Australia v India: Steve Smith injury scare before first Test in Adelaide

There was already an expectation India will attempt to follow a short-ball blueprint to Steve Smith this summer. His back injury may only supercharge their plans.

Steve Smith leaves the Adelaide Oval. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Steve Smith limped back to the team hotel from Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night as his pain sent tremors through Australia’s Test plans.

Australia’s crisis-laden preparations hit another major hurdle when the world’s best batsman was unable to train two days out from the first Test.

Officials expect Smith to recover and play, but even so, India may now ramp up their campaign to pepper the superstar with short-pitched bowling after he broke down with back soreness.

Smith was limping noticeably and moving gingerly as he walked back to the hotel, and was not carrying his backpack like his teammates.

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Steve Smith left the training field after tweaking his back. Picture: Getty Images

It’s understood Smith tweaked his lower back trying to field a ground ball and left Australia’s main session after only about 10 minutes.

Smith did not go to the nets at all – which is highly unusual for the insatiable batting addict – but Australian officials are adamant he will bat at Wednesday’s session.

With David Warner and Will Pucovski already out of the first Test, the last thing Australia needed was their best batsman consigned to the massage table rather than out fine-tuning his preparations.

New Zealand’s Neil Wagner restricted Smith’s scoring last summer with a sustained assault of short-pitched bowling, and there is an expectation India’s world-class bowling arsenal will attempt to follow a similar blueprint.

News that Smith has a stiff back to deal with may only supercharge their plans.

“I think they will give it a go for sure,” said Indian legend, Sunil Gavaskar.

Steve Smith (left), Nathan Lyon, Australia coach Justin Langer and chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns caught up in the middle at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images

“Maybe not straight away, at the start they might look to bowl from over the wicket.

“But I won’t be surprised if the Indians do try that tactic.”

Smith is usually an obsessive trainer so the sight of him not returning from the sheds to bat was one that instantly set alarm bells ringing.

However, there was a calmness about the situation within the Australian camp and a confidence he would be in no doubt to train on Wednesday.

Smith and the Australians have been in Adelaide training solidly since last Friday and the three long sessions he got in over the weekend may have contributed to him pulling up a bit sore.

It’s understood drug officials were testing Australian players on Tuesday, and that interruption may have also affected Smith’s ability to stay warm enough to train as he sought treatment from physios.

Australian coach Justin Langer could be forgiven for thinking he must have walked under a ladder over the past few weeks.

Steve Smith (left) wasn’t smiling after tweaking his back during his training. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

After watching Warner go down with a serious groin tear in the second ODI, he has received phone calls informing him about his two young superstars Will Pucovski and Cameron Green copping head knocks.

He was out helping marshall Australia’s fielding session when news started filtering through that Smith had gone back to the sheds.

Langer admitted preparations had been disjointed – and that was before Smith’s drama – however, the coach still backed his team to come out all guns blazing on Thursday against India.

“It’s been disjointed, no doubt,” he said. “We expected that. And in this unusual COVID period we recognised that we’re going to have to be creative and flexible and we’re working through that.

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“It has been different. We’ve had the same thing with the one-day series, we came out firing in the one-day series even though we only came together on the morning of the day.

“In this instance we all come together for training on Tuesday which is great. The boys have had brilliant preparation. We’ve got a very senior team now and I just can’t wait to get the show on the road but I also can’t wait to get all the boys together because it has felt a little disjointed but that’s out of our control and we’re doing our best with the situation.”

Smith almost missed one of the one-day matches this summer following a bout of vertigo, but was passed fit to play at the last minute and came out and smashed his second consecutive century of the series.

Originally published as Australia v India: Steve Smith injury scare before first Test in Adelaide