Follow UsAustralia’s stand-in captain for the Test tour of Sri Lanka, Steven Smith was afraid that he had done serious damage to his elbow during the Big Bash League 2024-25. The 35-year-old, who will lead Australia in Pat Cummins' absence, had injured his elbow while throwing the ball from the outfield.
Smith has previously had his share of elbow injuries and, in fact, underwent surgery in 2019. It delayed his departure to Dubai for the preparation camp as he stayed behind to consult a specialist but was given the green signal on January 20.
"Straight away I thought 'oh jeez, that hurt’. That was a similar sort of feeling to when I ruptured my ligament back in 2019, so I was a little bit worried for a little bit,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Smith as saying.
“But scans showed fortunately my ligament is still intact, the one that I got repaired. I've got a little bit of muscle damage, and it's a small millimetre of the ligament on the bone that's doing something.
"It’s probably going to stop me throwing for a little while, but in terms of batting I'm pretty comfortable I'll be able to get into it and play with some tape on it."
Smith will have to restrict himself from fielding outside the inner circle during the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, starting on January 29. It won’t be too difficult considering the spin-friendly conditions in Sri Lanka, with Smith largely fielding in the slip area.
Talking about the preparations for the tour, Smith said: "I was watching a bit there and there was a lot of variation in the spin and some bounce as well.
"That's the reason we are here in Dubai, we are able to do what we want to do with these wickets, try and help guys develop game plans when it does get extreme. Guys are going to learn over this week and hold us in good stead for the tour."
Australia have already qualified for the World Test Championship final, where they will play South Africa.