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

Ab Fan said:
Smith’s decline further proves the greatness of Sachin.

Sachin too had a peak of 8-9 years(1993-2002) but then had a decline from 2003 onwards too. But he again hit the peak by 2007 and it stayed till 2011 World Cup. That’s what longevity does, if you don’t hit purple patch or peak again, your stats will go down big time during decline.
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Sachin's peak was never close to Smith's peak though.

Peak is as valid as a point as longetivity
 
On another note, can't believe where Kohli was till 2018, and where he is now. One extended bad phase can ruin a legacy. Can't wait for him to retire for good.
 
Ab Fan said:
But he had two peaks. That’s total 13-14 years. Smith’s peak ended on 7-8 years.
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This i agree with. And I'm willing to change my opinions now. This series + the England series vs Pakistan and the current eng vs NZ series is making me realise how important longetivity + all format country performance is.

I'm putting Sachin > Smith now. I still believe smith's peak is > any batter except Bradman though however overall the entire lifespan counts.
Hitman said:
On another note, can't believe where Kohli was till 2018, and where he is now. Can't wait for him to retire for good.
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Fanboy375 said:
I mean there are other players whose peak was above Sachin.Like Yousuf (2005-2007) and Ponting mid 2000s
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Pointing and Yousaf may have had a better avg but they were never > Sachin when it came to all country performances, Smith was.

Big difference. It's why people put sanga below Sachin due to certain poor records.

Similarly pointing even at peak was a bunny in Indian comditons.
 
Ab Fan said:
But he had two peaks. That’s total 13-14 years. Smith’s peak ended on 7-8 years.
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A blip here and there but I have not seen anyone playing at that kind of standard like SRT for such a long period.

It's rare to see anyone having 100 tests with 60 avg. Here you have 150-160 tests for entire 19-20 years.

SRT - 157 tests spanning 19 years with avg of 59.41. That's most insane peak anyone can have with duration.

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Smith is finished, I think he had a greater batting peak than Sachin and only inferior to Viv's peak but over careers those two are better.
 
atreus said:
Smith is finished, I think he had a greater batting peak than Sachin and only inferior to Viv's peak but over careers those two are better.
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Come on, don't say that. His decline is not a patch on Kohli's decline.
 
Ab Fan said:
Smith’s decline further proves the greatness of Sachin.

Sachin too had a peak of 8-9 years(1993-2002) but then had a decline from 2003 onwards too. But he again hit the peak by 2007 and it stayed till 2011 World Cup. That’s what longevity does, if you don’t hit purple patch or peak again, your stats will go down big time during decline.
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He still avgs 56

He might not hit a purple patch again but very well poised to finish at 11-12k test runs with 40odd test tons which is is great
 
atreus said:
Smith is finished, I think he had a greater batting peak than Sachin and only inferior to Viv's peak but over careers those two are better.
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He surely has declined, but finished? Lots of these dismissals are Bumrah getting him out.

Let's see how he does against others. May not be totally finished. A simply a top class test batsman and the top 3 in the last 30 years along with SRT and Lara.
 
atreus said:
Smith is finished, I think he had a greater batting peak than Sachin and only inferior to Viv's peak but over careers those two are better.
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Was Viv’s peak really better than Smith’s? I would love to have such comparison threads rather than most of the time posters over here comparing everyone when at peak vs Sachin.
 
Ab Fan said:
Was Viv’s peak really better than Smith’s? I would love to have such comparison threads rather than most of the time posters over here comparing everyone when at peak vs Sachin.
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Keeping SRT's avg of 60 for 150-160 tests, let's see the biggest avg I can find for these two.

Viv averaged 70 plus for 35 odd tests in middle of his career. I won't call it necessarily better than Smith averaging 70 plus in 45 tests. I did not see Viv's ea to compare context of runs but Smith scored many high quality runs in away tough tours during this period. I am not sure 35 tests is that impressive. If it was 70 tests then yah.
 
Buffet said:
He surely has declined, but finished? Lots of these dismissals are Bumrah getting him out.

Let's see how he does against others. May not be totally finished. A simply a top class test batsman and the top 3 in the last 30 years along with SRT and Lara.
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constantly, he seems a lot slower with all his strokes, especially against offcutters he is marginally slower now which leads to him being unable to hit them, and it's a big part of his batting to walk across and guide a ball coming in to the leg side, but he can't do that anymore and gets exposed to LBW or an edge, his style of coming in front of the stumps always was going to be dangerous but he worked around that by superhuman hand-eye coordination but now that's gone, he has lost a big portion of what made him so good, don't really see him ever coming back unless he competely changes his style and becomes a technical nudger like Williamson and Root.
 
