Steve Smith has headed to New York upset at teammates’ reaction to the neck injury that saw him miss Australia’s third Test loss to South Africa in Cape Town, according to a shock report.
Smith was ruled out on match morning at Newlands after being hampered throughout the second Test by the injury.
It was later revealed he has sustained a cervical facet joint injury.
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But as veteran cricket journalist Robert Craddock reported in The Daily Telegraph, Smith is no guarantee to return to the team for the first Test against New Zealand in Perth on December 9.
Craddock revealed that Smith had headed to New York, where he and wife Dani Willis own an apartment, in the wake of the South Africa series, having been “chastened” by teammates “raising eyebrows” over the injury.
“Just how far they have pushed him only he would know but if his disillusionment prompts him to make an early exit from the game the consequences are enormous,” he wrote.
The story follows accusations that captain Pat Cummins made his controversial decision to bowl first in Cape Town out of frustration with both Smith and Australia’s frail batting order.
“I think in a pique of anger, he went, ‘Bugger it’. He (Cummins) doesn’t believe in the batting group, there’s enough evidence of that,” commentator Gerard Whateley said on SEN during the Test, which Australia lost by 176 runs to cede the world No. 1 ranking to the Proteas.
The 37-year old is set to play a crucial role over the next 12 months, with Australia facing five-Test tours of India and England as well as a 150th anniversary Test against the latter at the MCG in March.
But he claimed in September during an interview with UK media that he was a “series by series proposition”, and no guarantee of making a fifth Ashes tour of England in mid-2027.
An early retirement or any further absence would be a major blow on a number of fronts for a spluttering Australian team.
Not only would it leave a sizeable hole in Australia’s top order, with Smith having been floated by former teammate David Warner as a clear option to move up to No. 3 in Marnus Labuschagne’s place, but also rob the team of his experience and tactical acumen as a potential stand-in for Pat Cummins should the captain miss any Tests.
Craddock elaborated further on SENQ on Friday, adding that Smith not playing in Cape Town was also partly to do with the “post traumatic stress” of returning to Cape Town, the site of the Sandpapergate scandal in March 2018 that saw him suspended for 12 months and stripped him of the Australian captaincy.
“Smith was not feeling well and he had a sore neck,” Craddock said.
“It was debilitating, but the stress of going back to Cape Town weighed on him.”
Craddock said any dressing room issues remain “subtle”, but that he was “watching this space closely”.
He added that Smith “won’t like” being promoted to No. 3 should the job be asked of him, and that he remains the clear choice to deputise for Cummins, despite Travis Head being vice-captain.
“They need a captain behind him and Smith is that man,” he said.
“If he retires early, say after the Sydney Test, Australia is eyeball-deep in quicksand.
“They cannot do without Steve Smith over the next eight months.”
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