Smith hopeful of being fit for Boxing Day Test against Windies

Australia captain Steve Smith will sit out domestic Twenty 20 matches because of knee and hip niggles but has “no doubt” he will be fit to face West Indies in the second Test in Melbourne on December 26.

Smith played through the discomfort to lead Australia to a dominant innings and 212-run victory in the first test in Hobart on Saturday, giving them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

If Smith is fit for Melbourne, Australia’s selectors could have a selection headache when it comes to choosing their batting line-up.

Top order batsman Usman Khawaja will return to the squad for the Boxing Day Test but needs to prove his fitness in Big Bash/sLeague (BBL) action to win back his spot in the team after a hamstring strain ruled him out Australia’s last two Tests.

“Usman’s first got to be fit. If he’s not fit he won’t play, there’s no doubt about that,” coach Darren Lehmann said.

Match fitness

“We’ve got to make sure he’s playing BBL to get some sort of match fitness and see how the strain of the hamstring is and then when we get him in ... we’ll have a look at him and see whether he’s available to play.”

Shaun Marsh came in to replace Khawaja, who had scored centuries in his previous two tests, and scored 182 in Hobart in a match-turning partnership with Adam Voges (269 not out), the sixth highest stand in Test history.

“We’ve got a dilemma,” Lehmann conceded. “We’ve just got to pick the best team to win that particular game. If Usman is in then someone’s got to miss out.”

Smith said it was a nice problem to have. “I thought Shaun played beautifully throughout this Test match, he and Voges certainly changed the course of the game,” the skipper told reporters.