Smith’s Injury, Bavuma’s Fortune: A Dropped Catch That Cost Australia the Title

Lord’s: On the third day of the World Test Championship (WTC) final between Australia and South Africa, Australia’s key player Steve Smith suffered a fracture in the little finger of his right hand, ruling him out of the final. But this injury turned out to be a huge blow for the Aussies—because the missed catch that came with it gave South Africa a historic advantage.

South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma was on just 2 runs when Smith, fielding at first slip, went for his catch. However, the ball struck Smith’s little finger instead, causing a serious injury and resulting in a crucial dropped catch. When play was stopped at the end of Day 3 on Friday, Bavuma had reached 65*, and South Africa needed only 69 more runs to win.

The unbroken third-wicket stand between Bavuma and opener Aiden Markram had swelled to 143 runs by then. On Day 4 (Saturday), the partnership extended to 147 before Bavuma (66 runs) was dismissed. Markram (136 runs, 383 minutes, 207 balls, 14 fours) then took charge and brought the team to the brink of victory before falling to Josh Hazlewood, courtesy of a brilliant diving catch by Travis Head.

Fortunately for South Africa, there was no collapse. The remaining 69 runs were chased down comfortably, etching a monumental moment in South African cricket history—their maiden ICC title.

The missed catch off Bavuma, courtesy of Smith’s injury, proved extremely costly for Australia and turned out to be the turning point that delivered South Africa their first-ever major ICC trophy.

At the time of the dropped catch, South Africa were 76/2. By stumps, they had progressed to 213/2, and Bavuma’s wicket fell shortly after at 217.

On Friday, Smith was not standing as far away from the stumps as he usually does in the first slip. Wearing a helmet and standing close to Bavuma, he attempted to catch a sharp edge off a Mitchell Starc delivery clocked at 138 km/h. The short ball took the edge of Bavuma’s bat and flew towards Smith at shoulder height, but he couldn’t complete the catch. The ball struck his finger, and the pain was immediate.

Before the physio and doctor could reach him, Smith had already started walking off due to intense pain. He was taken to the hospital for an X-ray, which confirmed a fracture.

It’s still unclear how long Smith will be out, but it’s likely that he may miss at least the start of the upcoming three-Test series against the West Indies, beginning on June 25.