Smith Expected to Return, Boost Australia's Batting in Grenada Test

After securing a dominant victory in the first Test in Barbados within three days, Australia is poised to receive another boost with the expected return of Steve Smith for the second Test. The veteran batsman is scheduled to rejoin the squad by Sunday.

Steve Smith sidelined for the first Test due to finger injury © Getty

Captain Pat Cummins has confirmed that Smith has resumed batting practice after dislocating his finger during the World Test Championship Final. Following the final, Smith traveled to New York to continue his rehabilitation, which resulted in him missing the first Test match.

"He's had a few hits over in New York, which I think was with a tennis ball and an incredi-ball," Cummins stated after his team secured a 1-0 lead in the series. "I think his wound is looking good, so the next stage is to come over here and hit some balls in the nets. So we'll know more over the next few days."

Despite their victory, Australia's top order struggled in the first Test without Smith, especially following Marnus Labuschagne's omission. They were quickly down to 22/3 in the first innings, and in the second innings, the top four were all dismissed with only 65 runs on the board. However, Cummins emphasized that the team management will continue to support their younger batsmen.

Cummins acknowledged the challenging conditions of the wicket, noting, "You saw today how tricky a wicket that was, there weren't too many 50-run partnerships throughout the whole game. Of course, the top order would like to score some more runs." He added, "The challenge of Test cricket, especially for young players, is when you get thrown different conditions, you've got to find a way to be effective. That's the challenge for our young batting group."

The second Test match, a historic event as the first-ever Test in Grenada, is scheduled to commence on July 3.