Nathan Lyon has confirmed his involvement in the shocking power outages at Adelaide Oval during the second Test match between Australia and India last week.
Australia are 0-28 in 13.2 overs after India won the toss and sent them into bat in the third Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, with Usman Khawaja (19) and Nathan McSweeney (4) at the crease.
Rain threatens to ruin the rest of the first day at The Gabba, but Australia can make India pay when play resumes.
During the delay, Lyon revealed that he was behind the power outage at Adelaide Oval in the previous Test that had caused mass hysteria.
The stadium lights went out twice in quick succession, causing confusion among players and fans alike.
The incident occurred on the first night of the day-night Test as Australia’s batsmen were trying to navigate the challenging pink ball conditions.
Australian batsman Nathan McSweeney was left stunned when the floodlights went out during the second Test at Adelaide Oval.
Former Australian batsman Aaron Finch, Lyon and Channel 7 commentator James Brayshaw laugh at the player’s involvement in the power outage.
Initial speculation put the blame on power supply issues, but Lyon later admitted he inadvertently caused the disruption while looking for a practice session.
Speaking to Seven’s coverage during a rain delay at the Gabba, Lyon explained himself.
“I was actually with our assistant coach ‘Boro’ (Andre Borovec), sitting in the dark, and the security guard asked us and we said, ‘If you could turn on the lights, that would be great, I need all the help I can get.’ .’ And the next minute it went off,” he said.
According to Lyon, the security guard inadvertently pressed the wrong switch, leaving the entire stadium in darkness.
“I literally said to Boro, ‘I think you’ve flipped the wrong switch.'” “We sat there in the dark for about 15 minutes waiting to have a hit,” he said.
Channel 7 commentator James Brayshaw became nervous when he heard how Lyon had caused the lighting problem.
“You told the guy, ‘Turn on the lights on the nets so we can shoot,’ and he pressed the wrong button twice and turned off all the lights on the ground,” he said,
Lyon’s admission provided clarity amid conspiracy theories, including suggestions about renewable energy failures or unpaid electricity bills.
Adelaide Oval’s big LED floodlights went out twice because Australian assistant coach pressed the wrong switch twice
Nathan Lyon was a night watchman in Adelaide and wanted a hit on the nets, which caused the power to go out.
Adelaide Oval management dismissed these theories and attributed the event to an “internal change issue”.
South Australian Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis also confirmed the grid had no power supply issues.
“I can confirm there was no lack of power supply or availability in South Australia,” he said.
The incident added an unusual chapter to an otherwise straightforward Test, which Australia won convincingly by 10 wickets.
Lyon, who bowled just one over and faced six balls in the match, took the blame for the chin.
“I’ll take that, being blamed for someone who doesn’t know how to turn on the lights,” Lyon joked.
Despite the drama, the lights were quickly restored thanks to the stadium’s $5 million LED upgrade that was completed in 2023.
The LED system allows for instant lighting, unlike traditional systems that require time to warm up.
Lyon, who has 532 Test wickets, is inching closer to surpassing Glenn McGrath’s tally of 563 wickets to become the second highest wicket-taker in Australian Test history.