Steven Smith hopes to be able to play without pain
during the World Cup after receiving a cortisone shot to help him recover from
the wrist tendon injury he sustained during the Ashes.
Smith sustained the injury during the Lord’s Test, and
he was sidelined for the remainder of the series before missing the South
Africa white-ball tour.
Prior to departing for India for the three-match ODI
series that would precede the World Cup, he was allowed to bat again in the
nets last week after first wearing a splint, which did not resolve the issue.
“I was in a brace for a couple of weeks, just
trying to limit the movement, which once I got that off it hadn’t really made a
big difference to be honest,” Smith told Nine newspapers at a promotional
event in Sydney. “Then I got a cortisone in it last Thursday, and that has
made a big difference. So I’ve had a couple of sessions back batting now and it
feels pretty normal.”
“I inside-edged a couple of balls in the nets the
other day and my bat turned sharp, and I was like ‘oh, that was hurting before’
and it wasn’t hurting anymore,” he said. “So that’s a real positive,
and I feel as though I can play all my shots and there’s no pain at all.”
Smith might find himself in his preferred No. 3
position given that Travis Head, David Warner, and Mitchell Marsh are now all
major injury concerns for the World Cup. Initially, it was thought that Smith
would move down a spot to make room for this formidable top three.
“I think I average 55 at three, or something like
that, so it’s definitely my preferred spot. But I’ll do whatever the team
needs,” he said. “White-ball cricket, you’d love to bat as high as
you can, so we’ll see what they want to do.”