Will Steve Smith play the 4th Ashes Test vs England at Old Trafford?

Steve Smith play the 4th Ashes Test: The star Australian batsman was ruled out of the ongoing third 2019 Ashes Test at Headingley.

Australia star batsman Steve Smith was ruled out of the ongoing third Test of the 2019 Ashes series between England and Australia. The blow to the visiting team came as an aftermath of Smith getting hit behind his neck by England fast bowler Jofra Archer.

While Smith returned to resume his batting after nearly half an hour, he didn’t take the field after Australia was bundled out in the first innings. Eventually ruled out from both the second and third Test, it was all-rounder Marnus Labuschagne who became the first concussion substitute in Test cricket.

Last 3 Test scores of Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. #Cricket

0, 23, 9 – Kohli
144, 142, 92 – Smith

— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) August 22, 2019

Will Steve Smith play the 4th Ashes Test vs England?

In a development which seems to be favouring the Australian team, Smith looks set to play the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Manchester. Cricket Australia have recently confirmed that Smith had his third running session in three days and has showed no signs of being concussed anymore.

It is worth mentioning that Smith has also batted once since getting hit. There is no hiding to the fact that Smith’s presence will bolster the Australian lineup in the penultimate Test of the series.

It was assumed that Smith’s absence will affect the visitors adversely in Leeds. Signs of the same were evident when England dismissed Australia on 179 in 52.1 overs in the first innings. However, since then the visiting team has registered a stellar comeback in the match.

Already 1-0 up in the series, another victory for Australia will mean that the urn will remain with them irrespective of the outcome of the last two Test matches. The fourth Test will begin from September 4.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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