AUSTRALIA captain Steven Smith will miss the remainder of the tour of Sri Lanka – three ODIs and two T20Is – as he returns home to rest ahead of the tour of South Africa. David Warner will lead the side in the rest of the fixtures in Sri Lanka.Smith revealed the development at the end of the second ODI in Colombo, which Sri Lanka won by 82 runs to level the five-match series at 1-1.
“I hate missing cricket, but in the long run it will do me a world of good,” Smith was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia on Twitter. “The schedule is very busy. I still want to take on the role in all three formats and do it to the best of my ability.”
Cricket Australia’s national selector Rod Marsh said in a statement: “Steve has a large amount of cricket coming up in the next 12 months and we wanted to find a time for him to freshen up and these last five matches provide a good opportunity to do so.
Regardless of the results of the first two matches our plan was always for Steve to take a break and refresh ahead of the ODI Series against South Africa next month.
“This is a great leadership opportunity for David, he has really embraced his role as vice-captain and we are confident he will do a great job in Steve’s place.”
Australia’s last match in Sri Lanka is a T20 international on September 9. Their tour of South Africa begins on September 27 with an ODI against Ireland in Benoni, after which they play five ODIs against South Africa. (ESPN Cricinfo)