Home
Cricket
Steve Smith has a fair chance to tick off 10,000 Test runs after this update

Steve Smith has a fair chance to tick off 10,000 Test runs after this update

Steve Smith’s elbow injury isn’t as severe as feared; he’s cleared to lead Australia in the crucial Sri Lanka Test series starting January 29 in Galle.

Cricket Australia shared an encouraging update about Steve Smith. His elbow injury, sustained during the Big Bash League, is not as severe as initially thought; it means that he’s fit for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. Steve Smith is named Test captain in Pat Cummins’ absence, and he is cleared to rejoin the Test squad. He is expected to start batting practice later this week in preparation for the first Test against Sri Lanka, beginning January 29. Steve Smith is currently hanging on 9,999 Test runs and just needs 1 run to come into the 10,000 club.

Importance of the Sri Lanka series

This series is crucial as it’s part of the final cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC), leading to the final against South Africa in June. Australia is already assured a spot in the WTC final.

Besides Smith, Australia is also monitoring Pat Cummins, who is recovering from an ankle injury but is expected to lead the team in the Champions Trophy. Left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann, who broke his thumb, is recovering well and hopes to join the team in Sri Lanka soon. His progress is being watched closely by the selectors.

Steve Smith in BGT

Steve Smith regained his lost form in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. He ended up as the third-top scorer in the series, scoring 314 runs in 9 innings. Along with that, he scored two centuries in his 9 innings. It’s a good sign for the batter, as he was not in form before BGT and he didn’t have a century in Test cricket in 2024 before the series.

Australia’s squad for Sri Lanka Tour

Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Travis Head (vc), Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Matt Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Nathan McSweeney, Todd Murphy, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka schedule

MatchDateLocation
1st TestJanuary 29 – February 2, 2025Galle
2nd TestFebruary 6 – 10, 2025Galle
1st ODIFebruary 12, 2025Galle
2nd ODIFebruary 14, 2025TBC

Follow
Share

Editor's Pick

India in Champions Trophy: Focus on Ro-Ko's form, spin unit and pace battery sans Bumrah Cricket India in Champions Trophy: Focus on Ro-Ko's form, spin unit and pace battery sans Bumrah

Top Stories

Share article
Follow us on social media
Tell us why didn’t you like our article so that we can improve on?
Choose ranking:
ICC Test Ranking
ICC ODI Ranking
ICC T20I Ranking