Tag: Steve Smith

SYDNEY: Australia’s modern-day great Steve Smith produced another masterclass at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), breaking multiple records with an unbeaten century in the fifth Ashes Test against England.

Leading the side in Pat Cummins’ absence, Smith struck his first hundred of the series and remained unbeaten on 129 at stumps on day three, guiding Australia to 518 for 7 in reply to England’s 384.

The hosts ended the day with a commanding 134-run lead as Smith once again dictated terms in cricket’s oldest rivalry.

With this knock, Smith moved past England legend Jack Hobbs to become the second-highest run-scorer in Ashes history, taking his tally to 3682 runs, now trailing only Sir Don Bradman’s seemingly untouchable mark of 5028.

Most Runs in Ashes History

• Don Bradman (AUS) – 5028 runs in 37 matches

• Steve Smith (AUS) – 3682* runs in 41* matches

• Jack Hobbs (ENG) – 3636 runs in 41 matches

• Alan Border (AUS) – 3222 runs in 42 matches

• Steve Waugh (AUS) – 3173 runs in 45 matches

It also lifted him to second place on the list of most Ashes centuries, with 13 hundreds, again behind only Bradman, who scored 19.

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The century was Smith’s 18th as captain, six of which have come against England, the most by any skipper against a single opponent.

Most Ashes Hundreds

• Don Bradman (AUS) – 19

• Steve Smith (AUS) – 13

• Jack Hobbs (ENG) – 12

• Steve Waugh (AUS) – 10

• Wally Hammond & David Gower (ENG) – 9

Smith’s run aggregate against England across formats now stands at 5085, placing him behind only Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli on the list of most international runs scored against a single opponent.

Additionally, Smith has now amassed 1225 runs at the SCG at an average of just over 72, including five centuries, figures surpassed only by former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

Moreover, Smith also moved past Rahul Dravid to climb to seventh on the all-time list of Test centuries and is now just one hundred shy of equalling Kumar Sangakkara.

Most Test Hundreds

• Sachin Tendulkar (IND) – 51

• Jacques Kallis (SA) – 45

• Ricky Ponting (AUS)/Joe Root (ENG) – 41

• Kumar Sangakkara (SL) – 38

• Steve Smith (AUS) – 37

• Rahul Dravid (IND) – 36

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SYDNEY: Run-machine Travis Head hit a swashbuckling 163 and Steve Smith a composed unbeaten 129 as Australia built a 134-run lead over England to seize control on day three of the fifth and final Ashes Test on Tuesday.

It was a destructive opener Head’s third ton of the series, to go with the phenomenal match-winning 123 he made in Perth and 170 at Adelaide.

Smith was equally impressive, with his first hundred of the series driving the hosts to 518-7 by stumps at a packed Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in reply to England’s 384.

Beau Webster was alongside him on 42 at the close.

Australia lead the series 3-1 and have already retained the Ashes, with England desperate for another morale-boosting win after victory at the previous Test in Melbourne.

Head brought up three figures off just 105 balls and seemed destined to score 200.

But he came undone in the third over after lunch by the part-time spin of Jacob Bethell, who was bowling for the first time in the series.

In his second over, Bethell trapped the 32-year-old lbw attempting a sweep shot to end a magnificent knock.

Skipper Smith treated Bethell with contempt, launching him for a big six on his way to a 37th Test hundred.

It was Smith’s 13th Ashes century to move past England legend Jack Hobbs. Only Donald Bradman with 19 has more.

Usman Khawaja, in his 88th and last Test after announcing his retirement, fell lbw to Brydon Carse for 17 while Alex Carey made 16 before Josh Tongue enticed an edge.

Nightwatchman Michael Neser made 24 and Cameron Green 37.

Head resumed on 91 and Neser on one after Jake Weatherald (21) and Marnus Labuschagne (48) were out on Monday.

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Head clattered an early midwicket boundary off Ben Stokes and reached three figures with his 17th four, crunched through the covers from Tongue, windmilling his bat in celebration.

