Steve Smith update: Gruesome finger injury in WTC Final puts batter in doubt for WI tour

An unfortunate moment unfolded during the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 Final as the superstar Australia National Cricket Team batsman Steve Smith suffered a gruesome finger injury.

Steve Smith sustained the injury while fielding during the fourth innings of the match between South Africa and Australia and was forced to leave the field immediately.

Steve Smith walked off the field in extreme pain

Smith was standing close to the batter in the slips with a helmet on during the last innings of the match, and in an attempt to take a catch, he hurt his finger badly.

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Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma edged a delivery from Mitchell Starc into the slip cordon, and Smith dropped a sharp chance to give a lifeline to the batter for 2.

The catch drop cost Australia big time as Temba Bavuma, despite battling hamstring issues, went on to slam a stunning fifty and put the Proteas in a dominant position.

To make things worse for Australia, Steve Smith looked in extreme pain after getting hit on his finger, and he immediately left the field even before the medical staff reached him. He didn't come out to the middle for the final session of the match and was later sent to the hospital.

Steve Smith has suffered a compound dislocation - CA

After some time, Cricket Australia (CA) came up with a concerning update on the batter, stating that he had suffered a 'compound dislocation of his right little finger'.

"Steve Smith has suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger while fielding in the slip cordon during the ICC Men's World Test Championship Final against South Africa at Lord's," Cricket Australia said in an official statement.

“He was assessed by Australian team medical staff at the ground and taken to hospital for x-rays and further treatment,” the statement added.

Speaking after the end of the day's play, the Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori also provided an update, saying that Smith didn't come to the dressing room after the incident, and the physio took him to a separate room for treatment before he was sent to the hospital.

"He never made (it to) us (in) the dressing room; the doctor and physio got him and took him into the separate room to deal with it," said Assistant Coach Daniel Vettori.

"So we weren't really up to speed in terms of how gruesome the injury was, we just heard that there was a fear of the compound fracture or dislocation or something of that nature. There weren't too many people running to the physio room to go and have a look. We'll just wait and see what comes back after he gets back from hospital."

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Steve Smith is doubtful for the West Indies

According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, Steve Smith is now in major doubt for the upcoming tour of the West Indies, where the Aussies are set to play three Tests and five T20Is.

His absence will be a colossal blow for Australia as the batting unit has not been firing with Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne struggling at the top and the new No.3 Cameron Green not playing to his potential. Big changes are expected to be made to the Australian batting order if Steve Smith is unavailable for the West Indies tour.

Meanwhile, the legendary Aussie batter Matthew Hayden said that Smith will be out of action for a very long time.

"He's simply the best batter in Australian cricket in this generation. Simple as that, really. He'll have eight weeks, at least, plus a bit of rehab time to get the bat and ball in hand and feel his way around it. Potential surgery there for sure," said Hayden.

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