Steve Smith opens up about having a ‘baseball cage’ training approach in New York to be fit for Australian team

Australian star batter Steve Smith made a quick recovery from a ‘compound dislocation’ in the little finger of his right hand, and is expected to return to the squad sooner than expected- so much so that he might even feature in the second Test against West Indies. Interestingly, Smith’s recovery has a baseball twist to it.

Steve Smith suffered an injury to the little finger of his right hand when he was trying to attempt a difficult catch of South African captain Temba Bavuma at the first slip during the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final at Lord’s. The 36-year-old immediately left London after his wound was cleaned, stitched, and got his finger placed in a splint. Instead of waiting for the injury to heal by itself, Smith decided to hit the baseball cage in New York.

Steve Smith began facing tennis balls and other soft balls in the nets before he could face hard cricket balls. “My mate actually told me about it, which was ideal because it was pretty warm there (in New York),” Smith was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.

“Underneath this bridge there was a batting cage, and he was able to throw me a few balls there, so it was good to be in the shade, it was pretty hot there,” he said.

The report added that Smith had his stitches removed on Sunday and his finger now only has a thinner splint as he gears up for his return for the second Test at St George’s from July 3.