Steve Smith revealed he has symptoms of vertigo, which appeared to worsen as he trained on match eve
Smith 'not feeling great' on eve of Afghanistan clash
Australia have yet another World Cup fitness concern after Steve Smith revealed he had suffered a recurrence of vertigo, a condition that has troubled him on several occasions in recent years.
With the Aussies one win away from confirming a semi-final berth, Smith said he was hopeful he would be right to face Afghanistan on Tuesday in Mumbai having felt symptoms in the days after their win over England.
But the star batter was in obvious discomfort as Australia trained at the Wankhede Stadium on match eve, despite giving several media interviews and then having a long bat in the nets.
Smith looked unwell after facing throwdowns and net bowlers for more than hour, falling to his hands and knees, then sitting with his head in his hands, then laying on the outfield behind the nets, before eventually leaving the ground with the team physiotherapist.
"I've had a bit of vertigo stuff for the last day or so. It's a bit annoying. Hopefully I can get through training and I'm all good. But it's not a nice place to be," the 34-year-old told reporters before training.
"I think I'll be ok. I'm not feeling great at present. I've had a few episodes. I can tell you it's not a fun space to be in. But I'll go out and have a hit (at training) hopefully I'm ok."
It is a further setback for an Aussie side that has faced constant personnel disruptions through the tournament.
This latest concern could offset the expected returns of Glenn Maxwell and Mitch Marsh, who both trained at the historic Wankhede Stadium on Monday, where Australia had hoped to have their full 15-member squad available for the first time all tournament.
Marsh, having missed the England match after flying home to Perth due to a family death last week, is expected to resume his No.3 spot. He bowled for around 30 minutes and had a short bat in his first training session since arriving back in India.
Maxwell batted for considerably longer and took catches on the outfield, suggesting he has overcome the concussion he suffered in a golf-course mishap last week.
If Smith were to miss, it would spare the Aussies making a call on Marnus Labuschagne's spot in the XI. He has played in all seven of their matches so far and is their second leading run-getter, but shaped as the likely fall guy when all the members of their middle order are finally available.
Smith reported similar vertigo symptoms ahead of Australia's Test tour of Pakistan last year after hitting his head while attempting an outfield catch.
He has suffered several concussions over the course of his career, the worst coming when Jofra Archer felled him at Lord's during the 2019 Ashes.
Two years earlier, Smith scored an ODI century against India despite, on the morning of the match, requiring a doctor to perform a series of head twists on him (known as the Epley Manoeuvre) to remove 'ear rocks' that cause vertigo.
As one of the team's better players of slow bowling, Smith's expertise in the middle order would be greatly missed against Afghanistan's spin-heavy bowling attack.
Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi have been their trump cards during the tournament.
"They've won some key moments in games against some good teams and clearly their spinners are a big threat, they're quality bowlers and they've got some batters particularly at the top of the order that are taking the game on and can take it away from you," said Smith.
"They're a good side and I think they've come a long way in the last five or six years. They're a tough side and you've got to play well to beat them.
"Playing at Wankhede, it's historically a high-scoring ground, so we're going to have to play their spinners well tomorrow, there's no doubt about that."
Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup fixtures
October 8: Lost to India by six wickets
October 12: Lost to South Africa by 134 runs
October 16: Beat Sri Lanka by five wickets
October 20: Beat Pakistan by 62 runs
October 25: Beat Netherlands by 309 runs
October 28: Beat New Zealand by five runs
November 4: Beat England by 33 runs
November 7: v Afghanistan, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 11: v Bangladesh, Pune, 4pm AEDT
Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa
2023 World Cup standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
IND
|
9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 0 | 18 |
|
2
SA
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.261 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
AUS
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.841 | 0 | 14 |
|
4
NZ
|
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.743 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
PAK
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.199 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
AFG
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.336 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
ENG
|
9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.572 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
BAN
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.087 | 0 | 4 |
|
9
SL
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.419 | 0 | 4 |
|
10
NED
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.825 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points