Steve Smith sustains blow to his finger ahead of the 1st Ashes Test -  Reports

The Australia camp had a serious injury scare after Steve Smith was struck on his finger during practice ahead of the first Ashes Test against England. The ace batter ended his session in the nets right after being struck and according to multiple reports, was seen in pain while the physios dealt with him.

Smith recently climbed to the No. 2 spot in the ICC rankings for batters in Test cricket. He has company in the form of Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head at the top of the pile after the trio played substantial roles in Australia's recent World Test Championship (WTC) triumph.

The right-handed batter had a landmark series during his last red-ball visit to England in 2019. He scored 774 runs across the five-match series, which ultimately ended in a 2-2 draw.

Smith has asserted the importance of adapting during the build-up to the Ashes.

“Think we’ve seen the last few months that they do some funky things and they are going to have to try some different things at certain times. One of my big strengths is being able to adapt on the go and understand what they are trying to do and sort of solve the problem out in the middle," he said.

"I’ll just focus on my game and try and counter each thing they come at me with, but we are expecting some different stuff, that’s for sure," Smith continued.

Australia last won a Test series on English shores in 2001. The current crop of Aussie players, out of which several are likely to play their last series in England, will like to sign off by ending the streak and retaining the urn.

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"I think it’s cool to see us all at the top of the tree" - Steve Smith on Australian batters dominating the rankings

The Australian middle order created history by becoming only the second trio after West Indies' Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd, and Larry Gomes to occupy the top three spots in the rankings for Test batters.

Labuschagne retained his No.1 ranking, while Smith and Head climbed up the ladder following their hundreds in the WTC final against India.

Expressing his delight at the success of his teammates and himself, Smith said:

“I think it’s cool to see us all at the top of the tree. I think those two in particular, the improvements they’ve made over the last four or five years have been exceptional. We all do it completely differently, obviously Trav comes out and plays very aggressively and takes the game on. It’s sort of a ‘see ball, hit ball’ mentality."

Smith continued:

“Marnus and I probably think our way through situations a little bit differently, but it is cool to see the hard work of those guys pay off and for them to get themselves up there in the rankings.”

Australia will take on England in the first Ashes Test from June 16 onwards at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Will the ace batter have yet another commanding series in England? Let us know what you think.