Recovering Smith confident and ready for the Ashes

Despite being forced to limit how much he bats in training between Australia's T20 World Cup games, Steve Smith remains convinced that his injured elbow will heal in time for the Ashes.

Smith missed limited-overs trips earlier this year due to a left elbow issue, and he hinted that if he had to choose between the Vodafone Ashes and the World Cup, he could have to pick the Vodafone Ashes.

Fortunately for Aaron Finch's team, no such decision was needed, as the 32-year-old has now made a brilliant comeback to cricket, with the right-hander shaping up as a key player in Australia's effort to capture a first men's world T20 title.

Smith, who is known for his meticulous, bordering on a fanatic, training routine that involves hitting hundreds of balls in the nets, acknowledged that his batting sessions are still limited. The test batsman, who achieved the highest score with 35 in Australia's World Cup-opening victory over South Africa, said the measures were a development from prior net sessions in which he gradually increased the length of time he batted for. He said he will relax a bit and “build up again” as they get to longer matches. He added that the injury doesn’t worry him and he's recovering well.

Smith's elbow issue originated from soreness in his left wrist caused by a change in his batting grip last summer, which kept him out of the domestic season in the months following the India Test series.

On Tuesday, he told media in the UAE that New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson was battling with a similar issue.

Smith, who was pleased to learn that Ben Stokes would resume international cricket in Australia this summer, argued that the short gap between the Ashes and the World Cup should not affect his team's training for the Test series.

It's similar to last summer when he and a bunch of other Australian all-rounders spent over three months practising white-ball cricket (in England, at the IPL, and then at home against India) before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy started.

The Australian World Cup team members who have been selected for the Ashes team are unlikely to be eligible to play in the Marsh Sheffield Shield when they come home.

With the one-off Test against Afghanistan likely to be delayed, the hosts appear to be following England's lead, focusing on intra-squad hit-outs ahead of the first Test on December 8 at the Gabba.