Steve Smith returns as Australia confirm playing XI for 2nd Test against West Indies

Steve Smith has returned to Australia's playing XI for the second Test against the West Indies starting Thursday (Jul 3) in Grenada. Keeper-batter Josh Inglis is left out of the side as Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed the starting XI on the match eve. Cummins revealed that Smith ticked all the required boxes in his recovery from a dislocated finger, resuming his position at number four in the Caribbean. Smith’s inclusion boosts Australia’s batting attack that missed their two formidable starters in him and Marnus Labuschagne, who remains on the bench thus far this series.
Inglis, who scored five and 12 in the series opener in Barbados, which the visitors won by 159 runs within three days, made way for Smith for the second Test. The batting veteran batted for nearly half an hour in training on match eve after getting through Tuesday’s grinding main session, his first since rejoining the squad.

Smith dislocated his right hand’s little finger while attempting to complete a catch in the slips during the fourth innings of the third World Test Championship (WTC) Final against South Africa at the Lord’s. Not only did he drop the catch, but he also injured himself in the process, getting ruled out for the remainder of that game and the first Test against the West Indies. He flew to New York to complete the rehab, returning just in time for the second Test starting late on Thursday (IST).

Upon joining the squad, Smith began with the fielding drills on Tuesday before returning to the train in the slip cordon the next day. Considering he needs to wear protective gear on his injured finger for the next five weeks, his batting, along with his fielding position in the match, remains an intriguing part of his return.

"He's (Smith) ready to go, the finger held up well," Cummins said on Wednesday. "He was really happy, particularly batting.

"Fielding we still potentially need to manage it a little bit, so he might not be in the slips too often – maybe for spin he'll be OK, but (for the) quicks he might need to wait another week.

"So you might see him running around a bit more … probably some variation of mid-off and fine leg, (but) we'll see if he lasts a few days down at fine leg, I reckon he'll be itching to get up in the circle pretty quick,” the captain said on the match eve.

Here is Australia’s playing XI for the second Test against the West Indies –

Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood