Steven Smith reveals details of wrist injury sustained during Ashes 2023

Steve Smith. (Photo by Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Ahead of the ODI World Cup, which is slated to begin on October 5, prolific batter Steven Smith has hurt his left wrist and has been ruled out of the upcoming series against South Africa. Marnus Labuschagne will be replacing him in the middle, while Smith currently requires to wear a splint for a short period of time in order to recover in time for the mega tournament.

Meanwhile, speaking about his injury, the former Australia skipper mentioned that he picked up the injury in the second Ashes at Lord’s. Despite so, he went on to play all the remaining three matches of the series. He added that he took an injection before the fourth Test at Old Trafford and was expecting to recover smoothly but things remained the same even after he came back to Australia.

“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’. 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,” Smith told Fox Cricket.

Smith talks about opening in T20I cricket

In the last edition of the Big Bash League (BBL), Smith set the tournament ablaze with his ferocious batting for Sydney Sixers. He was opening for the team and hit two centuries in just five matches and was striking at 174.14. Hence, Australia wanted to try him as an opener in South Africa, keeping the upcoming T20 World Cup next year in mind. However, due to injury, the process got delayed. The cricketer remains optimistic about a possible opportunity in the near future as he is eager to cement his place as an opener.

“I did speak to 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. 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,” Smith mentioned.