He will remain with the squad and will continue to train but he will need a minimum of seven days, and possibly longer, for the wound to heal. That likely rules him out of the first ODI in Pallekele next Tuesday. Australia will likely be cautious with Starc as he will be a key cog in the Test attack later in the month after starring on his last Test tour of Sri Lanka.
Australia to persist with Smith in T20I squad
Australia will persist with Smith in the T20I squad, believing they can unlock the Test star’s true potential in the shortest format of the game.
The 33-year-old’s position in the middle-order has come into question after a prolonged slump in T20Is. Smith’s last T20I half-century for Australia came back in November 2019 and he was barely needed during the run to last year’s drought-breaking World Cup title as Mitchell Marsh and Matthew Wade were the batting heroes.
The former Australia captain averages 25.45 at a strike-rate of 125.31 from 56 matches in T20Is. Since the start of 2020 his strike-rate has dropped to 119.39 across 16 innings and he has only struck above 130 in five innings in that period.
Smith was not required to bat in game one against Sri Lanka but he unsuccessfully challenged an lbw decision on Wednesday night and was out for 5 off 4 deliveries.
“Recent history, we’ve used (Smith) in a different way throughout our middle order, where people have batted around him,” Di Venuto said. “We know his skill level, we know his talent so we’re pretty keen to unlock him as a T20 cricketer and just let him go about his business and show us how good he is.
“If he was playing BBL cricket, he would dominate that competition. Unfortunately, a lot of our best players don’t play that competition because they play Test matches. Steven’s had good success in the IPL in years gone past.
“The skill level is exceptionally high, we’re hoping to unlock him during this period. We’ve got plenty of games leading into the World Cup so hopefully we see the best of Steve Smith.”
Di Venuto said Inglis could not be working harder to earn a recall but will have to bide his time for now.
“We’ve got very good players in our batting order and it’s a hard order to break into,” Di Venuto said. “He’s doing all the work behind the scenes, he’s a very valued member of this squad and waiting for his next chance.”