Australian officials are confident Steve Smith will recover from a concussion suffered on Sunday night to take his place on the tour of Pakistan.
A spectacular near-save from Smith on the boundary during Sunday night’s Super Over thriller against Sri Lanka ended with his head hitting the ground and he will miss the remainder of the five-match T20 International series.
The 32-year-old is now subject to low level protocols in coming days and is expected to make a full rxjmtzywecovery in the next six to seven days.
But team officials will be cautious with Smith given it’s his third concussion in recent times, his first coming when he was subbed out of the Ashes Test at Lord’s in 2019 after being hit by England’s Jofra Archer.
The blow forced him to miss the following Test at Headingley and Smith then suffered another knock upon his return to the UK for a limited-overs tour in 2020, missing the entire ODI series against England having been struck while batting in the Old Trafford practice nets.
Smith also revealed last summer that he nearly missed an ODI against India after suffering from vertigo and vomiting due to the formation of small crystals known as “ear rocks”.
The accident at the SCG was also an unpleasant reminder of the dangers concussion present in modern cricket, coming the day after Victorian youngster Will Pucovski was subbed out of his return Sheffield Shield match, with his playing future under a cloud.
Smith threw himself into the air to try to stop a six, launching the ball back into play but failing to prevent the six with his one-handed mid-air attempt.
Replays showed his foot just touching the padding as Smith leapt full-stretch into the air and across the rope.
Concern quickly turned to Smith’s welfare as he lay prone on the ground after his head rebounded heavily with the turf.
“(It all happened) pretty quickly when we were out there on the field,“ said player of the match Josh Hazlewood after taking 4-26 from his five overs, including a crucial 1-4 in the Super Over.
“I guess when anyone dives and doesn’t get up straight away, there is always a bit of concern. Good to see him walking around now and that he made his way off the field.”
Team management confirmed that Smith was moving around the dressing room during the Super Over for both teams and watched the final few overs from the Australian dressing room.
The T20 series now heads to Canberra‘s Manuka Oval on Tuesday with the chance for Australia to wrap it up, with two from two at the SCG, on Friday and Sunday.
