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Steve Smith is back in the big time to reclaim his throne as the #1 Test batsman!

Take a Bow....!!! Brilliant just Brilliant :salute

Class will always be Class.... this guy have guts to stand up in tough situations. Bravo!!!!
 
The grit it takes to come back after a ban and saga like that and perform under immense pressure when your whole team has bottled it and you’re not even the captain to play such an innings just shows how marvellous this guy is as a batsman in the toughest format of the sport. He was always better than kohli in tests it’s just Indians never wanna admit it cause than their cricket gods get insulted
 
Mean&Green said:
The grit it takes to come back after a ban and saga like that and perform under immense pressure when your whole team has bottled it and you’re not even the captain to play such an innings just shows how marvellous this guy is as a batsman in the toughest format of the sport. He was always better than kohli in tests it’s just Indians never wanna admit it cause than their cricket gods get insulted
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I am Indian and I can admit smith was always a better test batsman. But, Kohli turned it up last year played like a beast scoring 100's in toughest pitches where everyone failed and outscored everyone in SA and ENG Test series by huge margin. Now as Smith is back the real game begins.
 
Unbelievable knock. The way he absorbed all the pressure at the start and has remained solid while wickets have tumbled is incredible. All this while playing his first test in about 19 months makes it even more impressive. Hope he continues with this form for the rest of the Ashes.

I know you can't fully judge yet but how do people rank him in history? He is definitely the best test batsmen I've seen (only started watching cricket since 2007)
 
Smith is the undisputed #1 batsman in Test. You don't have an average of 60 unless you are a genius batsman.

Salute to Smith. He thrived in Test cricket despite having unorthodox techniques.
 
sweep_shot said:
Smith is the undisputed #1 batsman in Test. You don't have an average of 60 unless you are a genius batsman.

Salute to Smith. He thrived in Test cricket despite having unorthodox techniques.
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Style is overrated, what matter is how many runs you put on the board for the team:fadi
 
Plumb said:
Style is overrated, what matter is how many runs you put on the board for the team:fadi
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You are right. But, you can't teach Smith's style to a youngster. It is not textbook batting.

Smith made it work for himself.
 
sweep_shot said:
You are right. But, you can't teach Smith's style to a youngster. It is not textbook batting.

Smith made it work for himself.
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Well the point I was trying to make is when he was piling up runs we :inzi2 ignored saying "I have seen better batsmen than him" and "very ugly style"... when he was scoring runs we should have used him instead we made excuses...

On Topic: Smith is mentally very tough and that's 80% of his batting...:smith
 
kohli dethroned from being the no. 1 test batsman

crazy to think aus can possibly make 300 after being 121/8

dont know if any other batsmen other than smith is capable of reviving a score like this
 
That was quick. Just shows his quality. You would have thought it would have taken him a few innings to get back to scoring big, but he does it immediately.
 
Now where is that ‘Steve Smith is useless’ thread? Lol
 
Plumb said:
Well the point I was trying to make is when he was piling up runs we :inzi2 ignored saying "I have seen better batsmen than him" and "very ugly style"... when he was scoring runs we should have used him instead we made excuses...

On Topic: Smith is mentally very tough and that's 80% of his batting...:smith
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Yeah. Fawad was averaging like 50. Not sure why Pakistan didn't persist with him. He could've been Pakistan's Smith.
 
Steve Smith has a strong claim to be the second best test batsmen to have come from Australia.

I really don't believe if someone says Ricky or Greg as good as Smith as far as the test cricket is concerned.

Bradman
Smith
Chappell
Ponting
AB
Waugh
 
Ab Fan said:
Steve Smith has a strong claim to be the second best test batsmen to have come from Australia.

I really don't believe if someone says Ricky or Greg as good as Smith as far as the test cricket is concerned.

Bradman
Smith
Chappell
Ponting
AB
Waugh
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Smith has a big edge against Ponting in India and they are neck-to-neck in every other department.

But Punter averaged 60 odd until the last four-to-five years of his career.

So Smith might have a similar decline since he relies heavily on reflexes.
 
hafeezrocks said:
And that means Kohli is an exceptionally clutch player in the Odis , which he is not during the most important matches in the WCs.
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The consistency of Kohli doesn’t come around every day regardless of him failing in ICC tournament knockout matches.
 
