Australia National Cricket Team head coach Andrew McDonald has come up with a fresh update on the finger injury of the superstar batsman Steve Smith ahead of the second Test match against the West Indies National Cricket Team.
Andrew McDonald has also confirmed that they are planning to release the out-of-form batsman Marnus Labuschagne from the Australia Test squad.
He’ll return and I think it’s likely he’ll play – Andrew McDonald on Steve Smith
Australia won the Test series opener against West Indies in a dominating manner by 159 runs at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Steve Smith missed that match due to a finger injury, which he suffered while fielding in the slips during the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord’s, and was told by the medical staff to wear a splint for eight weeks after avoiding surgery.
The second Test between the Aussies and the Caribbean side is scheduled to start on July 3 at the National Cricket Stadium, St George’s, Grenada, and Steve Smith is likely to participate in that game.
Recently, Australia skipper Pat Cummins confirmed that Smith started practicing in the nets in New York with a tennis ball and an incredi-ball and rejoined the squad in Barbados on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Andrew McDonald said that although Smith still needs to show full fitness in the last few training sessions ahead of the second Test match, he is highly likely to return to the playing XI.
“It’s really about functionality around the finger rather than anything else. There’ll be no risk to the long-term health of that finger. He’ll return and I think it’s likely he’ll play. Leading into the next game, he’ll have the main session two days out. He’ll [also] train the day before [the match]. If that all goes well, then I’d expect Steve to resume at No. 4,” Andrew McDonald said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
We want to keep him at four and build around that – Andrew McDonald on Steve Smith
The form of the top-order Test batting unit has been a big concern for Australia, but Andrew McDonald has confirmed that Steve Smith would not move up the order and will continue to bat at No.4, replacing Josh Inglis on his return. He said:
“In terms of why we see him as No. 4, I think we’ve settled on that. We could slide him up higher if we wanted to.
“He’s been excellent at number three. But I think if you look at the last 12 months at No. 4 and his ability to stabilise that position, two down, arguably our greatest batter, we want to keep him at four and build around that rather than potentially risking too many moves in the order.”
Andrew McDonald discusses releasing Marnus Labuschagne from the squad
If Steve Smith is fully fit and available for the rest of the series against the Men In Maroon, Marnus Labuschagne, who was recently dropped from Test XI after going through a lean patch, could be released from the squad to play either for Glamorgan or in the Australia A series against Sri Lanka A in Darwin.
Andrew McDonald said that they are open to the idea of releasing Marnus Labuschagne in order to give him some game time. He stated:
“If we do have a surfeit of batters then we’ll explore match opportunities for sure. I think we’ve done that with the fast bowlers over time. We’ve sent Scott Boland back from India. So if we feel as though we’re carrying too many, we’ll look for game time. [But] it’s a long way for players to get here as well. If we release someone and then someone has to come in late, then it’s a big journey. So we’ve just got to balance that out.”
Although Marnus Labuschagne’s Test career is in jeopardy, he has been guaranteed a place in the ODI setup in the build-up to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027, confirmed Andrew McDonald.
“He’s important in our one-day structure. [With] Steve Smith’s recent retirement, Glenn Maxwell retiring as well. We don’t want to compromise one-day cricket in the build towards 2027.”