Australia Test captain Tim Paine on Monday urged Steve Smith not to rush his comeback from injury to ensure he is fit for the Ashes, even it means missing the Twenty20 World Cup.
Smith is a crucial cog in Australia’s drive to retain the urn after their gripping 2019 series in England, where he was the standout performer on his return from a ban for ball-tampering.
Despite bearing the brunt of hostile English fans, he smashed an incredible 774 runs in four Tests, at an average of 110.57, including twin centuries on his Test return at Edgbaston.
But he is struggling with an elbow injury after changing his batting grip, ruling him out of Australia’s current limited-overs tour of the West Indies.
Smith stressed last week that Test cricket was his priority, and he was prepared to skip the T20 World Cup in October-November.
“What’s important for me is that he’s fit to go, whether that’s at the T20 World Cup or the Ashes,” Paine said.
“Obviously from a selfish point of view, I would love him to be 100 percent fit and if that means he misses that tournament (World Cup) then so be it.”
“But Steve is a professional, he’ll know where his body is at and if he doesn’t feel like he’s right then he’ll make the right call,” he added.
“It’s important now that he takes the time to get it right, not just for the Ashes but to prolong his career for another four or five or six years.”
Bitter pill to swallow
Paine also said that missing out on the WTC final was a “bitter pill to swallow”, and enjoined the match referees to be more consistent while imposing points penalty for slow over rates.
Australia, who were front runners in the race to reach the WTC final, were docked four points for slow over rate during the Boxing Day Test against India.
“Bitterly disappointed that we weren't there (WTC final) because of over rates,” Paine told reporters.
“We’ve always got things in place to try to help out with that, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work. Unfortunately, we’re the team that I think has borne the brunt of it for an over rate.”