To think this guy was a leg spinner who people compared with Shane Warne that can bat just a little when he started off...
 
Unreal. What a lopsided scorecard - one man out in a league of his own.
 
He is different league. Indian media dominates cricket nowadays so Kohli will be pushed as the best batsmen of this generation however for any unbiased person who watches the sport Steve Smith will be the best batsmen of this generation easily.

Kohli can be second best bullying in useless bilaterals but Smith has left him behind now. No competition anymore between the two.

Smith


Daylight


Kohli

Williamson

Root

Daylight

Rest
 
That grit and determination on his face is priceless. Even if you get wickets around him but he is really unbelievably difficult to get. Always pleasure to watch him bat and stand up for his team in tough situations.
What a character and what a player.
 
Considering his first few tests were "wasted" with him being given the specialist spinner role, one could argue he would average even more than 62, maybe around 65.

He could be a bowler's nightmare with him taking out top of outside off delivery out of the occasion and the seemingly inswinger vulnerability that is probably his strength. But it takes more than that to be that good of a batter. He is as tough as they come, most Aussies are.
 
Smith is a GOAT in tests and good in ODIs.

Kohli is an undisputed ATG in both tests and ODIs.

Kane is an undisputed ATG in tests and very good in ODIs (more considering the way he led his team in the WC '19).

Root is a great in tests and very good in ODIs.
 
sweep_shot said:
.... you can't teach Smith's style to a youngster. It is not textbook batting....
Click to expand...

On Star Sports regional commentary in the world cup, they mentioned information from Sridharan Sriram (who is Australia's spin bowling coach). When Smith practice, he takes 30-40 throwdowns at pace from a shorter distance, where he bats with a stump, and without pads. If he misses, then he gets hit on the legs. And apparently he doesn't miss the ball. Fantastic hand eye coordination.

And, this reminded me of a story about the Don, who was also not a copybook bat, and would play a game when he was a child, of hitting the ball onto some drums, and hitting the ricochets, without stopping.
 
dodo.2k said:
On Star Sports regional commentary in the world cup, they mentioned information from Sridharan Sriram (who is Australia's spin bowling coach). When Smith practice, he takes 30-40 throwdowns at pace from a shorter distance, where he bats with a stump, and without pads. If he misses, then he gets hit on the legs. And apparently he doesn't miss the ball. Fantastic hand eye coordination.

And, this reminded me of a story about the Don, who was also not a copybook bat, and would play a game when he was a child, of hitting the ball onto some drums, and hitting the ricochets, without stopping.
Click to expand...

That's insane. He can seriously get injured though. Imagine his knee getting hit by a fast ball. It can shatter his knee.

I know he is extremely good but this kind of training is dangerous.
 
barah_admi said:
there is this little fella who bats up at three, I think his name is Kane Williamson....and he is not a cheat either
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Steve Smith never got any undue advantage in his batting except the fact that he’s that good
 
Ab Fan said:
Smith is a GOAT in tests and good in ODIs.

Kohli is an undisputed ATG in both tests and ODIs.

Kane is an undisputed ATG in tests and very good in ODIs (more considering the way he led his team in the WC '19).

Root is a great in tests and very good in ODIs.
Click to expand...

Root doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Smith, Kohli, and Williamson.

I can safely say it's the terrific three and not fab 4. Root is highly over rated.
 
Not this his record isn’t ridiculous enough, but here’s Steve Smith’s Test record excluding the 11 matches prior to him scoring his first century:

Matches: 54
Innings: 96
Not Outs: 15
Runs: 5723
Average: 70.65
50s: 19
100s: 24

Even if he’d been dismissed in every innings, he’d still be averaging 59.6 in this period.

Absurd.
 
He really is on a different level to everyone else in Test cricket.
 
There was a guy who used to pullutue every thread and say only 'biased' Pakistani fans will say Smith is a better batsman than Kohli. Lol ho gya.

Only an attention seeker who has nothing better to do in life will not accept the fact that Smith is a better batsman than Kohli. Oops i remember now that Kohli is a SERIAL FAILURE in tournament knockouts so they dont hold much value and bilateral odis matter most lmao.
 
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What an incredible innings yesterday! Has given his team a fighting score by digging them out of a deep hole. What I absolutely love about Smith is that he has a particular liking for days when no other fellow batsman from his team turns up. A real clutch player!

