Injured Steve Smith to meet specialist amid Sri Lanka tour upheaval

Cricket Australia is expecting stand-in Australian skipper Steve Smith to join Test teammates in Dubai later this week after sustaining an elbow injury that requires an elbow brace and specialist assessment.

Smith was spotted on Sunday morning sporting a brace on his right arm, which he had surgery on in 2019, and will remain in Sydney for further treatment and follow-up scans this week.

The 35-year-old’s injury - sustained while throwing a ball from the outfield in Friday’s rained-out Sixers-Thunder BBL clash - adds to the uncertainty around left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann’s availability as he recovers from surgery on his right thumb.

Smith is slated to take the captaincy reins from Pat Cummins (paternity leave) for the two-Test Sri Lankan tour, which follows a short camp in the UAE on wickets prepared to match expected turning conditions in the island nation.

A Cricket Australia spokesperson on Sunday said Smith is “preparing to join the Test squad in Dubai later this week following further specialist input”.

Steve Smith in an elbow brace on Sunday.

Smith missed tours of the West Indies and Bangladesh in 2021 while suffering from an injury likened to tennis elbow in his left arm.

The first Test begins in 10 days at Galle, with Kuhnemann looking to join the Australian squad in Sri Lanka if he can bowl without issue in the nets this week.

Kuhnemann suffered a compound dislocation and fracture on his non-bowling hand while fielding for Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash last Thursday.

Given he turns the ball in the opposite direction to off-spinners Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy, the Queensland native was expected to be Australia’s second-choice spinner. Kuhnemann and Murphy both performed impressively during their last Test appearances in India two years ago.

Kuhnemann’s injury and potential unavailability has also increased the prospect of all-rounder Cooper Connolly, one of few other left-arm spinners in Australia, making his Test debut on the tour.

Left-arm tweakers have also enjoyed plenty of success on Sri Lankan wickets over the past 15 years, taking wickets at an average of 27.86 since 2010 compared to 35.44 from all other types of bowling.

Should Kuhnemann not be able to take his place on tour, veteran WA spinner Ashton Agar would offer a like-for-like replacement, while Adam Zampa and Mitchell Swepson are the leading leg-spin options.

CA also said Pat Cummins remains in doubt for February’s Champions Trophy campaign as he recovers from “from increased left ankle soreness which was aggravated by high workloads during the Test summer.”

Cummins had scans on the injury last week but was already scheduled to sit out the Sri Lankan tour as he awaits the birth of his second child.