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[VIDEOS] Is Steven Smith the best batter you have ever seen?

Let this be a lesson to all babar fans.

If you're passionate about the game, you will always find a way back.

Steve smith never once gave up, and it was reflected in his attitude even when he was dropped from the t20 squad and managment was pressuring him to retire from odi and retire in 2025 wtc.

From retirement to managment wanting him to break pointing run tally and century tally.

What a player
 
Steve Smith has surpassed Ricky Ponting's record for the most catches by an Australian in Test cricket.

5Wmafrf.jpg
 
Yet another Test century for Steve Smith in the first innings of the second Test against Sri Lanka!

He is now level with Joe Root and Rahul Dravid on 36 hundreds.
 
Steve Smith in Tests:

4 centuries in his last 8 innings, 0 centuries in the 24 innings before that
 
FearlessRoar said:
Steve Smith in Tests:

4 centuries in his last 8 innings, 0 centuries in the 24 innings before that
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I feel a feeling he'll be back to a 60 avg soon. I remember his century galore 86 year avg run.

Atm form wise he seems to be back to his best, however yes, bowling is poor and the likes of Carey and inglis are also smoking sri lanka.
 
Fantastic batsman, always adapting and trying to get better. Not saying that based only on this SL series becasue SL bowling is poor. Saying that based on how he has went in his career.
 
Smith and Root are dominant test batsmen of this era.

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson not far behind them.

If Kane was playing for England or Australia he would have played 140-150 tests by now and closing in on 12,000 test runs.

NZ also don’t play enough tests per year (but still more than Pak do)
 
Terrific player and arguably best since Bradman in Test cricket.
 
Smith is back in form and he is back to scoring runs for fun.. What a player he is. Gem
 
sweep_shot said:
No. Smith is not the best batter I have ever seen. But, he is among top 5 in the last 30 years.
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If you're talking about odi or all formats I agree,

But which test batter is better then he is? This is a guy who now averages nearly 57 in test cricket with > 40 avg in every single country he's been in.

Infact he's basically dominated in Asia which is very rare for an overseas batter from sena. Pointing was a clown on Indian rage turners while smith has humbled India on rank turners.

He's easily the best test batter ever after Bradman. The only person who's debatable is Sachin but Sachin never dominated year by year like smith did in his prime.

Infact tenda only managed to top score 2x in 24 years of his career while smith essentially dominated for 5 years in a row in his prime.

Not to mention 24 of his 36 test centuries have resulted in wins for his team and the rest are draws. Very few losses. He's also the reason why Ashes is extremly one sided in sena and why aus always books their wtc spot every cycle.
 
mominsaigol said:
If you're talking about odi or all formats I agree,

But which test batter is better then he is? This is a guy who now averages nearly 57 in test cricket with > 40 avg in every single country he's been in.

Infact he's basically dominated in Asia which is very rare for an overseas batter from sena. Pointing was a clown on Indian rage turners while smith has humbled India on rank turners.

He's easily the best test batter ever after Bradman. The only person who's debatable is Sachin but Sachin never dominated year by year like smith did in his prime.

Infact tenda only managed to top score 2x in 24 years of his career while smith essentially dominated for 5 years in a row in his prime.

Not to mention 24 of his 36 test centuries have resulted in wins for his team and the rest are draws. Very few losses. He's also the reason why Ashes is extremly one sided in sena and why aus always books their wtc spot every cycle.
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I meant all-format. Thread title didn't specify Test.
 
sweep_shot said:
I meant all-format. Thread title didn't specify Test.
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In that case it has to be one of David Warner or Kohli. Kohli's peak is massively > Warner but Warner been more consistent, Has better odi wc performances, and in home conditions in tests is punishment incarnate.

Kohli's slump in test and t20 kinda cost him.
 
mominsaigol said:
In that case it has to be one of David Warner or Kohli. Kohli's peak is massively > Warner but Warner been more consistent, Has better odi wc performances, and in home conditions in tests is punishment incarnate.

Kohli's slump in test and t20 kinda cost him.
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Gayle can be considered as well. He's easily the greatest t20 player of all time
 
Most Player of the Series Awards as captain in Tests

6 - Imran Khan
4 - Graham Gooch
4 - Graeme Smith
4 - Steve Smith
3 - Michael Clarke
3 - Andrew Strauss
3 - Virat Kohli
 
What an innings that was :

Loosing Warner early, Finch struggling at the other end all innings, he carried the team on the big occasion.
 
