Australia‘s vice-captain Steve Smith has been cleared to play in the iconic Boxing Day Test against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne, starting on December 26. Steve Smith also opened up about a “weird” episode of vestibular dysfunction that threatened his return and worsened during training in Adelaide.
Australia’s batting mainstay was troubled by vestibular issues that worsened over four days of training at the Adelaide Oval. Unlike previous bouts of vertigo, this time the problem was more severe, and eventually, he decided to withdraw from the third Ashes 2025-26 Test.
Steve Smith Reveals ‘Weird’ Health Scare, As He Cleared for Boxing Day Test Return
Australian vice-captain struggled to pick up the ball early, felt heavy in the head, was unable to focus properly, and became unusually exhausted after even short training sessions. Each time he lifted his head to face a delivery, his vision felt out of sync.
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The symptoms intensified despite repeated attempts to train. Batting sessions, light activity, and even a game of golf left him feeling worse. Later, Smith underwent medical checkups that required him to wear vestibular goggles to help doctors better identify the source of his problems.
The right-handed batter was given a strict recovery plan involving eye-tracking drills, laser-guided exercises, balance control, and neck-strengthening exercises. The seasoned batter has a history of head knocks and balance-related issues, but this episode was different and stunned him.
I Was a Bit Worried”: Steve Smith’s Vestibular Battle
Now, Smith has been cleared to play at the MCG, and he has also shut down rumors of a net-session concussion and confirmed the issue was purely vestibular. The Australian vice-captain was quoted as saying by The Age: “I’ve had a few different things with my head in the past—head knocks, some vestibular stuff, some vertigo stuff. It was more the vestibular stuff this time.”
Smith further explained, “I’m still talking to people about it. I’ve got some training exercises I need to do, tracking things, wearing goggles with a laser on them, drawing different shapes, and things like that. So, it’ll be a bit of that, strengthening my neck. Fingers crossed it’s gone and never comes back. That would be nice.”
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The Aussie star also revealed that the eye black he used in the day-night Test in Brisbane will now be something he keeps using regularly in his kit. He shared, “The black things I was wearing under my eyes, I’m 100 percent certain they worked, and I think I’ll be bringing them out in normal night games against the white ball as well.”
Steve Smith also defended England head coach Brendon McCullum’s “overpreparing” remark that he made after losing the first two Tests Down Under. The veteran batter explained that he has reduced the amount of training he does to keep his body fresh.
He signed off by saying, “I think sometimes, particularly when you lose, you almost try too much and too hard, and you lose sight of the fact that you want to be mentally fresh when you go in the middle. Sometimes you just try too hard to get yourself into that frame of mind, and you’re actually cooked when you go out to the middle to try to perform under pressure. I’ve learned that over time.”
