Steven Smith is on course to return for Australia’s second Test against the West Indies in Grenada after recovering from a finger injury sustained during the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s.
Smith, who got injured during the final of the World Test Championship, has been back in the training nets.
Smith, who dislocated his finger while fielding close-in and dropping a catch offered by Temba Bavuma, has spent the past week in New York and has now rejoined the team in Barbados.
“It’s really about functionality around the finger rather than anything else,” McDonald said. “There’ll be no risk to the long-term health of that finger. He’ll return and I think it’s likely he’ll play. Leading into the next game, he’ll have the main session two days out.
“He’ll also train the day before the match. If that all goes well, then I’d expect Steve to resume at No. 4.”
Smith won’t be back in the slips due to the finger and his past elbow issues. Instead, he’ll be stationed in the outfield, with workload management in mind.
If Smith returns, he would likely push Josh Inglis out of the playing XI as he reclaims the number 4 spot. And given Alex Carey’s heroics in the first Test match, it won’t be a difficult decision.
“In terms of why we see him as No. 4, I think we’ve settled on that,” said McDonald. “We could slide him up higher if we wanted to. He’s been excellent at number three. But I think if you look at the last 12 months at No. 4 and his ability to stabilise that position, two down, arguably our greatest batter, we want to keep him at four and build around that rather than potentially risking too many moves in the order.”
Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne’s future during this series remains uncertain. Dropped for the first time since 2019 ahead of the first Test, he could be released from the squad if Smith plays the rest of the series, possibly to get match time either with Glamorgan or for Australia A in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka A.
“If we do have a surfeit of batters then we’ll explore match opportunities for sure,” McDonald said. “I think we’ve done that with the fast bowlers over time. We’ve sent Scott Boland back from India. So if we feel as though we’re carrying too many, we’ll look for game time.
“But it’s a long way for players to get here as well. If we release someone and then someone has to come in late, then it’s a big journey. So we’ve just got to balance that out.”
Nevertheless, McDonald did drop a hint that Marnus remains a key player for Australia’s ODI side.
“He’s important in our one-day structure,” McDonald added. “[With] Steve Smith’s recent retirement, Glenn Maxwell retiring as well. We don’t want to compromise one-day cricket in the build towards 2027.”
It is important to mention that the second Test match between West Indies and Australia will start on July 3.
