Steve Smith on Lord’s & WTC Final Loss | Cricket News
- Australian cricketer Steve Smith is hopeful he can play in the upcoming three-match Test series against the West Indies, despite dislocating his right little finger.
- Smith, 36, underwent an X-ray at a local hospital after injuring his finger attempting a catch on Day Three.
- "I will be in a splint for eight weeks now and I might potentially be able to play with it in a couple of weeks," Smith said.
Steve Smith is battling a finger injury sustained during the ICC World Test championship Final, putting his appearance in the upcoming west Indies Test series in doubt. Despite dislocating his finger at Lord’s, smith is surprisingly optimistic, avoiding surgery but facing an eight-week recovery with a splint or potential return in weeks. The injury occurred while attempting a catch, adding to Smith’s “love/hate relationship” with the location. News Directory 3 provides coverage of the whole event and the overall impact of the loss against South Africa’s Temba Bavuma. Will the primary role of this key player allow him to participate? Discover what’s next for the australian cricket star, and the secondary keyword, what is the plan?
Smith optimistic about West Indies Test series despite finger injury
Updated June 15, 2024
Australian cricketer Steve Smith is hopeful he can play in the upcoming three-match Test series against the West Indies, despite dislocating his right little finger. The injury occurred during the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia at Lord’s.
Smith, 36, underwent an X-ray at a local hospital after injuring his finger attempting a catch on Day Three. Doctors say he avoided surgery. He will wear a splint for eight weeks but could return to play sooner.
“I will be in a splint for eight weeks now and I might potentially be able to play with it in a couple of weeks,” Smith said. “It will depend on my functionality and what I am able to do, so it was probably the best result I could have hoped for.”
The injury happened when South Africa captain temba Bavuma edged a ball off Mitchell starc’s bowling. Smith, positioned at wide first slip, couldn’t hold the catch when Bavuma had two runs. Bavuma went on to score 66 runs.
“I was standing pretty close with the helmet on and as we saw throughout the game, a lot of nicks went short of first and second slip,” Smith explained.”The plan was to stand pretty close and I lost sight of it with the angle that Mitchell Starc was bowling and it kind of went inside Bavuma’s hip and I didn’t quite see it until really late and it kind of dipped on me a little bit late too as well. It was tricky,it didn’t go in my hand very well and fortunately there is no break there and it just split the skin and dislocated it which made me feel pretty ill at that stage.”
Smith admitted mixed feelings about Lord’s, recalling being hit in the head by Jofra Archer in 2019.
“I have a love/hate relationship with this place now,” Smith said. “I have had some good memories here and some not so good ones as well. Getting hit in the head by Jofra (Archer) in 2019 and now having my digit knocked off out here yesterday as well. But it’s a wonderful place to play cricket and I have enjoyed it here and it was a real good game of cricket again.”
What’s next
The Test series between Australia and West Indies is scheduled to begin June 25. Smith’s participation depends on his recovery.