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| March 31, 2006 | Friday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1427 |
Injury puts Smith out of final Aussie Test
JOHANNESBURG, March 30: Graeme Smith’s unhappy season of Test cricket continued when he was forced to withdraw from the third and final Test against Australia starting at the Wanderers Stadium on Friday because of a finger injury.
The South African captain suffered what was described as a soft tissue injury to his left ring finger during fielding practice on Thursday.
He had X-rays which revealed no break but it was decided after a visit to a hand specialist that he should not play.
Vice-captain Jacques Kallis will captain South Africa for the first time, while Boeta Dippenaar will open the batting in Smith’s place.
His withdrawal means Smith will not have the chance to finish his Test battles with Australia on a high note after a summer of failure.
In five Tests for South Africa he had a highest score of 40, while he made 12 and 0 when he captained the World XI against Australia earlier in the season.
In six matches against the world champions he made 242 runs at an average of 20.16.
The rest of the South African team was not named. Despite Smith’s absence, the selectors have 15 players to choose from following the addition of batsman Hashim Amla and fast bowler Dale Steyn to the squad following South Africa’s 112-run defeat in the second Test in Durban on Tuesday.
The win clinched the series for Australia. It was also their fourth successive win against South Africa after they won a three-Test series 2-0 in Australia before the current tour.
Meanwhile, Australia will aim to maintain their supremacy over their rivals with captain Ricky Ponting saying there would be no let-up from the world champions despite the series having already been won.
Asked whether the series win might open the door for other members of the touring squad to play in the final match, Ponting said: “I wouldn’t think so.
“The guys who are in the side at the moment are playing well and deserve their selection for the next Test as well. Everyone’s put their hand up and done the job.”
History is on South Africa’s side. On their two previous tours Australia won the first two Tests but lost the third.
It will, however, need a major improvement from South Africa, whose batsmen have not been able to build big enough totals, while the bowlers have lacked the strike power to dismiss Australia cheaply.
“We want to put up a better performance,” said Smith. “We had a terrific one-day series but we’ve just been outplayed on some of the days in the Test matches. We seem to get close and get ourselves into decent positions and we let ourselves down.”
Australian opening batsman Justin Langer will be playing in his 100th Test. He will become the third member of the current team, behind Shane Warne and Ponting, to have won 100 caps.
Teams:
South Africa (from): Jacques Kallis (captain), A.B. de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Ashwell Prince, Jacques Rudolph, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel, Boeta Dippenaar, Hashim Amla, Andrew Hall, Garnett Kruger, Dale Steyn.
Australia (likely): Ricky Ponting (captain), Justin Langer, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Michael Kasprowicz, Stuart Clark.—AFP
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