Ab Fan said:
Was Viv’s peak really better than Smith’s? I would love to have such comparison threads rather than most of the time posters over here comparing everyone when at peak vs Sachin.
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Yeah, I think Viv 1976-1981 is the greatest bat ever (barring obviously the Don.) i don't think anyone has obliterated as many ATG bowlers in their own hometurf so many times in their very prime, I think Smith was very close. I also think Smith always had some issues against uneven and variable bounce while Viv was just the GOAT player of fast bowling. Also, agreed with the highlighted portion.
 
atreus said:
constantly, he seems a lot slower with all his strokes, especially against offcutters he is marginally slower now which leads to him being unable to hit them, and it's a big part of his batting to walk across and guide a ball coming in to the leg side, but he can't do that anymore and gets exposed to LBW or an edge, his style of coming in front of the stumps always was going to be dangerous but he worked around that by superhuman hand-eye coordination but now that's gone, he has lost a big portion of what made him so good, don't really see him ever coming back unless he competely changes his style and becomes a technical nudger like Williamson and Root.
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Good point.

Yah, his game depends on that so you may be right on him being finished. May be he can still score some runs against lesser bowlers, but top bowlers are likely to trouble him with decling in hand-eye coordination. Luckily, some of the top pacers play for Aus and he does not have to face them.

If game is based on technique then yah, you can still counter good spells despite decline. So you are likely to be right here.
 
atreus said:
Yeah, I think Viv 1976-1981 is the greatest bat ever (barring obviously the Don.) i don't think anyone has obliterated as many ATG bowlers in their own hometurf so many times in their very prime, I think Smith was very close. I also think Smith always had some issues against uneven and variable bounce while Viv was just the GOAT player of fast bowling. Also, agreed with the highlighted portion.
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Can you list for Viv and we can compare it with Smith. During Smith, who are the bowlers you are counting as ATG bowlers then we can see both side by side. Since we all have different cut off for ATG bowlers, just use the same cut off for ATG bowlers in both periods to see meanigful comparison.
 
mominsaigol said:
This i agree with. And I'm willing to change my opinions now. This series + the England series vs Pakistan and the current eng vs NZ series is making me realise how important longetivity + all format country performance is.

I'm putting Sachin > Smith now. I still believe smith's peak is > any batter except Bradman though however overall the entire lifespan counts.
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sachin dint have starc hazlewood and cummins kind of bowling to support him too
would have played a role.

but smith peak is best i have ever seen.
 
Buffet said:
Can you list for Viv and we can compare it with Smith. During Smith, who are the bowlers you are counting as ATG bowlers then we can see both side by side. Since we all have different cut off for ATG bowlers, just use the same cut off for ATG bowlers in both periods to see meanigful comparison.
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how about averaging less than 25/24 at home/in general? Viv had a ATG series in England (1976), one against Australia (1979), one in Pakistan (1981), another against England (1980) and a against the Indian spin quaret (1976), albeit the last was at home but in very spin friendly conditions. regarding ATG, obviously it'd be the 1981 Pakistan tour against Imran, 1979 Australian tour against Lillee and 1980 England work against Prime Botham.

by comparision I only think Smith has two truly ATG serieses in 2017 BGT and 2019 Ashes, and I only consider Ashwin/Jadeja to be ATGs at home so against ATG bowlers I reckon that series (BGT 2017) is his only Viv-esque series.
 
Buffet said:
Good point.

Yah, his game depends on that so you may be right on him being finished. May be he can still score some runs against lesser bowlers, but top bowlers are likely to trouble him with decling in hand-eye coordination. Luckily, some of the top pacers play for Aus and he does not have to face them.

