He is in a league of his own. Isa Guha said it best as Steve Smith made it to an incredible double-hundred, that he is a top-notch batsman. Several agree to this statement as well, seeing how Smith has achieved a cumulative 589-run record within four Ashes innings. Australia started at a score of 170-3, finishing on 497/8 when Tim Paine chose to declare. In response, England’s Joe Deny got dismissed by Pat Cummins.
Smith, with his nonchalant demeanour, thwarted every strategy planned against his batting. He received a lifeline after a no-ball from Jack Leach struck the outside edge. Nevertheless, Australia’s former skipper had an overall remarkable performance during day 2.
His score of 211 included 24 boundaries with a few maximums. Here are some of the most outstanding numbers from the Australian willow-wielder.
- 8 – By surpassing the half-century in Manchester, Smith exceeded his own individual record of scoring the highest consecutive 50+ runs in Ashes: 8.
- 3 – Smith has 3 double-tons in Ashes; the only two with more are Wally Hammond, 4, and Don Bradman, 8.
- 30 – 30-year-old Smith will require 30 consecutive ducks from now on to let his Test average fall to 50.28. After the 211 runs, he has an average of 64.64.
- 3 – So far within 3 Ashes, Smith has outdone his 500-run score, becoming the only batter to reach the record. Smith has been only succeeded by Sir Don Bradman, with 500+ runs throughout 5 Ashes series.
- 11 – Smith made 11 centuries versus England, same as Sachin Tendulkar against Australia during his Test career of 24 years.
- 59.01 – After scoring 211 runs against England, Smith stands at a first-class average batting figure of 59.01, which is at least 10,000 runs. He scored 11,036 runs within 122 matches, complemented by 40 centuries, 45 half-centuries.
- 45 – Smith just needed 45 innings in order to reach 2500 runs versus England. The only players to have achieved this quicker are Don Bradman, Gary Sobers, Brian Lara, and Viv Richards.
- 121 – Only 121 Test innings were required for Smith to mark his 26th century. Bradman (69) is the only person with fewer innings than him.
- 72.99 – His batting average since back in August 2013, when he was first acknowledged as a batsman for the upper middle-order. He secured all Test centuries during this time, with 6,058 runs in 99 innings.
So, finally after getting a hit on helmet he is not in any fear and he is playing his natural game as he always do and making his cricket career much better every day.
