Graeme Smith could miss first India Test due to injury
South African captain and opening batsman Graeme Smith is in danger of missing the first Test match against India, which starts December 16. Smith fractured his finger in the second Test match against Pakistan and missed batting in the second innings as
well.
Smith first suffered the injury in the first ODI against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 when he was hit by a Shoaib Akhtar bouncer and needed to miss two games. He made a successful return to cricket in the fourth ODI but it looks like the injury has flared up once again.
According to the South African team manager, Mohammed Moosajee, the injury was the same one as the one suffered in the ODIs. He said, "It [the hand] was aggravated by the continuous wear and tear involved with fielding and batting and flared up while he was
fielding during the current Test match."
This injury will put a question mark over the presence of Smith for the first Test match against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 at Centurion. While the team doctor has said the captain needs a break of three weeks from cricket, what may go against Smith is that his fingers have been
hurt before and suffered from fractures.
Moosajee also added that given Smith’s past record it will be a race against time for the captain to get fit. He said, "In our experiences with Graeme, there have been times we said he would need a six-week lay-off and he was ready in four, and other times
we said three weeks and it took him longer."
In the past, Smith’s hand injuries have been many. He fractured his middle finger in the IPL 2010 while taking a catch, and was also injured after being hit by Mitchell Johnson in a series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. He also injured his little finger before the start
of the ODI series against India in 2010.
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