If game is based on technique then yah, you can still counter good spells despite decline. So you are likely to be right here.
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well tbf, Sachin also looked utterly cooked in 2005-2006, but he turned it around and had a second final peak, we'll see if Smith can do the same.
 
atreus said:
how about averaging less than 25/24 at home/in general? Viv had a ATG series in England (1976), one against Australia (1979), one in Pakistan (1981), another against England (1980) and a against the Indian spin quaret (1976), albeit the last was at home but in very spin friendly conditions. regarding ATG, obviously it'd be the 1981 Pakistan tour against Imran, 1979 Australian tour against Lillee and 1980 England work against Prime Botham.

by comparision I only think Smith has two truly ATG serieses in 2017 BGT and 2019 Ashes, and I only consider Ashwin/Jadeja to be ATGs at home so against ATG bowlers I reckon that series (BGT 2017) is his only Viv-esque series.
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Fair enough.

Yah, less than 25/25 home/general takes away Anderson and Broad otherwise both were very very good at home.

I would have loved Smith to play more in SA during his peak.
 
Buffet said:
Fair enough.

Yah, less than 25/25 home/general takes away Anderson and Broad otherwise both were very very good at home.

I would have loved Smith to play more in SA during his peak.
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tbh I'd rate performance against Anderson in England during 2014-Pre COVID era very highly but alas Anderson didn't play in 2019 Ashes.

and Yeah I'd have loved if Smith had a big series in South Africa against Rabada who is one of the best home bowlers ever, or well, conditions amplify his output to that level.
 
atreus said:
well tbf, Sachin also looked utterly cooked in 2005-2006, but he turned it around and had a second final peak, we'll see if Smith can do the same.
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17-18 years of career by that time and regular player in both formats, so looking cooked was pretty much expected for any player. You may say that Smith has played mostly test format and for shorter periods so less wear and tear may make it possible to make a come back.

Having said that, SRT game was not so reliant on hand-eye corordination though. He had a great technique. I think it's easier for batsmen with great technique to counter declines and make a come back for another peak than some one relying on hand-eye cordination. Sehwag was another one with hand-eye. Once decline started, it was hard to reverse it.
 
atreus said:
tbh I'd rate performance against Anderson in England during 2014-Pre COVID era very highly but alas Anderson didn't play in 2019 Ashes.

and Yeah I'd have loved if Smith had a big series in South Africa against Rabada who is one of the best home bowlers ever, or well, conditions amplify his output to that level.
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Yah, Rabada is as hard to face as any other bowler in SA conditions. But in the last 5 years, pretty much all SA pacers are avg in the same range due to nature of pitches. So Smith not touring SA for such a long time was a bit of a downer.
 
Smith has some knocks in India and England where it looked like he was batting in another pitch.

From the time I've seen cricket I've seen no batsmen win matches in that way
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Smith has some knocks in India and England where it looked like he was batting in another pitch.

From the time I've seen cricket I've seen no batsmen win matches in that way
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His years of peak was the best I have ever seen from a batter in Test format in my lifetime.
 
After 3,700 days, Steve Smith has dropped out of the top 10 Test batting rankings for the first time in nearly 10 years.
 
Mitchell Marsh during a media interaction ahead of the 3rd Test against India:

“We know he's one of our best players ever, and I'm certainly backing him to get some runs."

"I'm probably not in a position to tell Steve Smith what he should work on. We know he's a class player, and he's scored a lot of runs for Australia, and we know at times when we've needed him, he always seems to step up.”
 
Steve Smith brings up his 33rd Test hundred, his first since June 2023

What a fantastic hundred this is from Smith. He was totally written off but his comeback is huge.

Most Test hundreds against India

10 in 41 inngs: Steven Smith
10 in 55 inngs: Joe Root
8 in 30 inngs: Gary Sobers
8 in 41 inngs: Viv Richards
8 in 51 inngs: Ricky Ponting
 
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Comeback done???

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When he scores big. You know he makes bowlers accept defeat mentally. Bowlers grind and grind and grind. But he scores at his own pace and style.
 
Playing on flat Australian pitches always help to gain a respectable stat once you are past your prime.
 
It is simple. Smith is past his prime and the only matches he will perform as a batsman is one where he gets a flat track and tired bowlers. He gets a lot of that in Australia and hence his record doesn’t look that bad. It also helps that he got ultra flat wickets in Pakistan but current Pakistan team have been extremely garbage team whether at home or away.
 
Ab Fan said:
He got a hundred in first test. Did you watched that game?
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First pitch was a flat track once the 1st day ended.

This test pitches has been a minefield. Only Indian posters with low iq can claim this nonsense.

And why is India 51 for 4 on a flat track?
 