Beautiful hitting towards the end with nine wickets down. Smart batting from a smart cricketer. Here´s hoping for a good match.
 
Was there a doubt? The pretenders could enjoy the year he was away and rake up some meaningless runs. He is back with a bang. All the pretenders are advised to move aside else the Smithy machine is going to crush you. :shhh
 
SarfiBabarHaris said:
There was a guy who used to pullutue every thread and say only 'biased' Pakistani fans will say Smith is a better batsman than Kohli. Lol ho gya.

Only an attention seeker who has nothing better to do in life will not accept the fact that Smith is a better batsman than Kohli. Oops i remember now that Kohli is a SERIAL FAILURE in tournament knockouts so they dont hold much value and bilateral odis matter most lmao.
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Kohli can score 100 more centuries but they won't hold any value. This is coming from an Indian. Kohli is not eligible to even tie shoelaces of Steve Smith. The latter is a legend and the former is a choker. End of the debate.
 
delpiero10 said:
Not this his record isn’t ridiculous enough, but here’s Steve Smith’s Test record excluding the 11 matches prior to him scoring his first century:

Matches: 54
Innings: 96
Not Outs: 15
Runs: 5723
Average: 70.65
50s: 19
100s: 24

Even if he’d been dismissed in every innings, he’d still be averaging 59.6 in this period.

Absurd.
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I don't care about the numbers. As long as Smith is at crease, Australia is assured of winning. There is no other batsman in the entire planet who inspires that confidence. Pretenders can go and jump somewhere.
 
QalandarFan said:
Root doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Smith, Kohli, and Williamson.

I can safely say it's the terrific three and not fab 4. Root is highly over rated.
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I respectfully disagree. Please abandon this club. Root and Smith are world cup winners. Kane is a MoS of the world cup.

Kohli doesn't belong anywhere near those 3. All his useless centuries don't matter. He is below those 3 even in ODIs let alone tests. I;d say even Babar Azam has already surpassed Kohli.
 
i think we know now the main reason of india's series win in australia.

and to think we are about to travel to australia for a two test series.

i have already a sense of foreboding about that.
 
After scoring a fantastic 144 on his return to Test cricket, Australia batsman Steve Smith rated the knock as one of the best of his 24 centuries.

While the innings had all the hallmarks of a classic, it was the circumstances that it came in that made it more memorable for Smith, who last played a Test in March 2018, before serving a 12-month suspension for ball tampering.

On a lively day one pitch at Edgbaston, England's seamers had reduced Australia to 122/8 in 44 overs and seemed set to wrap things up quickly, but Smith – with help from Peter Siddle, who scored 44 at No.10 – upset those plans, propelling the visitors to 284.

"Just really proud that I was able to help pull the team out of a little bit of trouble," Smith said after play. "Obviously England bowled exceptionally well in the first two sessions and it was hard work out there, I'm just proud that I was able to dig in and fight through the difficult periods and get ourselves to a competitive total.

"I think it has got to be one of my best hundreds, definitely - first Ashes Test match, the ball was doing a fair bit out in the morning, so I had to work really hard.

"I got beaten a few times, but I just had to let that go and concentrated on the next ball and kept digging in. I know that the first Test for an Ashes series is always big. I didn't want to give my wicket up easily, I wanted to keep fighting and, fortunately, I was able to dig in today and get ourselves to a reasonable total, I think."

Smith also heaped praise on Siddle and Nathan Lyon (12*), with whom he forged sizeable partnerships of 88 and 74 runs respectively.

"I thought Peter Siddle did a magnificent job - that partnership we were able to form. And Nathan Lyon as well - he was magnificent. He actually said to me that's the most nervous I've ever been out in the middle batting, so to be able to get to my hundred and give him a really big hug and let all my emotions out - that was really special."

Smith said that the contributions of the Nos.10 and 11 were a reflection of the hard work they had put in at training in a bid to hone their skills with the bat.

"Sometimes, you need your tail to dig in with you. Everyone gets to bat, so you might as well try and improve it, and to their credit, the bottom four and the bowlers that are on the bench have worked incredibly hard the last couple of weeks to try and find a game plan that works in England.

"Try and get their defence in order and playing the ball really late, and all those kinds of things. It's been a big focus, because tail runs can change the course of a game, as we sort of saw today."

