Smith absence latest blow in 'disjointed' Test prep

A Test preparation that coach Justin Langer had earlier described as "disjointed" took another turn for the unexpected this afternoon when Steve Smith – the team's most obsessive nets inhabitant – missed the major batting session prior to Thursday's Vodafone Series opener against India.

Smith warmed up with his squad mates on Adelaide Oval as they completed a series of stretching exercises and running drills, but as the group broke for their now traditional session of touch football the former captain headed to the dressing room in some discomfort.

He was accompanied by Dettol Medical Team physiotherapist David Beakley and, when Smith failed to appear as the team headed to the adjoining nets, it was reported he was receiving a "back rub".

As the session continued and his fellow top-order batters undertook lengthy stints in the nets in his absence, it was revealed Smith was suffering from lower-back soreness and would not be training.

However, a team spokesman said the 31-year-old was not believed to be in doubt for the first Test and was expected to bat during a nets session tomorrow.

Smith was in stellar form during the recent Dettol ODI and T20 Series against India, scoring consecutive 62-ball centuries in the international season-opening one-dayers at the SCG.

He subsequently revealed the second of those came after he spent the morning of the game suffering from dizziness and nausea, a condition for which he was treated just hours before play began.

While Smith's back problem was not seen as serious, it continues a string of injury setbacks to have struck players involved in Australia and Australia A fixtures since the men's international summer began last month.

Marcus Stoinis (side), David Warner (adductor), Ashton Agar (calf and finger), Mitch Starc (back and ribs), Josh Hazlewood (back), Aaron Finch (glute), Moises Henriques (hamstring), Will Pucovski (concussion), Cameron Green (concussion), Jackson Bird (calf), Harry Conway (concussion) and Sean Abbott (calf) have all been sidelined at some stage over that period.

Langer, who spent some time today working closely with opener Joe Burns in the nets, conceded his team's preparation for the four-Test Series had encountered its setbacks but he pointed to the limited-overs as proof that strong performances can come from imperfect build-up.

"Over the last few weeks it’s been disjointed, no doubt," Langer told a media conference prior to the full Test squad's first training session at Adelaide Oval today.

"We expected that.

"In this unusual COVID period, we recognised that we'd have to be creative, we'd have to flexible and we're working through that.

"It has been different, we had the same thing in the one-day series and we came out firing there even though we only came together on the morning of the game.

"In this instance we come together for training today, which is great.

"The boys have had brilliant preparation, some of the guys have played the Australia A games, we've had very good preparation here in (Adelaide), we've got a very senior team now and I just can't wait to get the show on the road."

Both teams will complete their preparations for the day-night Test at Adelaide Oval tomorrow.

Vodafone Test Series v India 2020-21

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner

India Test squad: Virat Kohli (c) (first Test only), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj

First Test: December 17-21, Adelaide Oval, 3pm AEDT (day-night)

Second Test: December 26-30, MCG, 10.30am AEDT

Third Test: January 7-11, SCG, 10.30am AEDT

Fourth Test: January 15-19, Gabba, 11am AEDT