Ab Fan said:
He got a hundred in first test. Did you watched that game?
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I did. It was a very low-pressure knock that came after Jaiswal and Rahul had done all the damage. By comparison, Smith's knock was far better and came in a far more challenging situation where the ball was doing a fair bit initially and he had to be patient and grit it out.
 
You an tell that he is close to retirement but will hang around to play the next ashes.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
I did. It was a very low-pressure knock that came after Jaiswal and Rahul had done all the damage. By comparison, Smith's knock was far better and came in a far more challenging situation where the ball was doing a fair bit initially and he had to be patient and grit it out.
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When you are playing away from home vs a top team like Australia in Australia, 1-2 knock is not enough to complete the damage. Once Jaiswal got out, collapse triggered and India needed someone to stay there and completely take the game out of Australia’s reach. We already saw in 5th test vs England 2022 as to how Root and Bairstow went on to chase 375. The pitch had flattened and Australia would have backed themselves to chase down anything under 400. In the context, it was a quality ton and a much needed to go 1-0 up.

As for Smith, it is a home test ton on a flat pitch where he was basically playing a support role to Head who was the main tormentor and the man who really put the pressure on Indian bowling. It was a much easier life for Smith when you have a batter in that form playing alongside you and taking the lead. Once the second new ball came, Smith was the first to run towards dressing room thus showing that he was only capable of surviving and stat padding vs tired Indian bowling attack which is relying on one man.

That’s the whole context in both the games. Quality wise, neither of the hundreds were special. They were just academic.
 
Ab Fan said:
That’s absolute nonsense.

When you are playing away from home vs a top team like Australia in Australia, 1-2 knock is not enough to complete the damage. Once Jaiswal got out, collapse triggered and India needed someone to stay there and completely take the game out of Australia’s reach. We already saw in 5th test vs England 2022 as to how Root and Bairstow went on to chase 375. The pitch had flattened and Australia would have backed themselves to chase down anything under 400. In the context, it was a quality ton and a much needed to go 1-0 up.

As for Smith, it is a home test ton on a flat pitch where he was basically playing a support role to Head who was the main tormentor and the man who really put the pressure on Indian bowling. It was a much easier life for Smith when you have a batter in that form playing alongside you and taking the lead. Once the second new ball came, Smith was the first to run towards dressing room thus showing that he was only capable of surviving and stat padding vs tired Indian bowling attack which is relying on one man.

That’s the whole context in both the games. Quality wise, neither of the hundreds were special. They were just academic.
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Kohli came in to bat at 275-2. I can't think of many easier situations to come in to bat in Australia. Australia were pretty dead and buried when he came in. A ton is a ton but as someone who saw both knocks, Smith's knock was far superior because he had been short of runs for quite some time and came back to play a trademark Smith knock where he was shuffling around and scoring runs in the same fashion that we have seen him score when he was at his best.

Well, that's test cricket mate. There are periods of difficulty and then there are periods where you make merry. Smith had to deal with some top-quality bowling upfront but got through it and went on to play a wonderful knock, even if he was playing second-fiddle to Head. I question what exactly was the difficult period in that Kohli innings though? Was it when Labuschagne came on to bowl his unplayable medium-pace?
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Kohli came in to bat at 275-2. I can't think of many easier situations to come in to bat in Australia. Australia were pretty dead and buried when he came in. A ton is a ton but as someone who saw both knocks, Smith's knock was far superior because he had been short of runs for quite some time and came back to play a trademark Smith knock where he was shuffling around and scoring runs in the same fashion that we have seen him score when he was at his best.

Well, that's test cricket mate. There are periods of difficulty and then there are periods where you make merry. Smith had to deal with some top-quality bowling upfront but got through it and went on to play a wonderful knock, even if he was playing second-fiddle to Head. I question what exactly was the difficult period in that Kohli innings though? Was it when Labuschagne came on to bowl his unplayable medium-pace?
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That 275-2 became 321-5 soon. Is it a position of complete dominance anymore especially when you are in Australia and the pitch is expected to play well when Australia come to bat? Not really. You can bottle a game right there. Kohli was up against three high quality bowling.

The way you are claiming Smith grinded and battled the tough phase as if he was facing multiple high quality pacers. In reality, only Bumrah was the real challenge and this pitch doesn’t even have the kind of demons that was there in Perth. There was nothing really tough because he had the privilege of Head tormenting Indian bowlers and tiring them on other end.