Steve smith plays 3 tests vs WI this year, 5 vs England and 1 vs Sa.

Given his insane run of form, and the fact he avg 141 in west indies conditons, He might get to 40 test centuries this year.
 
mominsaigol said:
Steve smith plays 3 tests vs WI this year, 5 vs England and 1 vs Sa.

Given his insane run of form, and the fact he avg 141 in west indies conditons, He might get to 40 test centuries this year.
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He’s lucky to have not faced prime Shoaib Akhtar
 
Shafikapeo said:
Not the greatest but one of the great Test batman
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Not the greatest? Who's better then him besides Bradman? Sachin and Smith are in the same league with smith being ahead atm.

At the exact same no of matches 116 tests, both have nearly the same number of test runs with 36 centuries and 41 half centuries each. However smith avg 56 while Sachin avg 54 at this stage.

Besides these 2, who's > him?
 
Bhaijaan said:
He’s lucky to have not faced prime Shoaib Akhtar
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He's faced Bumrah and scored 2 back to back centuries against him.

Bumrah isn't top 1 greatest bowler of all time, but he is the greatest ever all format bowler and defo top 5 test bowlers of all time.

Why would a prime Akhtar be a problem for smith? Sohaib Akhtar was a one trick pony.

Dude has crap stamina? Just survive like 4 to 5 overs of the initial onslaught and Smith doesn't even open to begin with lol 🤣.

Mr mujh sei bowling nahi ho rahi isn't bothering Steve smith.

I don't wish to insult Akhtar, he's a good bowler but he isn't great compared to solid test batters.
 
mominsaigol said:
He's faced Bumrah and scored 2 back to back centuries against him.

Bumrah isn't top 1 greatest bowler of all time, but he is the greatest ever all format bowler and defo top 5 test bowlers of all time.

Why would a prime Akhtar be a problem for smith? Sohaib Akhtar was a one trick pony.

Dude has crap stamina? Just survive like 4 to 5 overs of the initial onslaught and Smith doesn't even open to begin with lol 🤣.

Mr mujh sei bowling nahi ho rahi isn't bothering Steve smith.

I don't wish to insult Akhtar, he's a good bowler but he isn't great compared to solid test batters.
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You’re talking about a bowler who made the great Sachin shiver.
 
Bhaijaan said:
You’re talking about a bowler who made the great Sachin shiver.
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Wrong. Afridi, Kamran akmal and Akhtar himself self proclaimed it for that broken nose incident, but anyone can injure anyone In cricket, it happens lol.

That doesn't mean Sachin was afraid of Akhtar. Sachin owned Akhtar more times then not during his career.

And when was Akhtar ever a good test cricketer? He played 46 tests only and he's crap against India and Australia in tests? 35 and 34 avg isn't the worst avg but it's nothing to be proud of either.

His overall record against other countries is a scam since he played like 1 or 2 tests against them only. Which is why he avg 24 to 25 against them

He played 20 put of his 46 tests against India and aus and he avg 34 and 35 against them?

His economy of nearly reaches 4 vs Australia IN TEST CRICKET LOL.

why would smith struggle against him when the likes of hayden and ponting treated him as a joke? So did Sachin?
 
Bhaijaan said:
Brian Lara has also said allegedly that he was afraid Shoaib Akhtar might kill him.

That makes 2 goat level batters terrified of Shabby in his peak bro.
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I feel like you deliberately do this to test me for some reason and see where I stand lol?

Anyway what comes out of akhtar's mouth means nothing.

Just because he said the words " Lara looked at me with panic in his eyes and said do you want to kill me"

Doesnt mean jack. In fact Akhtar himself later confessed that Lara and Gilly scared the living crap out of him and he was afraid to face them probably due to the fact that these 2 have butchered the ever living day lights out of him.

Lara is a goat test cricketer. He's not in the same tier as sachin and smith but he's definitely in the tier of dravid or perhaps slightly > Dravid in test cricket. And lara is a goat odi batsmen as well woth only Ponting, Kohli, Sachin and Viv being > him.
 
mominsaigol said:
Not the greatest? Who's better then him besides Bradman? Sachin and Smith are in the same league with smith being ahead atm.

