By Stabroek News
(ESPNcricinfo)- Steven Smith got creative in his recovery from the finger injury that ruled him out of the first Test against West Indies, finding a baseball batting cage in New York where he was able to face throwdowns before rejoining the squad in Barbados.
Smith suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger when he dropped Temba Bavuma at Lord鈥檚 during the World Test Championship final but, despite the gruesome nature of the injury which made Smith feel 鈥渟ick鈥 when he saw it with team-mates noting how he went pale, he avoided the need for surgery.
Given he was limited in what he could do early in the recovery, and needed to be careful how much he sweated, he opted to travel the five hours to New York where he owns an apartment.
Smith began facing tennis balls and soft cricket balls before moving to hard ones in his second session in the cage, sending the footage back to Barbados to the Australia medical staff, who were happy with his progress.
鈥淢y mate actually told me about it, which was ideal because it was pretty warm there [in New York],鈥 he said. 鈥淯nderneath this bridge there was a batting cage, and he was able to throw me a few balls there, so it was good to be in the shade, it was pretty hot there.鈥
After returning to the Caribbean, Smith had his stitches removed on Sunday and fitted with a thinner splint, which should make things easier when wearing batting gloves. He will have his first proper net against bowlers on Tuesday in Grenada, but was confident of being able to slot back into the side, which would mean Josh Inglis dropping out. 鈥淔or me, it鈥檒l just feel like training as normal, I think,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 really feel any pain or anything. [It鈥檚] just getting used to the splint on and the slight limited movement. It鈥檚 not too bad, I鈥檝e got a lot of movement there now, so that feels good. Hitting the ball felt completely fine.
鈥淔ielding some balls in front of the wicket will probably be the strangest thing for me, I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever done that in a Test match. Fielding at either probably mid-on or mid-off or fine leg, is a bit different to standing at the second or first slip.鈥
Smith watched the first Test closely and joked 鈥渢here was probably a few occasions I was happy that I wasn鈥檛 out there,鈥 given the amount the pitch was offering for the quick bowlers. He had sympathy with the challenges posed to the top order and, in a similar vein to coach Andrew McDonald, acknowledged it could take time for things to click for the likes of Sam Konstas, citing his own wait for a maiden Test century, which came in his 12th match and 23rd innings.
鈥淭hese guys are good players, there鈥檚 been a lot of talk around it but鈥 we just need to give them an opportunity,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 always come around straight away. We鈥檝e just got to give them an opportunity and let them get used to playing in these conditions and in international cricket. These guys have some really good talent and I think they have bright futures.鈥
The squad will travel to Grenada on Monday, where none of the current team has played before. The last time Australia were on the island was for a pair of ODIs in 2008. Due to the short turnaround between Tests, the incumbent fast bowlers are not expected to train much in the lead-up. Given his lack of batting in the last couple of weeks, Smith said he would likely have two sessions.
The previous Test at the National Stadium was in 2022 when England toured. It was a low-scoring affair dominated by the pace bowlers. The visitors were bundled for 120 in their second innings as West Indies clinched the series 1-0 with the medium pace of Kyle Mayers claiming 5 for 18. Anything similar will leave left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann on the sidelines again. With Josh Hazlewood taking five wickets in Barbados, it would be a very tough call for the selectors should they opt to leave out a quick at any point in the series.
West Indies鈥 former captain Kraigg Brathwaite will be playing his 100th Test, while Mitchell Starc will notch up No. 99 and could join the century club in Jamaica. Starc also needs nine more wickets to reach 400.