Rediffmail Money rediffGURUS BusinessEmail

Smith returns as Aus announce team for 2nd Test vs WI

July 03, 2025 09:08 IST
2 Minutes Read

IMAGE: 'He's ready to go, the finger held up well'. Photograph: BCCI

Australia batsman Steve Smith will return for the second test against West Indies in Grenada, replacing Josh Inglis, captain Pat Cummins confirmed on Wednesday.

Cummins said Smith had recovered sufficiently from a dislocated finger to resume his position at number four for the match starting on Thursday.

Inglis misses out after scoring five and 12 in the only change following Australia's 159-run win in the Barbados series-opener.

 

Smith dislocated his right little finger in last month's World Test Championship final and will be required to wear a splint for five weeks, Cricket Australia said.

However, the veteran came through a 30-minute batting session unscathed along with some slips catching drills.

"He's ready to go, the finger held up well," Cummins told reporters.

"He was really happy, particularly batting. Fielding, we still potentially need to manage it a little bit, so he might not be in the slips too often -- maybe for spin he'll be OK, but (for the) quicks he might need to wait another week. So you might see him running around a bit more ... probably some variation of mid-off and fine leg, (but) we'll see if he lasts a few days down at fine leg, I reckon he'll be itching to get up in the circle pretty quick," the right-arm seamer added.

The return of Smith is the only change to the Australian team that defeated the West Indies by 159 runs in the opening Test of the series, while the Caribbean side confirmed they will wait until the toss before locking in their final XI.

Australia XI: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2025 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

RELATED STORIES

WEB STORIES

International Museum Day: 11 Wonderful Indian Museums

Strawberry Honey Dessert: 5-Min Recipe

Recipe: Chicken With Olives And Lemon

VIDEOS

NewsBusinessMoviesSportsCricketGet AheadDiscussionLabsMyPageVideosCompany Email