All said and done, neither of the two knocks were anything special. Jaiswal was the showstopper in that test and Head in this one. It is just the obsession that you got on embracing applauds and praises for the favourites because that guy got a home ton in a match where his knock was basically a second fiddle and once the second new ball came, he got out soon.
 
Ab Fan said:
That 275-2 became 321-5 soon. Is it a position of complete dominance anymore especially when you are in Australia and the pitch is expected to play well when Australia come to bat? Not really. You can bottle a game right there. Kohli was up against three high quality bowling.

The way you are claiming Smith grinded and battled the tough phase as if he was facing multiple high quality pacers. In reality, only Bumrah was the real challenge and this pitch doesn’t even have the kind of demons that was there in Perth. There was nothing really tough because he had the privilege of Head tormenting Indian bowlers and tiring them on other end.

All said and done, neither of the two knocks were anything special. Jaiswal was the showstopper in that test and Head in this one. It is just the obsession that you got on embracing applauds and praises for the favourites because that guy got a home ton in a match where his knock was basically a second fiddle and once the second new ball came, he got out soon.
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'Neither of the two knocks was anything special', and yet you keep trying to portray that Kohli knock as something special.

So let me get this straight, you think that having a lead of 370+ in the 3rd innings with a five wickets in hand is not a position of dominance? But coming in at 38-2 in the 19th over in overcast conditions when the ball is doing a fair bit is not that hard? Can't say I agree on either count.

I mean you're welcome to think as you please. But as someone who saw that innings by Smith, I thought it was pretty good. Seems to me that you are finding ways to present that Smith and Kohli are on equal footing right now, which they are not. Kohli is completely washed up, whereas, Smith still has something left in the tank.
 
He is a legend of his own in this era.
Even his deep in stats and form over the last 2-3 years was more of him trying different things, like opening the innings in test matches.
 
He is yet to reach 10,000 Test runs by 1 run, and he has so far played 9 more innings (204 innings) than what both Tendulkar and Lara both took to reach 10,000 Test runs (195 innings each).
 
Hitman said:
He is yet to reach 10,000 Test runs by 1 run, and he has so far played 9 more innings (204 innings) than what both Tendulkar and Lara both took to reach 10,000 Test runs (195 innings each).
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Cause of his form slump after 2020.

If kohli hadn't made a fool out of himself, Smith would have been the hot topic of the decade.
 
mominsaigol said:
Cause of his form slump after 2020.

If kohli hadn't made a fool out of himself, Smith would have been the hot topic of the decade.
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Kohli hasn't made a fool out of himself, he has made a clown out of himself. Regardless, Smith still remains one of the finest Test batsman of the post war era. Right up there with Sobers, G. Pollock, Viv, Sachin, Lara and Ponting.
 
Australia talisman reveals dream to play at the 2028 LA Olympics

Smith, who has been a red-ball regular for the Aussies, is eyeing the sport’s appearance at the Summer Games.

Veteran Australia batter Steve Smith has admitted he’d like to feature for Australia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Cricket will be making its first-ever appearance at the Summer Games in over a century at Los Angeles 2028.

Speaking after he mauled a fourth T20 ton during the Big Bash League game on Saturday, Smith told Fox Sports, “I’d like to play the Olympics, I reckon that would be cool.”

“We’ll see how far I go in terms of long-form cricket. But I am going to play short-form cricket for a while I think when I do finish. You never know.

“There are a lot of good young kids who are smacking the ball out of the park. There are other guys around the country giving it a whack.”

Smith, who walloped a 58-ball century for Sydney Sixers, has 1094 T20I runs for Australia from 67 matches.

In 2024, the 35-year-old had only featured in two T20Is for Australia and also missed out on the Men’s T20 World Cup squad.

Smith is currently featuring in Australia's T20 league following the Test team's 3-1 win against India in the Border-Gavaskar Series which helped them qualify for this year's ICC World Test Championship Final.

In their final assignment of the ongoing cycle, Smith will take charge of Australia in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in the absence of full-time skipper Pat Cummins.

ICC
 
Smith talked about his future in an interview with a local media outlet:

"I think I will play plenty of franchise stuff for a while, I enjoy playing in the T20 comps. There are so many around the world now that you can get involved in. I dare say I will play in them for some time, but how long? Who knows."

"As long as the body is good and the mind is still good and I want to keep playing and keep improving, I will play for as long as I can."

