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GRENADA: Star batter Steve Smith is set to return as Australia has named its playing XI for the second Test against the West Indies, starting Thursday here at the Grenada National Stadium.
Smith, who suffered a compound dislocation of his right little finger in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final, practiced in the nets for an hour on Wednesday.
However, Steve Smith will not field in his regular slip cordon position because of an injured finger.
“Fielding some balls in front of the wicket … will probably be the strangest thing for me, I don’t think I’ve ever done that in a Test match,” Steve Smith said on his return to the squad.
“Fielding at either mid-on, mid-off or fine leg, a bit different to standing at second or first slip, so I think that’s probably going to be the biggest difference,” the 36-year-old stated on his changed position in the field.
Josh Inglis, who played in the first Test, will make way for Steve Smith, who will occupy the No. 04 spot. Apart from one change, the rest of the lineup is unchanged, with Usman Khawaja and young batter Sam Konstas set to open the innings.
Cameron Green, the newly promoted number three batter, retains his spot despite scoring 3 and 15 in Bridgetown.
The bowling quartet remains unchanged, featuring Josh Hazlewood, who took a five-wicket haul in the opening match, alongside Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins.
For context, Australia led the three-match Test series 1-0 after securing a convincing 159-run win over the West Indies at Bridgetown.
The right-arm pacer Josh Hazlewood starred with the ball, taking a five-wicket haul that bowled out the West Indies for just 141 runs while chasing a challenging target of 301 on day three of the Test match.
Australia Playing XI
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.
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