Australia’s best batsman In the just finished ODI series against opponent England, Steve Smith revealed the return of his outstanding form. But after matching the legendary Don Bradman’s total of 29 Test centuries for Australia, the unconventional batter has further elevated his position as one of the most amazing red-ball batters of this generation. On the second day of the First Test between Australia and West Indies in Perth, he scored a century to tie the record.
When the Australian team failed to successfully defend their T20 World Cup title at home, the former captain was controversially benched from the majority of the games. He only played in one game for the reigning champions before they lost their title to the Three Lions. Nevertheless, following the ICC mega-event, Smith was back to his fluent best in the three-match ODI series against England.
Smith scored back-to-back half-centuries against an English team that lacked motivation despite being on a high from winning the T20 World Cup just a few nights prior. The 33-year-old struggled throughout the first day of the first Test of the series against the Windies, finishing with 59 runs before the end of the play. The next morning, he turned up the heat and went on to score his 29th century in red-ball cricket. Only three Australian cricketers, Matthew Hayden (30), Steve Waugh (32), and Ricky Ponting, have more centuries than him on the list of all-time centuries.
The cricketer, who was born in Sydney, began his career as a legspinner with some batting ability. However, the Australian turned his career around and rose to become one of this generation’s top Test batsmen. Smith is far ahead of his competitors with a staggering batting average of 60.85 in the traditional format of the game, and he is likely to break more records during a busy cricketing summer in Australia.
The key batsman’s 29th century and a huge 251-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne have given Australia a commanding lead in the game. The former is still going strong at the crease and aiming for his fourth double-century in Test cricket. Adam Gilchrist, a former wicketkeeper-batter for Australia, was in awe of the batting legend’s brilliance. “You’re watching the history of a true champion,” Gilchrist said.