"I’ve enjoyed the last couple of years when I get the opportunity to play for the Sixers, I think I’ve got three hundreds in seven innings. It’s been good fun and I love coming back and playing for the Sixers, I’ve been involved since the outset of the tournament and I enjoy playing here."
 
BouncerGuy said:
Australia talisman reveals dream to play at the 2028 LA Olympics

Smith, who has been a red-ball regular for the Aussies, is eyeing the sport’s appearance at the Summer Games.

Veteran Australia batter Steve Smith has admitted he’d like to feature for Australia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Cricket will be making its first-ever appearance at the Summer Games in over a century at Los Angeles 2028.

Speaking after he mauled a fourth T20 ton during the Big Bash League game on Saturday, Smith told Fox Sports, “I’d like to play the Olympics, I reckon that would be cool.”

“We’ll see how far I go in terms of long-form cricket. But I am going to play short-form cricket for a while I think when I do finish. You never know.

“There are a lot of good young kids who are smacking the ball out of the park. There are other guys around the country giving it a whack.”

Smith, who walloped a 58-ball century for Sydney Sixers, has 1094 T20I runs for Australia from 67 matches.

In 2024, the 35-year-old had only featured in two T20Is for Australia and also missed out on the Men’s T20 World Cup squad.

Smith is currently featuring in Australia's T20 league following the Test team's 3-1 win against India in the Border-Gavaskar Series which helped them qualify for this year's ICC World Test Championship Final.

In their final assignment of the ongoing cycle, Smith will take charge of Australia in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka in the absence of full-time skipper Pat Cummins.

ICC
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He was never a good t20 batsman, Australia won't include him in the next t20 world cup let alone the Olympics.
 
Congrats Steve Smith on 10,000 Test runs. Even blind 'Freddie' will agree that he has been one of the finest Test batsman ever. May you continue to play for another 5 years at least.
 
Hitman said:
Congrats Steve Smith on 10,000 Test runs. Even blind 'Freddie' will agree that he has been one of the finest Test batsman ever. May you continue to play for another 5 years at least.
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He is the fourth Australian batter to reach the milestone after Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

What an achievement.
 
In your arms you are holding up the heavens, Yaaaaaaaaaa Boiiiiiiiiiii you are born to be a legend.

Steve smith just hit 10K test runs and will probs get his 35th test century yet i don't see any Indian talking about it.

Had this been jaiswal war would have breaken loose.

Imagine putting Brooks > Steve smith in your test team due to some stat padding on flat tracks.
 
Smith joins 10,000-Test run club after extended wait

Steve Smith has been immortalised in the 10,000-Test run club, becoming just the fourth Australian to reach a milestone he fell agonisingly short of earlier this month.

Having missed his fairytale moment in front of his home crowd at the SCG against India when he was dismissed with his career tally on 9,999 runs, Smith scored his 10,000th run on the first ball he faced in Galle on Thursday.

The right-hander had been called to the crease with Australia on 2-137 in the opening session of the first Test against Sri Lanka and immediately went on the attack. He struck a single to mid-on off Prabath Jayasuriya, drawing cheers from the crowd before sharing an embrace with batting partner Usman Khawaja.

Smith looked sheepish as he raised the bat after scoring his first run.

The 35-year-old joins Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting as Australians to get to 10,000 Test runs. All three had been in attendance for the SCG Test.

Galle was a more a low-key affair with only a handful of Australian tour groups cheering for Smith at the quaint sea-side venue after he got off the mark on Thursday.

Only Brian Lara (111) has gotten to the milestone in fewer Tests than Smith's 115. Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara (all 195) and Ricky Ponting (196) are the only batters to have reached it in fewer innings.

Among active players, only Joe Root's tally of 12,972 Test runs is higher than Smith's.

Smith commenced the Australian summer 315 runs away from 10k mark. Tons in back-to-back Tests in Brisbane (scoring 101) and Melbourne (140) then brought him within touching distance coming into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series finale.

He arrived in Sydney for the New Year's Test 38 runs short of the feat and was duly dismissed on 33 early on day two, leaving him with five to get in their fourth-innings run chase the following day.

On an increasingly tricky pitch, Smith then became the first man to be dismissed twice in the 9,990s and the first on 9,999. Prasidh Krishna got him in both innings, the second coming off a delivery that lifted significantly off an increasingly difficult surface.

