There is a fracture in my little finger: Smith

Published>Sat, Feb 13 10 05:39 PM

South African skipper Graeme Smith on Saturday revealed he has a fracture in his little finger making him a doubtful starter for the second and final cricket Test against India at Eden Gardens here tomorrow.

Smith, however, didn't rule himself out completely and said he would take a final call after the training and practice sessions today.

Talking to reporters ahead of their practice session, Smith said, "There is a fracture in one joint of the small finger on the left hand. It's really about dealing with pain from that perspective.

"Today, I would know if I can play a part in the game or not. I will try and train and see if I can get through. I will make a decision after training," he said.

Till yesterday, the South Africa team management denied reports of Smith having fractured his finger and termed it a ligament damage.

"I had an X-ray at the ground and then had an MRI late afternoon yesterday. The decisions were made by the doctors last night," Smith said.

The left-handed opener, who has had in the past dealt with injury blows and yet turned out for the match, said it's not about the pain but about how you contribute to the side being the captain.

"The big question is whether you will be able to contribute and give your best to the team. That's the question you need to answer especially as a leader.

"Your objective is to contribute and be professional. You need to be able to compete at that level... so these are the things you need to answer going into the Test match," said the 29-year-old.

"I would not think that (about playing with the injury). We have got things in place and I am confident that I can deal with the pain and get through it. There were couple of injuries in last few months and I have got through reasonably well. Injury is part of every sportsmen's career," he said.

While fielding at slips during the nets yesterday, Smith injured his left little finger.

This is for the third time in last two years that Smith has been rocked by an injury. During IPL in April 2008, he had suffered a tennis elbow that ruled him out of three ODIs against England.

Later, he broke his hand in a Test against Australia in Sydney. He missed the subsequent ODI series and decided to delay the surgery on his injured tennis elbow until after the return series against the Australians at home last year. Having thrashed India by an innings and six runs, South Africa are 1-0 up in the two-Test series and they just need a draw in the Eden Test to regain their number one status in ICC Test rankings.

Source: Web Search