Injured Steve Smith going with Australia to West Indies
LONDON (AP) — Star batter Steve Smith and his dislocated finger are going with Australia to the Caribbean.
Smith doesn't need surgery on the compound dislocation to his right pinkie from the World Test Championship final at Lord's, captain Pat Cummins said on Saturday.
But Smith's appearance in the three-test series against the West Indies starting on June 25 in Barbados remained a major doubt.
'I'd say first test maybe unlikely and then go from there, but it's a bit early just to tell,' Cummins said.
Smith became the highest non-English run-scorer in tests at Lord's and was hurt at a decisive moment in the final against South Africa on Friday.
Standing at first slip and closer to the wickets than usual, his finger was smashed by an edge off South Africa captain Temba Bavuma and he dropped the catch. Bavuma was on 2 and went on to 66 in a match-winning stand with opener Aiden Markram, who scored 136.
Smith's finger should heal in two weeks and he could play depending on his tolerance for wearing a splint. He has to wear the splint for eight weeks, which encompasses the entire series.
Cummins was grateful that the West Indies tests — their opening series in the 2025-27 WTC cycle — mean they don't have long to lick their wounds after losing the final by five wickets inside four days.
'To make these finals, it's normally off the back of being really strong at home, but you've got to win some away series too,' Cummins said. 'We've got a good chance to do that straight away. A three-test-match series out there, it means we're into some really important cricket.
'So, in some ways, it's good we get to dust ourselves off and turn around in a couple of weeks and start looking ahead to the next one. That's one of the good things about the World Test Championship, every test series and every test match feels like you're playing for something significant.'
Cummins said they naturally want to be in the 2027 final but the makeup of what is an aging team has to be balanced between giving new talent a chance while trying to win matches, with an Ashes home series coming up in November. It wouldn't surprise if there are test retirements after that.
'It does feel like a little bit of a fresh start,' Cummins said. 'Fast forward a couple of years, you start thinking about who's going to win. Hopefully if we make the final, who's going to be in that? Do we want to get some games into them? Do we feel like now is the right time to change? Or do you hold with the team that got us to the final?
'A new WTC cycle in some ways does feel like a bit of a reset.'
Cummins had a good final, taking seven wickets and reaching 300 for his career, but he believes Australia let slip a second straight WTC title after having the upper hand at times. He felt their 74-run first-innings lead could have been more.
'There's lots of moments where both teams wrestled back control,' he said.
'Our first-innings lead was really important. But it was an opportunity where we could have batted the opposition out of the game by putting on well over 300 plus.
'We didn't give ourselves a big enough buffer and we let them back into the game. It's disappointing to miss a huge opportunity like this, and when it happens by a little bit it leaves you feeling a bit empty.'
___
AP cricket:
https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
14 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Shohei Ohtani hits 2 homers against Giants, ending the Dodgers star's 10-game homer drought
Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani has hit two homers against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, emphatically ending the three-time MVP's longest homer drought since joining the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ohtani led off the game with his 24th homer, hammering Landen Roupp's fourth pitch 419 feet deep into the right-field bleachers with an exit velocity of 110.3 mph. The slugger had been in a 10-game homer drought since June 2, going 10 for 40 in that stretch with no RBIs — although he still had an eight-game hitting streak during his power outage. Ohtani then led off the sixth with his 25th homer, sending Tristan Beck's breaking ball outside the strike zone into the bleachers in right. He also moved one homer behind the Yankees' Aaron Judge and Seattle's Cal Raleigh for the overall major league lead. Dodgers fans brought him home with a standing ovation as Ohtani produced his third multihomer game of the season and the 22nd of his career. Ohtani reached base four times and scored three runs in his first four at-bats, drawing two walks to go with his two homers. Ohtani hadn't played in 10 straight games without hitting a homer since 2023 in the final 10 games of his six-year tenure with the Los Angeles Angels. Ohtani had slowed down a bit over the past two weeks after he was named the NL Player of the Month for May with a formidable performance, racking up 15 homers and 28 RBIs. ___ AP MLB: recommended
Hamilton Spectator
16 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
An Argentine named Ustari, not Messi, shines for Inter Miami and earns MVP in first CWC game
