Steve Smith suffers injury scare during WTC Final against South Africa

LONDON: Australia’s Steve Smith hurt his finger while attempting a catch during the ongoing third day of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa here at The Lord’s Cricket Ground on Friday.

The incident occurred in the 20th over of South Africa’s second innings as Mitchell Starc managed to draw a thick outside edge off skipper Temba Bavuma’s bat, which hurried towards Smith, standing in close at slip with a helmet on.

The ball’s pace and height presumably took the veteran by surprise, resulting in him dropping the crucial catch as Bavuma was batting at just two at that time.

Besides grassing the opportunity, Smith also hurt himself in the process as he took a gruelling blow on one of his fingers.

The 36-year-old was seen dealing with excruciating pain afterwards, prompting the support staff to rush to the field and eventually escort him off for immediate treatment.

Although there is no official update on Smith’s injury, it appeared that Australia’s batting stalwart has dislocated his finger.

He was consequently substituted by Sam Konstas in the field.

Steve Smith’s dropped catch has thus far proved costly for the defending champions as Bavuma had added nine more runs to his tally before the Tea break.

He had added 24 runs for the third-wicket partnership with opening batter Aiden Markram, who was just one run away from a well-crafted half-century.

The Proteas were well-positioned at 94/2 while chasing 282, needing a further 188 runs with eight wickets in hand.

Earlier, Australia were bowled out for 207 after resuming their second innings from 144/8 through Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc, who top-scored with an unbeaten 58.