It was his 12th century and first in Sydney to cement his reputation as one of the game’s most versatile batsmen.

Head only moved to the top of the order in the second innings of the first Test in Perth due to Khawaja’s back injury, but he has made the position his own.

With his hundred secure, he banged three straight fours off Matthew Potts then had a massive let-off on 121 when he pulled Carse and Will Jacks dropped a sitter near the ropes.

Neser ably stuck around for 90 balls to foil England, who wasted their last two reviews on him.

Batting like a top-order batsman, he smacked four boundaries before getting a thin edge to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith off Carse.

Smith, on 12, was dropped at leg slip by Zak Crawley but safely made it to lunch and passed 50 with a drive down the ground.

When Khawaja departed, Carey produced a series of textbook strokes before being dismissed in similar fashion to his last two Tests.

Unruffled, Smith slammed Stokes to the ropes for four to put Australia in the lead for the first time and, steely eyed, kept going to yet another stylish century.

All-rounder Green came into the Test under increasing pressure after failing to fire with either bat or ball through the series, with his automatic selection being questioned.

He produced a glorious cover drive and a big six to show flashes of what he can do.

But he then needlessly spooned Carse to Ben Duckett in the deep to throw away his wicket.

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MELBOURNE: Captain Steve Smith said Saturday that Australia had left themselves 60 runs short and could have taken a more aggressive batting approach, after they lost the fourth Test against England for a first home Ashes defeat in 15 years.

England came out on top of a seesawing contest at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), played on a grassy, bowler-friendly deck that made batting treacherous and was all over inside two days.

After being dismissed for 152 in their first innings, Australia managed only 132 in their second to leave England with 175 to chase for victory.

They got over the line with four wickets to spare.

“Obviously, a very quick game,” Smith said. “I think if we got 50 or 60 more runs across both innings, we might have been there at the end, but credit to England.”

“They came out today and fought really well this morning, didn’t let us get away.”

The victory ended England’s 18-match Test winless streak on Australian soil, with an aggressive approach to the run chase by Ben Stokes’s men paying off.

Ben Duckett and Harry Brook, in particular, reverted to the ultra-attacking “Bazball” style pioneered by coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Stokes.

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Steve Smith said it was something Australia would review in the wash-up.

“I think the guy with the most success on that wicket was probably Harry Brook, running down the wicket, playing some kind of rogue shots, I suppose, and trying to get the bowlers off their lengths that way,” he said.

“You know, whether we could have been a bit more proactive, potentially, and played a few more of those. That’s something we’ll talk about.

“But in the end, it’s also tricky to do that. You want to try and dig in for your team sometimes.

“You have to weigh up whether you should have gone harder, or you should have reined it in. And everyone’s different the way they go about it as well.”

Australia had already retained the Ashes after eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane and an 82-run victory at Adelaide.

“We’d love to win every game and keep every streak going,” Smith said of England snapping their long winless record in Australia.

“But England played really well today. We probably controlled the first half of the game, all yesterday, and then they came back into play today and took the game away from us.”

Australia lead the series 3-1 with the fifth and final Test starting in Sydney on January 4.

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ADELAIDE: Australia’s Steve Smith was ruled out of the third Ashes Test against England just before it started on Wednesday with vertigo symptoms, but is expected to be available for the Boxing Day clash in Melbourne.

Smith, who captained the team to emphatic eight-wicket wins in Perth and Brisbane, missed training on Monday, citing illness, but batted on Tuesday and was initially named in the starting XI.

He was on the field at Adelaide Oval but walked off 20 minutes before the toss, shaking his head after a chat with coach Andrew McDonald.

“Over the past few days, he has been feeling unwell, with symptoms including nausea and dizziness,” Cricket Australia (CA) said.

“He was assessed and monitored closely and was close to being available to play. However, given the persistence of symptoms, a decision was made not to proceed.”

The governing body said Smith was being treated for “a potential vestibular issue”, which is essentially vertigo, a problem he has suffered from before.

