"I did it at Lord’s. There was a small tear in the tendon" - Steve Smith discloses the origin of injury that rules him out of South Africa tour 

Australian batter Steve Smith has divulged that the injury which rules him out of the upcoming white-ball tour of South Africa, actually began during the Ashes, more specifically in the second Test at Lord's. The right-handed batter scored a match-winning hundred during the contest but also sustained an injury that he carried for the rest of the series.

Smith was initially named in the Mitchell Marsh-led squad, but he was later ruled out along with his teammate Mitchell Starc. The injury, however, is not expected to keep Smith out for long. He is likely to join the Aussie squad for the three-match ODI series against India as well as play the subsequent World Cup.

Unable to recall the exact moment he sustained the injury during the Lord's Test, Smith told Fox Cricket:

“I did it at Lord’s. I don’t actually know the moment, it was when we were in the field. It wasn’t until that night I was like, ‘Geez, what have I done here, it’s a bit sore."

“I played the next game and then I had a cortisone before Old Trafford. I got back (to Australia) and I was like, ‘Still not quite right. I still can’t do a lot of things properly’. I had another scan. There was a small tear in the tendon as well as a couple of other things,” he added.

The 2023 Ashes ended up being a highly engaging affair and eventually finished in a 2-2 draw. While Australia retained the urn, they failed to capitalize on a 2-0 lead and end their 21-year streak of not winning a Test series in England.

Admitting that the series result was disappointing despite retaining the urn, Smith said:

“I thought we probably had all the tools in the kit bag to go ever there and win, and we weren’t satisfied with drawing the series again. Obviously we did that last time. We wanted to win and do one better, and we weren’t able to do that. So overall it was a bit disappointing.”

He was one of the standout batters of the series and ended up as Australia's second-leading run-scorer, only behind Usman Khawaja.

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"It’s kind of the dream job. Everyone wants to open the batting in T20s" - Steve Smith

Following the announcement of the squad for the South Africa series, chief selector George Bailey stated that Smith will be given opportunities at the top of the order for the first time. The ace batter showed his ability as an opener during the 2022-23 Big Bash League (BBL) season for the Sydney Sixers.

Smith stated that he has gotten assurances from Australian management over his opportunities as an opener in T20Is.

“I did speak to (Australian coach) Andrew McDonald about it. He said I’d get more opportunities somewhere to press my case. It’s kind of the dream job. Everyone wants to open the batting in T20s," he said.

“There’s not much accountability there, you just sort of go out there and play. You’ve got two fielders out for the first six overs, and if you get going then you’re already in when the field goes out, so it’s a nice time to bat,” Smith added.

He has opened in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well, but it was his BBL stint that caught the eye of the selectors.