Steve Smith will miss the first of three Tests against the West Indies on the Qantas Tour of the West Indies.

Steve Smith has been ruled out with a finger injury sustained during the World Test Championship against South Africa. He is still in the running for the second match.

George Bailey, the chair of selectors, said that Josh Inglis and Sam Konstas will replace Smith and Marnus Labuschagne in the opening match.

“Steve needs more time to cure his wound, so we’ll give him another week of rest and then examine his functionality.

“We’ve decided to give Josh and Sam the opportunity to replace Steve Smith and Marnus.

We are thrilled to see them able to advance their young Test careers.

“In his sole opportunity in Test cricket to date, Josh was exceptional in Sri Lanka, demonstrating great intent and ability to apply pressure on the opposition.

“Marnus, at his best, has the potential to be an extremely valuable component of this squad. He recognises that his output hasn’t met our or his expectations.

“We will continue working with him on the aspects of his game that we believe he has to rediscover. We continue to recognise his skills and anticipate him to approach the challenge constructively.”

The batting order and final XI will be decided closer to the match.