Adelaide, Dec 17 (IANS) Australia batter Steve Smith has been ruled out of the third Ashes Test 20 minutes before the toss with a potential ‘vestibular issue’.

Smith’s last-minute withdrawal sees veteran batter Usman Khawaja returning to the line-up and scored 82 runs while batting at No.4 position.

“Steve Smith was ruled out of the third Ashes Test in Adelaide today. Over the past few days he has been feeling unwell, with symptoms including nausea and dizziness,” a Cricket Australia said in a statement.

“He was assessed and monitored closely and was close to being available to play. However, given the persistence of symptoms, a decision was made not to proceed.

“He is being treated for a potential vestibular issue. This is something Steve has experienced intermittently in the past and is being managed accordingly. He is expected to be available for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne,” it added.

The stand-in captain for the first two Tests of this summer’s Ashes has suffered nausea and dizziness symptoms and missed training on Monday but returned to bat in the Adelaide Oval nets on Tuesday morning.

He had a brief fitness test on Wednesday morning in the nets but was seen having intense dialogue with Andrew McDonald and Pat Cummins on Wednesday morning, where the trio made a final call on his availability.

“He came and gave it a crack this morning but didn’t think he was going to get up for this one so he has headed off home,” captain Pat Cummins said at the toss. “(We’re) pretty lucky we got someone like Usman who can step right in.”

Smith has experienced vestibular, or inner ear, issues before. He missed a World Cup match against Afghanistan in 2023 with similar symptoms.

Coming to the match, Australia are currently reeling at 185/5.

–IANS

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