Steve Smith’s neck injury forces extended layoff, Cricket Australia reveals return timeline

Australian Steve Smith (AP) Australian batsman Steve Smith has been ruled out of selection until the home Test series against New Zealand in December after scans confirmed a cervical facet joint injury in his neck.Cricket Australia revealed the extent of Smith’s injury after he was forced to withdraw from the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town, which began on Tuesday. The 37-year-old experienced neck pain on day four of the second test at Gqeberha last week and was subsequently ruled unfit for the series decider.“Steve Smith picked up neck pain on the fourth day of the second Test at Gqeberha last week,” Cricket Australia said in a statement.“Subsequent MRI confirmed a cervical facet joint injury. Due to this and his limited range of motion, he was unfit to participate in the current test.”Smith will continue his treatment and rehabilitation, with Australia expecting him to be available again for the New Zealand series at home in December.“Steve will continue to receive treatment and rehabilitation, with a full return to availability expected for the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand,” the statement added.

Inglis is making an immediate impact

In Smith’s absence, Josh Inglis was brought into the side and made the most of his opportunity, scoring an unbeaten 85 as Australia reached 330/4 in response to South Africa’s total of 329 runs. The visitors held on to a slim lead of one run at the end.Matt Renshaw contributed 74 while Cameron Green scored 65 and Alex Carey remained unbeaten on 51. However, Marnus Labuschagne suffered another disappointment and departed for a duck.South Africa were earlier bowled out for 329 after Australia opted to field first. Aiden Markram scored 78, Marques Ackermann 95 and Marco Jansen added 52 before Mitchell Starc took six wickets for 72 runs to complete the innings.The Cape Town Test marked Inglis’ first appearance in the longest format since playing against England in Adelaide during the Ashes series at the end of last year.Renshaw praised his team-mate’s reaction after Australia lost two quick wickets and said Inglis’ positive attitude helped the side regain momentum.“He’s a very talented player, we’ve seen that in many white-ball formats,” Renshaw said.“To come into today we were under a bit of pressure, we lost two quick wickets and the way he played was really positive – it was a very Josh innings and I think it was really what we needed at the time,” he added.