Smith locked in as Cummins names XI for second Test
Josh Inglis misses out as Steve Smith's return from a dislocated finger confirmed
Steve Smith is a confirmed starter for the second Test in Grenada with Josh Inglis making way for the star batter's return.
Australia captain Pat Cummins confirmed Smith had ticked all the boxes in his recovery from a dislocated finger and would resume his position at No.4 against West Indies on Thursday (midnight Friday AEST).
Australia XI for second Test: Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Inglis misses out after scoring 5 and 12 in the only change for the tourists following their 159-run series-opening win in Barbados last week.
Smith batted for over 30 minutes at training on match eve at Grenada's National Stadium after getting through Tuesday's main session unscathed, which was his first since rejoining the Test squad after dislocating his right little finger in last month's World Test Championship final.
He again practiced slip catching to slow bowling on Wednesday after spending a significant period of the previous day's session doing fielding drills, with Smith's fielding position throughout the Test set to be one of the more intriguing aspects of his return.
Smith will be required to wear a splint on his finger for another five weeks and it's unlikely he'll be able to take up his regular position at slip for the fast bowlers.
"He's ready to go, the finger held up well," Cummins said on Wednesday.
"He was really happy, particularly batting.
"Fielding we still potentially need to manage it a little bit, so he might not be in the slips too often – maybe for spin he'll be OK, but (for the) quicks he might need to wait another week.
"So you might see him running around a bit more … probably some variation of mid-off and fine leg, (but) we'll see if he lasts a few days down at fine leg, I reckon he'll be itching to get up in the circle pretty quick."
The 36-year-old right-hander is a valuable addition to tourists' top order and their ability to problem solve in foreign conditions at a venue where Australia has never played red-ball cricket before and one that has only hosted four Test matches across a 23-year period.
"That's one of his great strengths, he's scored runs all over the world and that means that while he's not played a game here, he seems to work out pretty quickly what needs to be done and where your scoring areas are," Cummins said.
"Of course, having that knowledge is going to be helpful, particularly for the guys that haven't really played too many Tests or first-class games on similar wickets.
"There's been four Test matches here, and they've all been spread out so it's hard to know, but it looked like a pretty good wicket … a pretty even coverage of grass.
"It's fun coming in when there's a few unknowns and you've got to think on your feet and you're not quite sure how a game is going to play out."
West Indies also seem uncertain as to how the pitch is going to play as they weigh up and extra seamer in Anderson Phillip instead of left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican.
Meanwhile, veteran opener Kraigg Brathwaite will become the 10th West Indian to play 100 Test matches when he steps onto the picturesque seaside ground in St George's on Thursday.
"It's an amazing feat, he's the third Bajan player to do it so that's tremendous in itself," said Windies captain Roston Chase.
"The last guy to do it (for West Indies) was Chris Gayle in 2014, so it says a lot for Kraigg.
"He's a modern-day legend and someone I look up to – I've played with him from under-11s.
"He stated before starting his career that he wanted to play 100 Tests so that's an amazing achievement that someone can set a goal from so early and achieve it after so many years."
Josh Inglis misses out as Steve Smith's return from a dislocated finger confirmed
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