Smith may rest to manage knee pain

Australia and NSW Blues captain Steve Smith may miss Sunday's Matador Cup match against Victoria in order to rest a minor knee injury he's been managing since the tour of England.

Smith was in obvious discomfort during his man-of-the-match performance against Queensland on Friday, at times moving gingerly between the wickets and receiving treatment from NSW medical staff during a drinks break.

While in some pain, it mattered little as Smith snapped a run of consecutive ducks with his second century of the tournament, an unbeaten 136 in a win that secured NSW's place in the Matador Cup final on October 25.

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Smith revealed after play he had been hampered by pain in the back of his right knee, an injury he first suffered during the recent tour of England and one he's been managing ever since.

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The Blues will play their final pool match against the Bushrangers on Sunday and Smith hinted he could skip the match to give his body a week of rest before the tournament final, which is being used as a warm-up for the first Test against New Zealand on November 5-9.

"It's been lingering a little bit since the start of the tournament, but it's been manageable,” Smith said of his injury after NSW's 146-run victory at Drummoyne Oval.

"We'll see what happens come Sunday. We're first now and through to the final so I could perhaps have that game off and have a week to recover before the final. So we'll see how we go.

"I had a bit of pain in England but it wasn’t anything serious, just a little bit in the back of my knee.

"I've been able to play with it without much pain. The more my innings goes it loosens up and feels a lot better.

"Today it didn't do that. I don't know whether it because the ground was a little bit heavier or something like that. But it seemed to stay quite sore the whole way through my innings.

"I'll see the physio this evening and tomorrow morning and see how we go with Sunday. We've got a week until the final see we'll see how we go."

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While floating the idea of skipping the match, Smith said he was reluctant to make too many changes to a star-studded side that is unbeaten from five matches in the competition.

But at least one change appears likely, with Mitchell Starc replacing Doug Bollinger in the 14-man squad for Sunday's game having been rested for Friday's match.

"I don't want to change too much," Smith said. "We've jelled really well as a group and played some really good cricket so we're on the right path."

Any thought that Smith's knee problem would hamper him during a crucial summer of Test cricket was dismissed with another dominant display on a glorious Friday afternoon in Sydney's inner west.

Having failed to score in his previous two matches, Smith walked to the crease in the opening over of the day after the Blues lost Nic Maddinson early on.

NSW were 3-83 when Ed Cowan and Shane Watson fell, but Smith found an ally in allrounder Moises Henriques and the duo combined for a match-turning 186-run partnership.

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Smith said while the challenge of the Matador Cup was a lot different to the one he'll face at the Gabba on November 5, it was pleasing to head into the Test summer high on confidence.

"I didn't have much confidence walking out to bat today coming off two naughts," he said with a laugh.

"It was nice to score a few runs today. The wickets in Test cricket are going to be a lot different to what we've had throughout this Matador Cup.

"It's just been good to play some cricket and spend some time in the middle. There's nothing like time in the middle so I'm feeling really good within my game in the moment. Hopefully it'll be a big summer."

And a little more than two months since he was officially confirmed as Michael Clarke's replacement as full-time Test skipper, Smith says the transition has been smooth.

"I do (feel like it's my team). Ever since I've been named captain all the guys have got around me and we've been working towards the same goal," he said.

"I think it's really exciting and I'm looking forward to leading the boys this summer."