident spilled into the players' lunchroom at Lord's on the final day of the second Test. The tension escalated when Bairstow was given out just 15 minutes before the interval, resulting in heated exchanges on and off the field, with Australian players facing abuse in the Long Room as they left the pitch.

As both teams retreated to their respective dressing rooms, they found themselves face-to-face again while queuing for lunch in the shared dining area at Lord's. Lyon, who was already sidelined with a calf injury, hobbled into the lunchroom on crutches, attempting to calm the situation.

"There were a few Australian guys and a few English guys in the lunchroom, and I stood in the middle of it and tried to calm things down a little bit," said Lyon 

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Lyon firmly believed that Bairstow's dismissal was legitimate. "I was in the change room and I just erupted. I was like, 'how good. Suck eggs. That's out every day'," he expressed.

The abuse directed at the Australian players in the Long Room, particularly targeting Usman Khawaja, resulted in security being called and has led to the provisional suspension of three MCC members while the club conducts an investigation.

Lyon further shared that the situation caught everyone by surprise, stating that "everyone was gobsmacked" by how it escalated following the dismissal. He also recounted a personal encounter with a tearful spectator from inside the pavilion who approached him outside to apologise for the abuse the Australian players had endured.

"I actually had an older lady come up to me in tears, an English lady in tears from the main members' area, and she said 'I've got to go home. I just want to apologise to you Australian cricketers for the way everyone has reacted inside Lord's", Lyon said.

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"I just told her don't worry about it, we're all okay, we're not worried about getting sledged. But it hit home for me that Ashes cricket can affect so many people in different ways and just the actions of people can hit so many different people as well. It was a nice moment but an awkward moment with the lady in genuine tears about it all."

Lyon admitted he had found it tough to watch the Ashes while sidelined back in Australia and only caught glimpses of the Headingley match.

"I've had a lot of emotion around my first-ever injury and the timing of it in what was meant to be a pretty big milestone for myself," he said. "So they boys are talking that I've only played 99.5 games in a row. Pretty shattered but the guys are in decent position. I find it hard to watch Test cricket now - I've figured that out - so we'll see how we go."