Steve Smith returns from finger injury but forces fielding shuffle for second West Indies Test

Australian captain Pat Cummins has confirmed Steve Smith will return to play the second Test against the West Indies.

Smith will slot into the order at No.4 and push Josh Inglis - who struggled for runs in the first Test last week - out of the side.

But Smith won't be returning to his usual fielding position in the slips cordon, as the Aussies look to protect the finger that suffered a compound dislocation in the World Test Championship final last month.

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Smith will instead field at mid-off and fine leg.

Australia has Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, and Beau Webster who are all quality slip fielders, while teen star Sam Konstas has been training in the cordon too.

"He's ready to go. The finger held up well. He was really happy, particularly batting," Cummins told media in Grenada.

"Fielding we still potentially need to manage it a little bit, so he might not be in the slips too often. Maybe for spin he'll be OK, but (for the) quicks he might need to wait another week.

"So you might see him running around a bit more… I reckon he'll be itching to get up in the circle pretty quick."

Smith, 36, has scored four centuries in his last six Test matches and the Aussies missed his experience despite winning comfortably in Barbados last week.

It was a fast bowler's paradise as batters on both sides struggled, but Cummins reckons if anyone can find runs this series it will be Smith.

"That's one of his great strengths. He's scored runs all over the world and that means that while he's not played a game here, he seems to work out pretty quickly what needs to be done and where your scoring areas are," Cummins said.

"Of course, having that knowledge is going to be helpful, particularly for the guys that haven't really played too many Tests or first-class games on similar wickets.

"There's been four Test matches here, and they've all been spread out so it's hard to know, but it looked like a pretty good wicket.

"It's fun coming in when there's a few unknowns and you've got to think on your feet and you're not quite sure how a game is going to play out."

The second Test begins at midnight AEST on Thursday.

AUSTRALIA'S SECOND TEST TEAM

Usman Khawaja, Sam Konstas, Cameron Green, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon