Lyon suffers mild concussion but hopeful for New South Wales' opening Shield game

Australia offspinner Nathan Lyon suffered a mild concussion while fielding during a New South Wales intra-squad match in Sydney on Tuesday, but is expected to be available for their opening Sheffield Shield match against Victoria on October 27 at Drummoyne Oval.

Lyon knocked his head while fielding on the opening day of a three-day trial game at Hurstville Oval. He bowled 20 overs and took 1 for 79 on the day but is understood to have woken up with a headache on Wednesday morning and will sit out of the remainder of the three-day game as a precaution.

Cricket Australia has announced the next set of Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup fixtures with the New South Wales and Victoria border finally opening on Wednesday.

The two teams will play against each other in back-to-back Shield matches on October 27 at Drummoyne Oval in Sydney and on November 5 at the MCG. They will also play a Marsh Cup game on November 12 at the MCG.

Lyon and other Australia Test hopefuls such as Sean Abbott, Moises Henriques, Marcus Harris and James Pattinson are set to be available for at least the two Shield games but any Test squad member will then need to do 14 days quarantine in Queensland before the first Ashes Test against England.

There is no word yet on whether Will Pucovski will be available for Victoria after suffering a concussion last week.

Meanwhile, Queensland will finally get to return home after the Western Australia government re-opened the border to Queensland following last month's Covid outbreak in Brisbane. Tasmania and WA will travel to Queensland for Shield and Marsh Cup games in Townsville and Brisbane respectively.

WA will host South Australia before that at the WACA in Perth. There are still plans for a third Sheffield Shield fixture between NSW and Victoria to be scheduled before the BBL starts in December but it is yet to be finalised.

Marsh Sheffield Shield
Oct 27-30: Western Australia vs South Australia - WACA Ground
Oct 27-30: Queensland vs Tasmania - Riverway Stadium, Townsville
Oct 27-30: New South Wales vs Victoria - Drummoyne Oval
Nov 5-8: Victoria vs New South Wales - Melbourne Cricket Ground
Nov 10-13: Queensland vs Western Australia - Gabba
Nov 10-13: Tasmania vs South Australia - Blundstone Arena

Marsh One-Day Cup
Oct 25: Western Australia vs South Australia - WACA Ground
Nov 1: Queensland vs Tasmania - Riverway Stadium, Townsville
Nov 12: Victoria vs New South Wales - MCG (Day/Night)
Nov 15: Queensland vs Western Australia - Gabba (Day/Night)