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1299142
 
What an innings. Good bowling conditions, Australia in trouble, getting boo'd for every run and he played a clutch innings. GOAT
 
This thread will be bumped the moment Smith takes the #1 spot in Test rankings. But it will also be bumped from time to time till Kohli maintains his throne.
 
Gear up for round two of kohli vs smith in tests.Smith won the first round but now kohli is better than what he was 2 years ago.
After the worl cup debacle Kohli will bounce back,he may be a choker in odis (As of now) but he is clutch in tests.
 
QalandarFan said:
Root doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Smith, Kohli, and Williamson.

I can safely say it's the terrific three and not fab 4. Root is highly over rated.
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I have never seen Root playing a clutch knock.

Heck I’d say Babar Azam > Joe Root.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
Gear up for round two of kohli vs smith in tests.Smith won the first round but now kohli is better than what he was 2 years ago.
After the worl cup debacle Kohli will bounce back,he may be a choker in odis (As of now) but he is clutch in tests.
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I believe Kohli will bounce back too.

He is too good a player to get the label of “choker”.
 
Mueez said:
I believe Kohli will bounce back too.

He is too good a player to get the label of “choker”.
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I feel the same.
This is the same guy who was under immense pressure when he toured eng in 2018 and then went berserk in bowling friendly conditions outscoring every other batsman by a mile.
I am sure we'll see a different cersion of kohli in windies.
 
Someone needs to be really dumb to say Kohli is mediocre etc.

He is King Kohli for a reason.

The Windies series is starting today, right?
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
I feel the same.
This is the same guy who was under immense pressure when he toured eng in 2018 and then went berserk in bowling friendly conditions outscoring every other batsman by a mile.
I am sure we'll see a different cersion of kohli in windies.
Click to expand...

Mueez said:
Someone needs to be really dumb to say Kohli is mediocre etc.

He is King Kohli for a reason.

The Windies series is starting today, right?
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^
 
One innings from Williamson in the U.A.E. and he was the best batsman in the world, not Kohli. Now one innings from Smith and suddenly he is the best batsman in the world, not Kohli :)))
 
To be honest from past 2 years pujara won us more important test matches than anyone. You rarely see India losing when he scores a 100. He is one of the main reasons India won in Aus test series. He scored 50+ runs in all the matches India won in SENA in last 2 years . I know he is no where near the fab 4. But, his impact is similar.
 
Hitman said:
One innings from Williamson in the U.A.E. and he was the best batsman in the world, not Kohli. Now one innings from Smith and suddenly he is the best batsman in the world, not Kohli :)))
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Smith before the ban was the best test batsmen in the world. Is one right now and will be whether you like it or not. Lol 1 inning.
 
Hitman said:
One innings from Williamson in the U.A.E. and he was the best batsman in the world, not Kohli. Now one innings from Smith and suddenly he is the best batsman in the world, not Kohli :)))
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True. Even with an avg worldcup Kohli avg is close to 89
In his last 70 odi innings, that is freakish. Players avg 57-60 in tests at some part of their career but averaging 60 in odi after 230 matches is insane.
 
Khan12 said:
Smith before the ban was the best test batsmen in the world. Is one right now and will be whether you like it or not. Lol 1 inning.
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HaHa ...... let’s wait till ICC rates him the #1 Test batsman in the world. 1 innings won’t make him reach that spot. You can celebrate after he achieves it.

Lara, Ponting, Kallis, Sangakkara ..... and now Smith, do you see a similarity in the pattern .... cough **adopted heroes**
 
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Mueez said:
Someone needs to be really dumb to say Kohli is mediocre etc.

He is King Kohli for a reason.

The Windies series is starting today, right?
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I think it has more to do with his behavior. Kohli thinks he is above the game and he lacks respect.

Smith is much nicer and equally capable (if not more) with the bat. So, people naturally like Smith more.
 
Hitman said:
HaHa ...... let’s wait till ICC rates him the #1 Test batsman in the world. 1 innings won’t make him reach that spot. You can celebrate after he achieves it.

Lara, Ponting, Kallis, Sangakkara ..... and now Smith, do you see a similarity in the pattern .... cough **adopted heroes**
Click to expand...

Everyone considers him the best test batsmen in the world bar jealous Indians. As I said live with it. He's the best test batsmen whether it shows of the standing or not.
 
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