Australian batter Steve Smith said that his quick recovery from a “compound dislocation” in the little finger of his right hand which he sustained in the World Test Championship final against South Africa earlier this month, was because of the practice he got in a ‘baseball cage’ in New York.
After suffering the injury, the former Aussue skipper left London with his finger stitched and placed in a splint. But instead of waiting for the injury to heal by itself, he decided to hit the “baseball cage” in New York, where he owns an apartment. There, he began by facing tennis balls and other soft balls in the nets before facing the hard cricket ball.
“My mate actually told me about it, which was ideal because it was pretty warm there (in New York). Underneath this bridge there was a batting cage, and he was able to throw me a few balls there, so it was good to be in the shade, it was pretty hot there,” Smith was quoted as saying in ESPNcricinfo.
A baseball cage is a netted enclosure, quite similar to the cricket nets, used by baseball players to practice hitting. It provides a contained area where batters can safely swing and hit baseballs, without the risk of stray balls leaving the hitting area.
“For me, it’ll just feel like training as normal, I think. I don’t really feel any pain or anything. (I’m) just getting used to the splint on and the slight limited movement. It’s not too bad, I’ve got a lot of movement there now, so that feels good. Hitting the ball felt completely fine. Fielding some balls in front of the wicket will probably be the strangest thing for me, I don’t think I’ve ever done that in a Test match. Fielding at either probably mid-on or mid-off or fine leg, is a bit different to standing at the second or first slip,” Smith said.
The injury forced Smith to miss the opening game of the three-Test series against the Windies in Barbados from June 25 to 27, which Australia won by 159 runs. Now, he is expected to take part in the second Test, set to start from July 3.
(With agency inputs)
