Barbados, June 30 (IANS) Australia batter Steve Smith is confident he will be fit to return from injury for the second Test against the West Indies in Grenada after he ventured to a baseball field for his first hit since suffering the injury in the World Test Championship final.

Smith suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger attempting a catch at Lord’s during the World Test Championship final and the 36-year-old was lucky to have avoided surgery.

The veteran batter, who missed the opening Test of the ongoing three-match series against the Caribbean side with the finger injury, has recently had his stitches removed from the affected area and joined up with his teammates in the Caribbean on Sunday. Smith is expected to take part in full practice on Tuesday in an attempt to return to the side that won the opening Test against the West Indies by 159 runs.

“Underneath this bridge there was a batting cage. It was ideal because it was pretty warm, like 36C… so it was good to be in the shade. My mate actually told me about it, and he was able to throw me a few balls therem” Smith told reporters after rejoining the Test squad in Barbados, as quoted by cricket.com.au.

“I had a couple of bats last week with some tennis balls and incredi-balls the first day and then some cricket balls the next day. Everything felt good; it was with a slightly bigger splint than this one as well, so it was probably a little bit trickier getting my hand in the glove. But I just got my stitches out and I’ve got a smaller splint on now, so it’ll be easier getting my hand in the glove.

The Test squad arrives in Grenada later on Monday, where Smith will need to prove his fitness at training on Tuesday, but coach Andrew McDonald already considers him a likely inclusion for Thursday’s second Test.

“I don’t really feel any pain or anything. (It’s) just getting used to the splint on and the slight limited movement. It’s not too bad, I’ve got a lot of movement there now, so that feels good. Hitting the ball felt completely fine.

“Fielding some balls in front of the wicket will probably be the strangest thing for me, I don’t think I’ve ever done that in a Test match. Fielding at either probably mid-on or mid-off or fine leg, is a bit different to standing at the second or first slip,” he said.

McDonald said if Smith was declared fit for the second Test there would be no risk of long-term damage if he was struck on the finger again while batting or fielding.

“It’s really about functionality around the finger, rather than anything else. There will be no risk to long-term health of that finger. Leading into the next game, he’ll have the main session two days out and he’ll train the day before, so if that all goes well then I’d expect Steve to resume at number four,” McDonald said.

–IANS

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