For Australia’s upcoming Test series in the West Indies, Smith went directly to the hospital after leaving the field due to an injury on his right little finger. He dropped a sharp chance from Temba Bavuma, which led to the injury.
The doctors cleaned and stitched the wound, then put his finger in a splint. Reports suggest he can bat if he can handle it with the splint, which he will need to wear for up to eight weeks.
However, the wound itself should heal in about two weeks. They will also need to evaluate how this affects his fielding abilities, especially in slip positions.
Australia’s first Test against the West Indies kicks off on June 25 in Barbados, which seems like a tight schedule. This will be followed by matches in Grenada and Jamaica in July.
Smith was also expected to play briefly for Washington Freedom at Major League Cricket (MLC) between the end of the WTC final and the first Test.
“He’s feeling positive,” said Pat Cummins. “It looks like it will take around 10 days to two weeks before we know more. Then maybe he can try batting with a splint and see how that goes.
It’s really just a wait-and-see situation. I would say it’s unlikely for him to play in the first Test, but we’ll take it step by step.”
Having Smith available would be a great advantage for Australia since there is some uncertainty about their top order following Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, and Cameron Green’s struggles during the World Test Championship final.
Khawaja’s struggles continued as he faced pace bowlers for the last year. Green batted for only five balls in the Test, getting out twice to Kagiso Rabada during his first time batting at No. 3. Labuschagne, who moved to open, made two starts with scores of 17 and 22 but didn’t show enough to keep his spot.
Sam Konstas is ready for a possible return, and Josh Inglis is also available as another backup batter in the current team.