At the exact same no of matches 116 tests, both have nearly the same number of test runs with 36 centuries and 41 half centuries each. However smith avg 56 while Sachin avg 54 at this stage.

Besides these 2, who's > him?
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I understand why many fans enjoy comparing players across different generations. It's natural and can be fun. However, I feel it's fundamentally flawed to label any single cricketer as the absolute greatest of all time. Each era has distinctive challenges, playing conditions, and contexts that significantly influence a player's performance.

Take Don Bradman as an example—he is widely regarded statistically as the greatest ever, but he never faced bowlers like Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar consistently bowling over 150 km/h. Likewise, modern legends such as Sachin Tendulkar or Steve Smith never faced the legendary West Indies pace attack of the 1970s and 80s on uncovered pitches—and without helmets. Clearly, the circumstances each generation faced were vastly different.

Cricket itself has evolved dramatically, from pitch preparations, protective gear, bat technology, to even playing styles—making direct comparisons across eras unreliable. Additionally, statistics can sometimes mislead us. Take Ryan ten Doeschate, whose batting average is exceptional—but context (quality of opposition, match situations, frequency of matches) matters greatly.

For these reasons, I believe Jacques Kallis, Sunil Gavaskar, Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith, and others were each equally great in their own right, representing the absolute best of their respective generations.
 
Shafikapeo said:
I understand why many fans enjoy comparing players across different generations. It's natural and can be fun. However, I feel it's fundamentally flawed to label any single cricketer as the absolute greatest of all time. Each era has distinctive challenges, playing conditions, and contexts that significantly influence a player's performance.

Take Don Bradman as an example—he is widely regarded statistically as the greatest ever, but he never faced bowlers like Brett Lee or Shoaib Akhtar consistently bowling over 150 km/h. Likewise, modern legends such as Sachin Tendulkar or Steve Smith never faced the legendary West Indies pace attack of the 1970s and 80s on uncovered pitches—and without helmets. Clearly, the circumstances each generation faced were vastly different.

Cricket itself has evolved dramatically, from pitch preparations, protective gear, bat technology, to even playing styles—making direct comparisons across eras unreliable. Additionally, statistics can sometimes mislead us. Take Ryan ten Doeschate, whose batting average is exceptional—but context (quality of opposition, match situations, frequency of matches) matters greatly.

For these reasons, I believe Jacques Kallis, Sunil Gavaskar, Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Steve Smith, and others were each equally great in their own right, representing the absolute best of their respective generations.
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The era that Bradman played in with those rubbish bats, damp pitches and zero equipment, literally no one from this era including Sachin would have even averaged 10.

Just cause Bradman would not survive in this era, Sachin wouldn't survive in his era either.

But you can 100% conpare smith to lara or Sachin. The game hasn't evolved too much since Sachin's era and now (in test cricket only, obviously odi and t20 has evolved)
 
Hitman said:
Happy Birthday, Steve Smith!


https://twitter.com/x/status/1929412160532177194
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Sachin Tendulkar and Steve Smith batting together would be a bloody nightmare for any test side.

That's a nigh impossible duo to take out. One player is complete and would dominate you, the other is a technician that would force you to bowl to your strengths.

Even elite bowlers would find it extremely difficult to adjust ball by ball for these 2.

They'd win 95% of their test games with just these 2 side by side.
 
Smith admired Tendulkar and grew up to becoming a better Test batsman than him. Also a better ODI batsman for sure but circumstances didn’t allow him to play the same number of matches.

Becoming better than someone you admired or idolized is probably the greatest feeling for an athlete.
 
Mamoon said:
Smith admired Tendulkar and grew up to becoming a better Test batsman than him. Also a better ODI batsman for sure but circumstances didn’t allow him to play the same number of matches.

Becoming better than someone you admired or idolized is probably the greatest feeling for an athlete.
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He's better then Tenda in tests, he's no where close to Tendulkar in odi.

The only people who can argued > Tendulkar in odi is Kohli and Viv.

Their a few other candidates such as 1990 Bevan who was considered a solid candidate and a few others argue for Ponting, Lara, de villers etc etc.

However no one would argue Steve Smith. Steve Smith has one Goat year in 2015 where he was genuinely > everyone in odi. Infact in 2015 he's > any era kohli except for maybe 2016 kohli.

But beyond his 2014-2015 purple patch run he fell off in odi. He's a very medicore Odi cricketer.

