Steven Smith thinks Mitchell Starc will be ready for South Africa test

Starc has been excluded from the ODI squad against South Africa

Australia captain Steven Smith has backed star fast bowler Mitchell Starc to be prepared for the first summer test.

The 26-year-old fast bowler had undergone a surgery for a leg injury and continues to recover from what the skipper thinks “one of the most gruesome things I've ever seen.” The Australian side will be departing for South Africa tomorrow for the ODI series that starts next week without the services of pacers Starc and Josh Hazlewood. 

Starc had accidentally lacerated his left shin while fielding in a training session with the Australian team at Hurstville Oval last Thursday. Smith was on the spot as the incident took place. When asked about the accident the skipper said, “It wasn't nice at all. It was probably one of the most gruesome things I've ever seen.”

"He was aware it (the stump) was there. It was just one of those things, you go for the ball and sort of almost block everything out,” he added.

The 27-year-old captain also revealed that the other players were shouting so that Starc did not catch the ball. “As he was catching it, a few us were saying no, just don't go for it,” the batsman added. 

One of the best fielders of the current generation, Starc caught the ball despite the collision. “He wasn't overly impressed ... he was about to have a bit of a rest and chill out, they're the kind of things you don't want happening,” Smith continued. 

Starc was rested from the forthcoming ODI series against South Africa and was supposed to play for New South Wales in the second half of the domestic ODI competition starting from next month. 

However, Smith is confident about Starc’s recovery and thinks the fast bowler needs only a few weeks to be up at his feet again and running. "It wasn't great but I'm sure in a couple of weeks he'll be ok and back into things  ... we're confident he'll be ok for the first Test," said the right-handed batsman on Monday.  

The fast bowler is believed to be aiming to be prepared for the Sheffield Shield opener against Queensland. 

Smith thinks winning the ODI series against South Africa will bring a mental edge for the Australians in the three-test series against the Proteas. He also acknowledged the tough Cricket against the South Africans in the forthcoming series.

However, Smith believes the South Africans are not very much different in the ODI format than the test. “"The South African team probably won't be too different from the one-dayers to the Test matches," he said.

Australia will play South Africa in a test series starting from November.