Last Update on: August 22nd, 2023 at 10:55 am
Australian batter Steve Smith has been ruled out of the upcoming limited-overs series against South Africa due to a tendon injury in his left wrist. Steve Smith revealed that he sustained the injury during the second Test of the 2023 Ashes series at Lord’s in London.
Steve Smith played the final three matches of the Ashes series despite sustaining the injury. The right-handed batter is expected to be sidelined for at least four weeks. He might make his international cricket comeback during the ODI series against India next month.
I Did It At Lord’s – Steve Smith
Steve Smith said that he sustained the injury while fielding during the Lord’s Test, but the severity of the injury became apparent while training in Sydney for the South Africa tour.
“I did it at Lord’s. I don’t actually know the moment, it was when we were in the field. It wasn’t until that night I was like, ‘geez, what have I done here, it’s a bit sore’,” Smith told Fox Sports.
“I played the next game and then I had a cortisone [injection] before Old Trafford. I got back [to Australia] and I was like, ‘[It’s] still not quite right. I still can’t do a lot of things properly.’ I had another scan. There was a small tear in the tendon as well as a couple of other things.”
Australia started the Ashes series on a high note with back-to-back wins. However, they failed to continue the momentum and lost two of the remaining three games. They missed the opportunity to win their first Test series in England after 21 years.
Chief selector George Bailey recently stated that Steve Smith will open the innings in T20I matches, following his impressive performances as an opener for the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League (BBL) in 2022.
He Said I’d Get More Opportunities – Steve Smith
The 34-year-old mentioned that Australian coach Andrew McDonald had assured him of opportunities in the shorter format of the game.
“I did speak to [Australian coach] Andrew McDonald about it. He said I’d get more opportunities somewhere to press my case. It’s kind of the dream job. Everyone wants to open the batting in T20s,” he further added.
“There’s not much accountability there, you just sort of go out there and play. You’ve got two fielders out for the first six overs, and if you get going then you’re already in when the field goes out, so it’s a nice time to bat,” he concluded.
Cricket Australia (CA) recently announced replacements for Steve Smith in Australia’s white-ball squad for the South Africa tour. Marnus Labuschagne replaced Smith in the ODI squad, while Ashton Turner was named in the T20I squad.
