Ashes: Steve Smith smokes 32nd Test century, slams these records
Australia's run machine in the longest format, Steve Smith has smoked his 32nd Test century. The talismanic batter accomplished the feat on Day 2 of the ongoing second Ashes Test at Lord's. Smith tackled the red cherry with precision and ended up scoring 110 off 184 balls (15 fours). Meanwhile, this was Smith's 12 century in Ashes. Here we look at his stats.
Another fine knock from Smith
Smith came to the crease after the departure of David Warner with Australia's score reading 96/2. He batted with purpose and ease, keeping the scoreboard ticking along. Smith shared a solid 102-run stand for the third wicket alongside Marnus Labuschagne (47). He then added 118 runs for the fourth wicket with Travis Head (77). Smith's ton took the Aussies past the 350-run mark.
32nd Test century for Smith
This was Smith's 32nd Test century as he equaled his compatriot Steve Waugh in this regard. Ricky Ponting (41) is now the only Aussie with more Test tons. Meanwhile, no other active cricketer has more Test tons than Smith. Joe Root trails the Australian in this regard with 30 hundreds. Notably, Smith also has 37 fifties in the format.
9,000 runs for Smith in Tests
Earlier in his innings, Smith became the second-fastest to 9,000 Test runs, having taken 174 innings. He is only behind Kumar Sangakkara, who took 172 innings. Standing in his 99th Test, he has raced to 9,079 runs. Smith's average of 59.73 is only second to Donald Bradman (99.94) among batters with at least 5,000 Test runs.
15,000 international runs and counting for Smith
Smith also crossed the 15,000-run mark in international cricket, becoming the 41st batter to get the feat. His average of 49-plus is only second to Indian batter Virat Kohli (53.44) among players with at least 15,000 international tons. Meanwhile, Smith became the ninth Aussie batter to get the feat. Only Warner (17,237) owns more international runs among active Australian players.
12th Ashes century for Smith
This was Smith's 12th ton in the Ashes as he has equaled England's Jack Hobbs in this regard. Smith's tally is only second to Bradman's (19). The former Australian captain now owns eight Test hundreds in England. Among visiting batters, only Bradman (11) has more Test centuries in the UK. One of Smith's Test tons in England was recorded against India earlier this month.
Over 3,000 runs in Ashes
Smith has enjoyed batting against England, having smashed 3,176 runs in 34 Ashes Tests at an incredible average of 58.81. No other batter has scored more Ashes runs since his Test debut in 2010. Root follows the Australian in this list, smoking 2,180 runs at 48.64. Smith's average is the highest among batters with 600-plus Ashes runs since 2010.
Smith surpasses Waugh's Ashes tally
With this knock of 110, Smith has surpassed Waugh's tally of 3,173 runs to become the fourth-highest scorer in the competition. Smith is behind Don Bradman (5,028), Hobbs (3,636), and Allan Border (3,222) in terms of runs.