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — An Argentine not named Messi was the MVP for Inter Miami in the Club World Cup on Saturday night. The hero in the tournament opener was goaltender Oscar Ustari. Ustari made eight saves, including a penalty and goal-line intervention, as Miami played Egypt's Al Ahly to a scoreless draw in the Group A tournament opener. Ustari's save of a header in the 33rd minute was second only to stopping Trezeguet's penalty just before halftime and making sure danger was averted when the ball bounced back to Al Ahly's forward. The 38-year-old Ustari returned to a World Cup stage in this new Club World Cup format for the first time since winning the U-20 World Cup in 2005 — with none other than Messi, Inter Miami's captain. Before joining Inter Miami, Ustari was captain of C.F. Pachuca, also in the tournament, but faced controversy because Grupo Pachuca also owns Club León, which was removed by FIFA and had its appeal rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Ustari made 124 appearances with the 'Tuzos' before playing briefly for Audax Italiano in the first division of Chile. He was signed as a free agent in September 2024 by Inter Miami. He has played 22 games, including eight in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. What Ustari said 'I don't like to talk about myself. The team did a great job defensively and that is what I most care about.' 'I remember being retired and knew that my return would come on a field, so I'm very happy about it (being back).' 'I thought we were superior, that's what I think. The game left me with good feelings, but our next rival is very different.' What Suarez said 'We didn't think their keeper would make so many saves, he was the key player in the game along with Oscar in the first half, but that shows that goalkeepers can earn you points as well.' — Luis Suarez, Inter Miami forward. ___ AP soccer:
San Francisco Chronicle
22 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
The Club World Cup is finally up and running -- and soccer may never be the same
MIAMI GARDENS (AP) — After more than a year of uncertainty and criticism, the Club World Cup kicked off in Miami on Saturday and soccer may never be the same. At least that's what FIFA president Gianni Infantino has been telling anyone who would listen. 'This tournament will be the start of something historic that will change our sport for the better,' he said this week as part of an exhausting schedule of public engagements to drum up interest in the month-long event staged across 11 cities in the United States. Soccer's newest tournament is what the sport has been waiting for, Infantino says, and on Saturday, despite considerable pushback and obstacles, he turned his personal passion project into a reality. The Swiss lawyer, who holds one of the most powerful positions in the world as head of soccer's governing body, was on hand at a largely full Hard Rock Stadium to watch Lionel Messi's Inter Miami draw 0-0 with Egyptian team Al Ahly in the opening game of his super-sized Club World Cup. Influence The match may have been underwhelming, but the occasion — kicked off with a lavish opening ceremony featuring music, dance routines and fireworks — was a moment of immense pride for Infantino and conclusive proof of his influence over the most popular sport on the planet. Despite his assertions, it's not clear how much soccer really wanted another elite tournament. But this was his baby — so much so that his name is etched not once, but twice, onto a giant golden trophy crafted by Tiffany & Co. that will be lifted by the winner on July 13. It has gone ahead against the backdrop of legal challenges in Europe, threats of strike action from players and fears of injury and burnout for the biggest stars. There have been concerns about overreach by FIFA - which has traditionally focused on national team soccer — and the detrimental impact a new club competition would have on domestic leagues. But nothing was going to stand in the way of Infantino's plans to expand the Club World Cup from its previous guise as a seven-team mid-season mini tournament to a 32-team extravaganza that could one day rival the Champions League and Premier League as one of the most popular and wealthiest competitions in the world. The tournament is now locked in Time will tell if it lives up to Infantino's billing, but he has navigated the biggest hurdle of all by getting this inaugural edition off the ground. It is locked into the calendar — every four years — and teams such as Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain have already qualified for the next edition in 2029. "Maybe not now in its first edition, but it will become an incredibly important competition to win,' PSG coach Luis Enrique said. He may have a point. Peculiarly, and despite the global nature of soccer, the club game has largely been restricted to continental competition, aside from the previous guise of the Club World Cup, which was often looked on as little more than a exhibition. Do fans really want it? Still, it remains unclear how much of an appetite there is for another soccer tournament in a calendar that has reached saturation point. So a crowd of more than 60,000 at the Hard Rock Stadium likely came as a relief to FIFA, though it is not known how many of those in attendance paid anything like the $349 being quoted for seats in December. FIFA has not offered definitive numbers on the amount of tickets sold for the tournament as a whole and prices were slashed as the opening game approached. But there were only pockets of empty seats in the stands, with many red-shirted fans of Al Ahly in attendance. 'We've been looking forward to it for a long time,' said Peter Sadek a fan originally from Egypt and now living in Orlando. 'At least 50 more just from our area (are coming). It's been bubbling up for a long time and you can see how many are here.' Other Al Ahly fans had traveled directly from Egypt, with red shirts outnumbering the pink of Miami in parts of the stadium. Messi magic He certainly tried. His stunning curling effort from long range, deep into extra time would have been the perfect finish. Instead, Al Ahly goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy tipped the ball onto the crossbar to deny the Argentine great and Infantino that prize moment. Not even Infantino can have everything, it seems. ___ ___
