Steve Smith Injury Update: Likely to Miss MLC and West Indies Test Series

Steve Smith has shared a positive update after injuring his right little finger badly during the World Test Championship Final against South Africa at Lord’s. The experienced batter said he won’t need surgery, which is good news. However, he will still be out of action for some time. This means he won’t be playing in the current Major League Cricket (MLC) tournament and is also very likely to miss the upcoming Test series against the West Indies later this month.

The 36-year-old got injured on Day 3 while fielding in the slips. He was trying to catch a sharp edge from South Africa captain Temba Bavuma off Mitchell Starc’s bowling.

Smith Suffers Finger Injury After Misjudging Catch at Lord’s

Smith was fielding very close to the batter wearing a helmet because the bounce at Lord’s was unpredictable. He misjudged a low edge, couldn’t take the catch, and ended up badly dislocating his finger.

“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,” Smith said after the loss as per the ICC.

“The plan was to stand pretty close and 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 as well.”

Steve Smith Injured Again at Lord’s, to Miss West Indies Test and MLC

Smith was taken to the hospital, where doctors cleaned the wound, gave him stitches, and put his finger in a splint to keep it in place. Even though the injury looked serious, Smith said he won’t need surgery.

“I will be in a splint for eight weeks now and I may be able to play with it in a couple of weeks. “It will depend on my functionality and what I am able to do, so it was probably the best result I could have hoped for,” he revealed.

Smith has himself given a timeframe of at least two weeks, that too, considering everything goes in an ideal way for him. That means he’s bound to miss Australia’s opening match of the WTC 2025-27 cycle, which is against the West Indies. The first match will be played in Barbados on June 25, just ten days from now. Smith’s planned participation in Major League Cricket with Washington Freedom is now officially off the table as well.

Smith’s injury is another chapter in his up-and-down journey at Lord’s, a ground that’s given him both highs and lows. Back in 2019, he was hit and concussed during the Ashes here. Now, once again, he leaves the same venue, unsure about when he’ll be able to play next.

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