Steve Smith suffered a finger injury on the third Day of the WTC Final 2025.
Australia’s prime Test batter, Steve Smith, will not be able to participate in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) 2025 tournament. The 36-year-old sustained an injury to his finger while fielding in the slip cordon on the third day of the recently concluded World Test Championship (WTC) Final at Lord’s. Smith has confirmed that he would not be undergoing surgery.
The unorthodox batter was due to play a couple of games for the Washington Freedom in the American League. The franchise has played two games so far in the tournament, winning one out of them. With two points in their kitty, the team sits third on the points table. However, Smith’s inclusion could have improved things and pushed them closer to a potential qualification. With his inclusion out of the picture, Glenn Maxwell and his team will now have to find ways to keep going. In the bowling department, the franchise has announced the signing of Mark Adair as a replacement for the injured Jason Behrendorff.
Although Smith has confirmed that he will not be undergoing surgery, the injury is expected to keep him out of action for at least a couple of weeks. This means that Australia’s second-best run-scorer in the WTC is doubtful for the first Test against the West Indies on June 25. The series will mark Australia’s beginning for the 2025-2027 cycle.
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Speaking about his injury incident, the Australian expressed that he was standing very close to the batter, as part of the strategy. A lot of deliveries were landing short of the slip cordon, and the plan was to take advantage of that. He also mentioned that he would be in a splint for eight weeks, but would be able to start playing in a couple of weeks.
“I was standing pretty close with the helmet on, and as we saw throughout the game, a lot of nicks went short of first and second slip. I lost sight of it with the angle that Mitchell Starc was bowling, and it kind of went inside Bavuma’s hip, and I didn’t quite see it until really late, and it kind of dipped on me a little bit late, too”, said Smith in a statement
The Lord’s Cricket Ground has been a bittersweet venue for Smith. He is the leading run-scorer at the venue amongst overseas batters in Tests. But back in 2019, he was forced to come off the field due to a concussion after a bouncer from Jofra Archer hit him close to his neck. Once again, he leaves the same venue due to an injury that will keep him out of the game for a short period.
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