THERE is a possibility that Graeme Smith may miss the first Test against India in mid-December if the fracture to the little finger of his left hand, sustained during the recently completed series against Pakistan, requires surgery. While the injury means Smith will not be able to play for at least three weeks, he could be out for even longer if the problem needs to be operated upon.
“Only 10% of hand fractures require surgery,” Mike Solomon, the Cape Town based orthopaedic surgeon who will see Smith today, told ESPNcricinfo.
Smith will only have to go under the knife if there is a gap between the bones in his finger; what is known as a displaced fracture. Cricket South Africa management diagnosed the fracture as non-displaced, which means that the recovery period should be shorter.
“Usually hand fractures heal in three to four weeks but they can take up to six weeks. I have no details about Graeme’s injury so I can’t say which category he falls into,” Solomon said.
Smith’s latest injury was caused when he was struck on the hand by a rising delivery from Shoaib Ahktar in the first one-day international of the series against Pakistan.
It kept him out of the second and third match, but he returned to play in the last two ODIs and the two Tests, which caused the injury to flare up. “It was aggravated by the continuous wear and tear involved with fielding and batting”, Mohammed Moosajee, team manager said.
Smith has now had five separate hand injuries in the past two-and-a-half years, which have often kept him out of limited-overs engagements but have yet to affect his participation in Tests.
The fracture prior to his most recent injury was sustained while taking a catch during the IPL in April. The worrying thing about the latest injury is that, similar to the broken hand Smith suffered twice at the hands of Mitchell Johnson in the 2008/9 season, it was sustained while batting.
Once again, questions will be raised about whether it’s Smith’s technique that makes him vulnerable to being hit or if he is just unlucky.
“He has a very dominant bottom hand which could leave more of the hand exposed,” said Richard Pybus, the former Pakistan coach who is currently in charge of the Cape Cobras. “Usually batsmen grip the bat with their thumb, forefinger and middle finger but it’s possible he could expose his ring and little finger more than others because of his technique. I haven’t worked that much with him so I am not certain of the theory.”
Jimmy Cook, who coached Smith when he was a schoolboy at the King Edward High School in Johannesburg, said that he tried to decrease Smith’s reliance on his bottom hand many times. “We tried to change it and moved it a lot but he couldn’t adjust too much,” Cook said.
Smith’s technique has served him well over the years, helping him accumulate over 7 000 Test runs and allowing him to be “prolific on the leg side” according to Cook. “Eventually, I thought that if using the bottom hand like that is going to benefit him, he should leave it like that. He’s taken a few hits on the hand now, so I don’t think he is scared.”
Smith is not the only South African with arm trouble. Also among the walking wounded is Hashim Amla. Amla was hit on the forearm by a Misbah-ul-Haq pull shot when he was fielding at short leg during the second session yesterday.
He left the field for treatment and did not return for the remainder of the game, but was not taken to hospital for any scans. “He is under the physiotherapists’ watch and we are waiting to see how he responds to icing, compression and elevation. We will have a clearer picture a bit later,” said Moosajee.
The first Test against India gets under way on December 16 at Centurion. (ESPN Cricinfo)