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“This is something Steve has experienced intermittently in the past and is being managed accordingly,” Cricket Australia added. “He is expected to be available for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.”

Steve Smith has long been Australia’s middle-order rock, a player with 36 Test centuries and more than 10,000 runs, and his absence is a huge blow.

It handed a lifeline to 85-Test veteran Usman Khawaja, who had been axed as opener with selectors opting to stick with Travis Head and Jake Weatherald.

Khawaja came in for Smith at four and was 41 not out at lunch with Australia reaching 94-2.

“Pretty lucky we’ve got someone like Uzzie (Khawaja) who can step right in,” said skipper Pat Cummins, who won the toss and chose to bat.

Smith’s absence capped a dramatic build-up to the third Test in which Australia is chasing an unassailable 3-0 series lead and England is battling to keep the Ashes alive.

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BRISBANE: Australia skipper Steve Smith and England fast bowler Jofra Archer were involved in a heated altercation during the second Ashes Test here at the Gabba on Sunday.

Smith propelled Australia over the line with an unbeaten 23 off just nine balls, which was laced with two sixes and two fours, including two boundaries and a maximum in Archer’s over.

With this, Australia took a 2-0 lead in the Ashes, defeating England by eight wickets in a commanding all-round display.

However, things got heated. Smith took on Archer, who was bowling at 150km/h. The right-hander hit a four off the first off Archer and missed the next ball in a bid to hit an uppercut.

 

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After this, both exchanged words with the pacer, asking Smith why he was playing shots when there was nothing on the scoreboard.

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“Why play your shots when there’s no rush on the scoreboard?” Archer had asked Smith.

The ace batter gave a cheeky reply, “You bowl fast when there’s nothing going on, champion.”

Archer did not bowl another over, as Smith launched Gus Atkinson over deep square leg for six before an animated celebration with Weatherald.

After the match, Smith commented on the spat and explained the reason behind his aggressive approach.

“I heard there’s a bit of a storm coming around. We obviously had a few behind us. It was a chance to just play a few shots,” he said.

“The adrenaline was pumping at the end there. Obviously, we didn’t need too many to win, and Jof was bowling pretty quick.

I had a short boundary behind me, and I thought, ‘Why not just try to get up and under a few, and put a few in the stands?’ Fortunately, it hit the middle of the bat on a couple of occasions,” Smith explained.

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BRISBANE: Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith took three catches on day four of the second Ashes Test to equal former India great Rahul Dravid’s record for most catches in Test cricket.

Steve not only demonstrates his prowess with the bat but is also an excellent fielder.

Earlier today, Smith grabbed three catches, which helped Australia bowl out England for 241. Smith first took a blinder at slips of Will Jacks to break the threatening stand.

Later on, he took Gus Atkinson’s catch at mid-wicket, followed by the final catch of Brydon Carse, which wrapped up the Three Lions innings.

With this, the 36-year-old equalled Rahul Dravid’s record of 210 catches in Test cricket, and he is now only trailing behind England ace Joe Root.

Most catches for a fielder in Tests

213 – Joe Root

210 – Steve Smith

210 – Rahul Dravid

205 – Mahela Jayawardene

Additionally, Smith also surpassed Greg Chappell’s long-standing record of taking the most catches at home against a single opponent.

Most catches at home against an opponent in Tests

39 – Steve Smith vs ENG in Australia

38 – Greg Chappell vs ENG in Australia

32 – Rahul Dravid vs AUS in India

31 – Alastair Cook vs IND in England

For the unversed, All-round Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser’s five-wicket haul helped Australia romp to an eight-wicket victory in the second Test to go 2-0 up in the Ashes series against England here at the Gabba on Sunday.

Australia comprehensively chased down a mere target of 65 runs in 10 overs with skipper Steve Smith remaining unbeaten on 23 from nine balls laced with two sixes and two fours.

The home side outplayed the visitors in every department of the game and took a 2-0 lead. On the contrary, the only silver lining for England was Joe Root, who hit an unbeaten 138 in the first innings.

