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Australia coach Justin Langer is hopeful Steve Smith will return from a head knock in the series-deciding third ODI against England.
Steve Smith will have a fitness test in the nets on the eve of Australia's ODI series decider against England as he seeks to prove he is ready to return from a head knock.
Smith missed the opening two matches of the three-match ODI series, which is locked at 1-1 after Australia's collapse of 7-32 resulted in them losing game two by 24 runs.
The classy batsman is desperate to take part in the series finale, which starts in Manchester at 10pm AEST on Wednesday.
Smith did some sprint work on Monday and is expected to have a hit on Tuesday, according to coach Justin Langer.
"He got a blow to the head in training the day before the first game, so we've been going through all the concussion protocols," Langer told reporters.
"He's definitely tracking in the right direction, so we're hopeful he'll be right for tomorrow.
"He has ticked every box at the moment ... unless he's not feeling well this morning, which I'm not expecting, then he'll definitely have a hit this afternoon.
"If he doesn't come up again we'll keep his, like all of our players', health in mind. But fingers crossed he'll be up and ready to go."
The intrigue over Smith's availability comes a year after he suffered a frightening blow to the neck during the second Ashes Test.
That bouncer was delivered by express paceman Jofra Archer, who earned man-of-the-match honours in the second ODI and has dismissed David Warner in all four of his innings on the current tour.
"Jofra Archer is an incredibly talented bowler," Langer said.
"Equally, David Warner is quite a player.
"It's been a great contest ... Davey is a superstar, he is an incredibly important part of our side.
"I am sure he is working overtime to be up for tomorrow night's game."
Langer was disappointed by Australia's middle-order collapses in the tour-opening Twenty20 and second ODI, but denied it was a case of "mental fragility".
"These things happen ... the hardest thing in cricket is hitting the winning runs," Langer said.
"Your mind starts wandering to getting the job done ... I'm very, very confident in our players that they are strong, developing and getting better at it."
