Australia were dealt a major setback ahead of the third Ashes Test against England, with Steve Smith ruled out through injury in a moment of drama.
Smith captained Australia in place of the injured Pat Cummins for the first two contests as the hosts went 2-0 up in the series with victory in Perth and Brisbane.
But Smith, the number three ranked batter in the world, is believed to be suffering with concussion after sustaining a blow to the head in training in Adelaide.
Pictures of the 33-year-old batsman lying flat out on the ground during a nets session had been circulating on social media on the eve of the match.
It means Usman Khawaja comes back into Australia’s side having initially been left out the XI.
The veteran 38-year-old is expected to bat at four in place of Smith, while Travis Head is set to line up alongside Jake Weatherald at the top of the order.
A dejected-looking Smith was pictured crossing the outfield from the Australian dressing room just moments before play on day one at the Adelaide Oval and fears over his potential absence were soon confirmed.
In Perth, Smith contributed 17 and 2* with the bat as Australia strolled to an eight-wicket victory inside just two days.
Previously in Brisbane, Australia’s stand-in skipper made 61 and 23* across his two innings.
England have made just one change to the team that lost at the Gabba last time out, with pace bowler Josh Tongue replacing Gus Atkinson in the attack.
‘He is out of this Test match. It’s believed he suffered a blow in training and some concussion,’ former Australian wicket-keeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist revealed on Fox Cricket’s live coverage.
Mark Waugh, who played 128 Tests for Australia, said the loss of Smith came a ‘huge blow’.
‘There is a bit of secrecy about the actual ailment but it is a huge blow for Australia. Steve Smith is the cornerstone of the batting,’ he said.
‘That’s a big loss for Australia but Pat Cummins, of course, comes back in.
‘But to lose your number one batsman on the eve of such a big Test match… you can see Steve Smith is disappointed.
More to follow.
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