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BRISBANE: Australia’s Steve Smith has confirmed he will be wearing ‘eye blacks’ during the upcoming day-night Ashes Test against England at The Gabba, starting December 4, after noticing a clear improvement during training under lights.

Smith, who is expected to lead Australia again as stand-in captain, revealed that the decision was influenced by advice from former West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

For the unversed, the ‘eye blacks’ are small, black, adhesive strips worn on the cheekbone that are designed to reduce the glare from floodlights by absorbing the light that would otherwise reflect off the skin.

These anti-glare strips are commonplace in several American sports; however, in cricket, Chanderpaul is the most prominent cricketer to have used them.

“I actually messaged Shivnarine Chanderpaul and asked him what his thoughts were, whether he wore the chalk or the strips,” Smith said.

“He said the strips, and he thinks it blocks out 65% of the glare. He also told me I was wearing them the wrong way. So yesterday I put them on the right way… and yeah, I’ll be wearing them.”

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Smith admitted he felt a noticeable positive difference after correcting how he wore them.

Despite his stature as one of modern cricket’s greatest batters, Smith has not been at ease in day-night Tests. His average drops to 37.04 under lights, compared to a dominant 58.31 in traditional red-ball matches.

“It’s hard to bat all the time,” he said while discussing the challenges of twilight and full darkness.

“The ball reacts differently to a red one. At times, it can start moving randomly. You’ve got to be ready to shift your plans, whether that means attacking or just trying to survive that period.”

Steve Smith also reflected on the nature of the Gabba surface and how it impacts the pink ball, referencing Australia’s previous night Test at the venue, where West Indies stunned the hosts earlier in 2024.

“Adelaide’s wicket has more grass, so the ball stays harder for longer,” Smith explained.

“Here it’s a hard, fast wicket, and at times the ball can get soft quickly. You do see batters comfortable in patches, so it’s something we’ll have to assess as the game goes on.”

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Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith has taken a sharp dig at former England spinner Monty Panesar over his recent remarks relating to the Sandpapergate scandal.

Smith will be leading his side in the first Ashes Test after regular captain Pat Cummins was ruled out due to an injury.

The first Ashes Test between England and Australia will start tomorrow at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

Panesar, earlier this month, had advised the England team and the UK media to target Smity by revisiting the ‘Sandpaper Gate’ scandal — when Australia were caught tampering with the ball using some sandpaper under Steve Smith’s leadership.

“If it were the opposite, the Australian media would be all over it,” Panesar said. “They would have said, if it was any of the English players, ‘the cheaters have arrived.’ Right?”

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Smith has now responded, recalling Panesar’s viral appearance on a quiz show ‘Celebrity Mastermind, during which the ex-spinner famously fumbled simple general-knowledge questions.

“Who in the room has seen Mastermind, and Monty Panesar on that? Any of you?” Smith asked reporters in a pre-Ashes presser.

“Those of you that have will understand where I’m coming from. If you haven’t, do yourself a favour because it is pretty comical. Anyone that believes that Athens is in Germany, that’s a start, or that Oliver Twist is a season of the year and America is a city,” he said in a light-hearted manner.

Smith stressed that Panesar’s remarks did not affect him, stating that he is feeling far more relaxed these days.

“It doesn’t really bother me, those comments. That’s as far as I’ll go with that one,” he said, subsequently adding that he was “pretty chilled” on his return to the captaincy. “I’m a lot more relaxed these days,” Smith concluded.

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MELBOURNE: Cricket Australia (CA) announced a 15-member squad for the first Test of the Ashes against England, which is scheduled to begin on November 21 in Perth.

Chief selector George Bailey hailed “impressive” uncapped opener Jake Weatherald as having all the right attributes after he was named in the squad.

In-form batter Marnus Labuschagne was recalled, but young opener Sam Konstas was dropped from the squad that will be captained by Steve Smith in the injury-enforced absence of Pat Cummins.