Avg of 43 and sr of 87 with 12 odi centuries is extremely bare bones medicore in this day and age where 45-50 avg and 90+ SR is the norm.
 
Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time, simply for the fact that he achieved GOAT status in both Test cricket and ODI cricket and was at top of his game for 24 years in both formats.

Kohli replicated it in ODIs and Smith replicated in Tests but neither of the two did in both formats. Root is probably a cheap Englishmen imitation of the great Tendulkar but he is likely to end at an avg under 50.

This is where Tendulkar really stand out because he attained GOAT status in both the formats. :srt :inti
 
Ab Fan said:
Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time, simply for the fact that he achieved GOAT status in both Test cricket and ODI cricket and was at top of his game for 24 years in both formats.

Kohli replicated it in ODIs and Smith replicated in Tests but neither of the two did in both formats. Root is probably a cheap Englishmen imitation of the great Tendulkar but he is likely to end at an avg under 50.

This is where Tendulkar really stand out because he attained GOAT status in both the formats. :srt :inti
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Smith didn't replicate it, he surpassed Tenda in test. Theirs no denying it. The indian in you is showing as wishing for Root to fall under 50.

Mask is slipping 🤣
 
For me Smith and Tendulkar are neck and neck in tests, at one time when Smith averaged nearly 65 I thought he would end up as a better batsman with big difference in stats but now he is more or less on the same level.

Smith is definitely more clutch but Tendulkars longevity combined with quality makes him equal.
 
Ab Fan said:
Tendulkar is the greatest batsman of all time, simply for the fact that he achieved GOAT status in both Test cricket and ODI cricket and was at top of his game for 24 years in both formats.

Kohli replicated it in ODIs and Smith replicated in Tests but neither of the two did in both formats. Root is probably a cheap Englishmen imitation of the great Tendulkar but he is likely to end at an avg under 50.

This is where Tendulkar really stand out because he attained GOAT status in both the formats. :srt :inti
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This is true.

No one else achieved GOAT status in both formats apart from Sachin and Viv.

For me these two are the GOAT batsman.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
For me Smith and Tendulkar are neck and neck in tests, at one time when Smith averaged nearly 65 I thought he would end up as a better batsman with big difference in stats but now he is more or less on the same level.

Smith is definitely more clutch but Tendulkars longevity combined with quality makes him equal.
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Smith had a better peak and even in his current state his avg is slightly higher with an equal conversion rate and realtive stats across countires to Tendulkar.

But the fact that his regression is = to any era Tenda excluding peak Tendulkar who avg 61 shows how good he is.

And peak smith mauls any era Tendulkar.

In odi however smith is a medicore batsmen.
 
mominsaigol said:
Smith had a better peak and even in his current state his avg is slightly higher with an equal conversion rate and realtive stats across countires to Tendulkar.

But the fact that his regression is = to any era Tenda excluding peak Tendulkar who avg 61 shows how good he is.

And peak smith mauls any era Tendulkar.

In odi however smith is a medicore batsmen.
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After 120 matches SRT averages 57.44 with 34 centuries. Smith averages 56.7, so numbers are pretty similar.

I do rate Smith higher in pressure situations.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
SRT was averaging 56.94 after 177 Tests.
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Their honestly extremely similar. Smith has a higher peak though so I rate him higher.

But Sachin is one of the few people I dont mind putting at no 4 over smith in an atg lineup even if its from Indian fans.

I still like smith more though. He's a better tactician in test, but Sachin is more complete
 
mominsaigol said:
Their honestly extremely similar. Smith has a higher peak though so I rate him higher.

But Sachin is one of the few people I dont mind putting at no 4 over smith in an atg lineup even if its from Indian fans.

I still like smith more though. He's a better tactician in test, but Sachin is more complete
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This is the difference. Guys like Smith (2013 -2019) have ridiculous peaks and high scores over a period which SRT lacked

However , it does mean that he was consistent and his output didn't decline dramatically until after 177 Test matches.
 
Nikhil_cric said:
This is the difference. Guys like Smith (2013 -2019) have ridiculous peaks and high scores over a period which SRT lacked

However , it does mean that he was consistent and his output didn't decline dramatically until after 177 Test matches.
Click to expand...
100% agreed. I believe their comparable. Their both defo tied for 3rd best test cricketer of all time with the following rank

1) Momin (God Mode activated)
2) Don Bradman
3) Sachin/Smith
 
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