"I got chainsawed didn’t I!" he told Triple M after Australia won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in a decade. "Pretty nasty delivery actually; back of a length, I thought ‘oh, there’s one to punch through point’ and it just took off.

He had tried to put the 10,000-run milestone out of his mind before the match.

"(It's) more that I don't want to have 38 in my head when I go out to bat and start thinking about that," Smith told cricket.com.au's Unplayable Podcast this week.

"I just want to focus on the present … obviously it's a cool milestone to get to if I get there. But I want to try to keep it out of my mind as much as possible."

But, ever the tough taskmaster on himself, Smith admitted to cricket.com.au before the summer that if he did not reach 10,000 runs against India, "it won't have been a very good summer.

"It would be a huge milestone, not too many people have done it," he continued. "I'd be amongst a good group of players."

Smith had gone 24 innings without a hundred prior to the Brisbane Test against India but insisted he had not lost his touch amid suggestions his best was behind him. His back-to-back hundreds dispelled those doubts.

"I was hitting the ball really nicely," Smith, speaking to Fox Cricket after his MCG ton, said of his lean trot.

"People are saying, Is he too old? Are his eyes going? So I thought maybe I'll just go out of my crease and make my impact point closer to the bowler … so I think my eyes are still there, which is nice.

"I've said a few times, I think there's a difference between being out of form and out of runs. And I was just out of runs."

Australia will hope there are plenty more to come.

SOURCE: https://www.cricket.com.au/news/4193804?s=08
 
Boy has scored his 35th Test hundred.. What a fantastic inning from Smith...
Legend
 

Ricky Ponting Settles Steve Smith vs Virat Kohli Debate, Names "Best Player Of His Generation"​


For former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, it is hard to argue against Steve Smith deserving to be considered the finest player of his generation on numbers alone. On the opening day of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka, Smith soared to new heights in Test format with a flick of mid-on from spinner Prabath Jayasuriya minutes before lunch. He broke off in a sprint to complete a single and 10,000 Test runs, joining the exclusive ranks featuring Australian elites Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh to complete the feat.

Smith stood and soaked in the applause coming from the Australian contingent that travelled to Galle. He raised the bat to all corners of the ground to celebrate the landmark moment of his illustrious career.

After Smith, a famed member of the 'Fab Four,' added another feat to his name, Ponting feels the flamboyant batter Smith deserves to be considered the best player of his generation.

For Ponting, Smith's numbers put a strong case for him being the best player of his generation ahead of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Joe Root.

"Is he the best player of his generation? It's hard to argue against it. Joe Root is the other one now, and [Kane] Williamson's record is outstanding as well. Joe's last couple of years have elevated him right back up there, I think," Seven commentator Ponting said as quoted from The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Five or six years ago, when this big four emerged, with [Virat] Kohli being one of those as well, Joe was probably down near the bottom part of that because he hadn't made the hundreds the other guys had made, but he's made 19 hundreds in the past four years," he added.

Smith is the fifth-fastest player to script the milestone to his name, achieving the feat in 205 innings, behind only Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ponting.

While it is common for players to add piles of runs to their tally while batting on home soil, Smith has proved himself to be an all-condition player. Almost half of his runs have come in overseas conditions at an average of 53.

In 57 overseas Tests, Smith has garnered 5,084 runs, an average of 53.51, including 17 centuries and 22 fifties and the best score of 215.

"If you asked an Englishman they'd say Joe Root, if you asked an Aussie they'd say Steve Smith, and if you asked a Kiwi they'd say Kane Williamson. So it's a tough one, but on the numbers themselves it's pretty hard to argue against what he's done," Ponting said.

In the third session, Smith went on to lift his bat to celebrate his 35th Test century. He punched the ball to pick up easy three runs and add another accolade to his name.

sports.ndtv.com

Ricky Ponting Settles Steve Smith vs Virat Kohli Debate, Names "Best Player Of His Generation" | Cricket News

Ricky Ponting stated that it is hard to argue against Steve Smith being the best player of his generation due to one reason.
sports.ndtv.com sports.ndtv.com
 
FearlessRoar said:

Ricky Ponting Settles Steve Smith vs Virat Kohli Debate, Names "Best Player Of His Generation"​


For former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, it is hard to argue against Steve Smith deserving to be considered the finest player of his generation on numbers alone. On the opening day of the first Test between Australia and Sri Lanka, Smith soared to new heights in Test format with a flick of mid-on from spinner Prabath Jayasuriya minutes before lunch. He broke off in a sprint to complete a single and 10,000 Test runs, joining the exclusive ranks featuring Australian elites Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh to complete the feat.