Should the 31-year-old pad up against Ben Stokes’s England, he will be the sixth opening partner for Usman Khawaja since David Warner retired early last year.

Previous experiments with Steve Smith, Nathan McSweeney, Travis Head, Labuschagne and Konstas did not pan out. But Bailey would not say if Weatherald would definitely make his debut in Perth on November 21.

“No, not confirmed in the XI,” Bailey said. “Obviously, we’ve got 14 of our 15-man squad playing round four (of the Sheffield Shield).”

“Still some information to gather out of that. Cameron Green, being one, returning to the bowling crease, that’d be good.”

All-rounder Green has been playing as a batsman only since his return mid-year following back surgery 13 months ago. He has bowled just a handful of overs this season.

Should be able to demonstrate he can handle a sufficient workload to support the pace attack, Green will likely drop to bat at six with Weatherald opening.

In that scenario, Labuschagne, who is back after being dropped for the last Test series against the West Indies, would come in at his preferred number three, having blasted five centuries in eight innings this season.

If Green is still struggling, then Labuschagne would potentially open alongside Khawaja with Green at three and Beau Webster retaining his spot at six.

Tasmanian left-hander Weatherald has been a top-performing opener in domestic ranks over the past few years.

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He put himself on the Ashes radar by clobbering 183 for Australia A during a red-ball series against Sri Lanka A in Darwin this year, with his form continuing in the Sheffield Shield.

“I think if you look at his performance over 18 to 24 months, it’s been really solid, and then there’s a method there that I think we like and is complementary to those other players around him in the squad,” Bailey said.

“He scores at a good rate. The way he goes about building his innings, it’s been impressive.”

His inclusion meant disappointment for Matt Renshaw, who had been tipped to get the nod as Konstas has struggled for form.

Smith takes charge because Cummins, who will travel with the squad to Perth, has not played since picking up a lower back injury against the West Indies more than three months ago.

The day-night second Test in Brisbane from December 4 is a tentative target for Cummins to return.

The ever-reliable Scott Boland will replace Cummins in the seam attack alongside quick bowlers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.

Nathan Lyon provides the spin option in his 140th Test, where he can surpass Glenn McGrath to become the sixth-highest wicket-taker in history by claiming two more victims.

Uncapped Brendan Doggett and Sean Abbott were included as the back-up fast bowlers, and Josh Inglis will provide cover for wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Following Perth, the five-Test series moves to Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.

England drew 2-2 on home turf in the most recent Ashes series in 2023, but have not won in Australia since 2010-2011.

Australia squad for first Ashes Test

Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster

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Australia star batter Steve Smith has warned England of a challenging  Ashes series, which is set to begin in November 2025.

The five-Test Ashes series will begin in Perth in late-November, before a day-night match in Brisbane.

The third Ashes 2025 Test will be played in Adelaide, with the traditional Melbourne and Sydney Tests scheduled for December and January.

In an interview with a British media outlet, Steve Smith commented on the much-anticipated series after England’s home series against India.

“I watched a lot of the series against India and it was one of the best Test series I’ve seen in a long time. The cricket that was played by both teams was outstanding,” he said.

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“England have a good side at the moment. They are obviously playing a really aggressive brand of cricket,” he added.

The 36-year-old stated that Australian  wickets are challenging for batters.

“It’s going to be a big challenge. The wickets in the last three-four years have been really tricky,” Steve Smith said.

The veteran batter expressed confidence in his team’s bowling lineup, saying that experienced bowlers would make things difficult for England in the Ashes 2025

“I’m looking forward to it. I think it’s going to be a great series,” Smith said.

Steve Smith also discussed the recent form of England’s Joe Root and lauded him ahead of the Ashes 2025.

“I think not just in that series (against India) but probably the last two years, he’s been incredible. His ability to make big scores – to go from 50 to 100 – which was one thing he got caught in that spot for a while,” Smith said.

“He [Joe Root] hasn’t scored a hundred in Australia. I think that’s been talked about quite a lot. I’m sure that’s something he wants to tick off his bucket list as well,” he concluded.

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