Smith return comes to painful stop as rare Khawaja move offers selection hint — LIVE

Steve Smith missed Australia’s net session on Monday but returned on Tuesday as intrigue surrounds the make-up of the XI to take on England at Adelaide Oval in the third Test of the Ashes.

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Smith, who captained the side in Perth and Brisbane, was unwell and coach Andrew McDonald had given no guarantees that he would train on Tuesday either.

“He didn’t train yesterday for a reason – he was unwell,” McDonald told SEN Mornings before training started.

“That’s always a slight concern, but you are hoping over the next 48 hours that all of that subsides. It’ll just be about recovery for him, to make sure that he is ready to go for day one.

“A part of that recovery is to get moving today to connecting tomorrow. If he’s not well enough to train today, we’ll test that over the day and into tomorrow.

“It’s not a huge concern at this stage, but as time gets closer to the game, as you know, that is obviously heightened slightly.”

But Smith did emerge on Tuesday morning. He padded up and faced throwdowns first during Australia’s training, though it’s unclear if that alone guarantees his involvement in the third Test.

His session came to an abrupt pause when he was struck by a low blow and stayed down for a lengthy period.

Meanwhile, in a rare move for Usman Khawaja on Tuesday, he opted to bat on the eve of the Test, coming out second after Smith. However, he faced an older ball as opposed to the new ball he faced on Monday, while Josh Inglis received throwdowns from McDonald.

First drop batter Marnus Labuschagne was locked in a fiery battle against Jhye Richardson, facing the Western Australian quick for an elongated period of time.

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While not officially a part of Australia’s 15-man squad for the third Test, Richardson was pulled out of the Perth Scorchers’ opening BBL fixtures to train with the national side in the lead up to the match.

The 29-year-old bowled to Smith upon his return to the nets after a blow to the groin.

Australia’s stand-in skipper for the first two tests faced a notable amount of spin alongside Khawaja, off the bowling of Australian Under 19 spinner Lachlan Ranaldo, who hails from Sturt.

Josh Inglis faced a number of throwdowns from coach Andrew McDonald in the far net, showcasing a dazzling cover drive.

Travis Head and Jake Weatherald were the last two Australian’s left to bat 40 minutes into the net session, adding a slight layer on intrigue as to who will be named opener come Wednesday morning.

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On Monday, Smith’s absence meant Australia practised slips catching with Beau Webster, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in the cordon.

The fact that Labuschagne was joined by all three third-Test hopefuls cast doubt on just what the make-up of Australia’s side might be.

Whether a fit-again Usman Khawaja reclaims his place as opener or the hosts persist with Travis Head alongside Jake Weatherald remains the biggest selection question.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, all three trained against the new ball, although Bharat Sundaresan posted on X that Head was first up in the nets.

Khawaja told reporters ahead of the Adelaide Test that he was “100 per cent” healthy, leaving no doubt that he has overcome the back spasms that saw him miss out on selection in Brisbane.

But there is no guarantee he will automatically earn a recall despite Mike Hussey declaring on Fox Cricket that he would bring Khawaja “straight back in” at the top of the order.

Realistically, Khawaja is battling Josh Inglis and Beau Webster for the one spot in Australia’s XI.

Webster has been waiting in the wings since his impressive Test debut, but Cameron Green appears to be the preferred all-rounder at the moment while Inglis was called on at Brisbane with Khawaja unavailable and batted at No.7 behind Alex Carey.

Inglis fell for only 23 runs in the first innings, but came up with a crucial piece of fielding with a run-out of Ben Stokes.

According to the Herald, Inglis also featured in the nets on Monday as he waited to find out if he would be bumped out of the XI by Khawaja.

Chief selector George Bailey has indicated he was open to Khawaja dropping down the order, although the veteran could also be axed, potentially spelling the end of his 85-Test career.

Khawaja said on Saturday that he would be more than comfortable batting in the middle of the order if required.

“I would’ve batted four, maybe two years ago for Queensland,” Khawaja said.

“No issues. I’ve always done really well batting at four or five.

“Normally people that open aren’t as attuned to No.5 as opening because they’re not as good at playing spin.

“But I’ve proven I’m one of the best players of spin in Australia.”

— With AFP