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

[mominsaigol]

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

 

[FearlessRoar]

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

 

[FearlessRoar]

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.

 

[mominsaigol]

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 is just too good in test. I'm honored to have grown up watching him bat

 

[FearlessRoar]

Steve Smith in Tests:

4 centuries in his last 8 innings, 0 centuries in the 24 innings before that

 

[mominsaigol]

Steve Smith in Tests:

4 centuries in his last 8 innings, 0 centuries in the 24 innings before that

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.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

@jeeteshssaxena he has another feather in his cap now. More centuries than any Pak and after some GOATs legacy. Let's see how much momentum can he sustain after recent revival courtesy to BGT form

 

[Buffet]

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.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

Smith is the GOAT test batsman after Bradman. Full stop

 

[AZulfi]

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)

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Most runs in Asia by an Australian batsman. Very impressive by Smith. And he has done it at a significantly better average than Ponting. Feels like he is back.

 

[Ab Fan]

Terrific player and arguably best since Bradman in Test cricket.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Smith is back in form and he is back to scoring runs for fun.. What a player he is. Gem

 

[sweep_shot]

No. Smith is not the best batter I have ever seen. But, he is among top 5 in the last 30 years.

 

[mominsaigol]

No. Smith is not the best batter I have ever seen. But, he is among top 5 in the last 30 years.

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.

 

[sweep_shot]

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.

I meant all-format. Thread title didn't specify Test.

 

[mominsaigol]

I meant all-format. Thread title didn't specify Test.

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]

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.

Gayle can be considered as well. He's easily the greatest t20 player of all time

 

[FearlessRoar]

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

 

[Mobashir]

What an innings that was :

Loosing Warner early, Finch struggling at the other end all innings, he carried the team on the big occasion.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Steve Smith has joined the Welsh Fire for The Hundred competition, which will take place from August 5th to 31st.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1894327755669442655

 

[FearlessRoar]

Let's praise Smith for this

 

[BouncerGuy]

You lukcy boy.... He would have been out any other day.... That was lucky

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[mominsaigol]

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.

 

[Bhaijaan]

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.

He’s lucky to have not faced prime Shoaib Akhtar

 

[Shafikapeo]

Not the greatest but one of the great Test batman

 

[mominsaigol]

Not the greatest but one of the great Test batman

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?

 

[mominsaigol]

He’s lucky to have not faced prime Shoaib Akhtar

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.

 

[Bhaijaan]

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.

You’re talking about a bowler who made the great Sachin shiver.

 

[mominsaigol]

You’re talking about a bowler who made the great Sachin shiver.

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?

 

[mominsaigol]

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.

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.

 

[Shafikapeo]

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?

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.

 

[mominsaigol]

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.

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)