Smith Injures Finger During WTC Final

During the third day of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Friday, Australian batsman Steve Smith suffered a finger injury while attempting a catch.

The event took place in the 20th over of South Africa’s second innings. Mitchell Starc induced an edge from skipper Temba Bavuma, which went quickly toward Smith, who was positioned at slip with a helmet.

The speed and trajectory of the ball seemingly surprised Smith, leading to him dropping the catch. Bavuma had only scored two runs at the time.

In addition to the missed opportunity, Smith also sustained an injury to one of his fingers.

The 36-year-old appeared to be in significant discomfort, which prompted immediate attention from the support staff, who escorted him off the field for treatment.

While there has been no official announcement regarding the extent of Smith’s injury, it appeared that he may have dislocated his finger.

Consequently, Sam Konstas replaced him in the field.

Steve Smith’s dropped catch has proven costly thus far, as Bavuma added nine more runs before the Tea interval.

He formed a 24-run partnership for the third wicket with opener Aiden Markram, who was just one run shy of a half-century.

The South African team was in a decent position at 94/2, chasing a target of 282, needing 188 more runs with eight wickets remaining.

Earlier, Australia were all out for 207 after resuming their second innings from 144/8, with Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc, who scored an unbeaten 58, leading the batting effort.