Smith stood and soaked in the applause coming from the Australian contingent that travelled to Galle. He raised the bat to all corners of the ground to celebrate the landmark moment of his illustrious career.

After Smith, a famed member of the 'Fab Four,' added another feat to his name, Ponting feels the flamboyant batter Smith deserves to be considered the best player of his generation.

For Ponting, Smith's numbers put a strong case for him being the best player of his generation ahead of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Joe Root.

"Is he the best player of his generation? It's hard to argue against it. Joe Root is the other one now, and [Kane] Williamson's record is outstanding as well. Joe's last couple of years have elevated him right back up there, I think," Seven commentator Ponting said as quoted from The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Five or six years ago, when this big four emerged, with [Virat] Kohli being one of those as well, Joe was probably down near the bottom part of that because he hadn't made the hundreds the other guys had made, but he's made 19 hundreds in the past four years," he added.

Smith is the fifth-fastest player to script the milestone to his name, achieving the feat in 205 innings, behind only Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara and Ponting.

While it is common for players to add piles of runs to their tally while batting on home soil, Smith has proved himself to be an all-condition player. Almost half of his runs have come in overseas conditions at an average of 53.

In 57 overseas Tests, Smith has garnered 5,084 runs, an average of 53.51, including 17 centuries and 22 fifties and the best score of 215.

"If you asked an Englishman they'd say Joe Root, if you asked an Aussie they'd say Steve Smith, and if you asked a Kiwi they'd say Kane Williamson. So it's a tough one, but on the numbers themselves it's pretty hard to argue against what he's done," Ponting said.

In the third session, Smith went on to lift his bat to celebrate his 35th Test century. He punched the ball to pick up easy three runs and add another accolade to his name.

sports.ndtv.com

Ricky Ponting Settles Steve Smith vs Virat Kohli Debate, Names "Best Player Of His Generation" | Cricket News

Ricky Ponting stated that it is hard to argue against Steve Smith being the best player of his generation due to one reason.
sports.ndtv.com sports.ndtv.com
Click to expand...
Smith very Kphli should not even be a debate.

Even in his absolute prime, Steve smith was ahead of kohli lol.

This guy is the 2nd best Australian batsmen of all time only behind don bradman.

The main question remains if he can surpass Ricky Pointing in runs and century tally
 
Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri was effusive in praise for Steve Smith while speaking to an Australian sports media outlet:

“I’ve seen all these hundreds as a coach and as a broadcaster and he’s a special player. He’s so passionate about the game. What amazes me is how he’s prepared to adapt to different conditions. He got a hundred on a rank turner in India, which was special. And even when he’s not at his best, he finds ways to get into positions to score runs."

"When you’re around for that length of time, there are teams analysing you, there are video analysts looking at every part of your technique. And then to still be able to be ahead of the curve — and he will average over 55 — at the age of 35, to go past 10,000 runs is special. So, I think he’s a great player.”
 
Smith is greatest batsman of this generation.

Even in his lesser format where he isnt considered great he has won aus a worldcup
 
Former England captain Michael Vaughan heaped praise on Steve Smith, after the right-handed batter became only the fourth Australian batsman to surpass 10,000 runs in Test cricket:

“I would argue that he is the best modern-day Test match player. I think he is the best problem solver. He has a quirky technique, but he just seems to be able to pick the ball out of the bowler’s hand quicker than most. He has this amazing ability to study the field and work out what is on and what is not on any given day on a pitch,"

“If you look at his numbers, there are only a small few who have got close to being talked about like Don Bradman. And when you are in a conversation when the Don is involved, you know you are pretty good,"
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
Up there with Sachin and Sobers, ahead of Lara for sure.
Click to expand...

Quality wise, he is better than all in Tests. We need to accept that the last 7-8 years have been bowling friendly era and he has still flourished well.

I have never seen anyone so good over a test career as Smith is. Thought he is done and can also score occasionally and on flat pitches but he seems to be scoring regularly again.
 
Smith was out of form but the way he came back is a lesson for Pak batters.
 
35 Test Centuries and 13th among the all-time highest run-getters in Test cricket. The phenomenal player got out for 141 on Day 2 of the 1st test against Sri Lanka...

A great knock from one of the very best.
 
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