Nearly a month into their build-up to the landmark, Steve Smith finally crossed the remarkable milestone of 10,000 Test runs. Smith became only the 15th cricketer in history to achieve this feat with a simple flick through short mid-wicket for a single on his first ball. He is the fourth Australian to hit the five-figure mark and, alongside Allan Border, he is the second fastest to do so, having taken 115 Tests.
Smith achieved this historic achievement, and his name was once again mentioned in the same breath as the legend of Don Bradman. Michael Vaughan heaps praise on Smith, who is the best modern-day Test match player, the former England captain said. Smith was ‘unorthodox and unorthodoxly effective’, said Vaughan, able to read the game and adapt to different match conditions.
But Vaughan said of Strauss: “I would argue that he is the best modern-day Test match player. He’s the best problem solver, but he just does things a bit differently. He’s got the ball out; he’s faster than a lot of people,” he said. He is able to analyze a field setting and modify his approach. Look at his numbers; very few players are even discussed in the same breath as Don Bradman. And when you’re in a conversation with ‘The Don’, you know you’re pretty good.”
Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist meanwhile had a word to say about Steve Smith’s extraordinary transformation. After failing to bowl while batting No. 8 on debut as a leg-spinner against Pakistan at Lord’s in 2010, Smith gained a place as a batsman only in September, scoring 38 not out in his first match for Kent on the final day of the 2010 North Group clash with Glamorgan. But in the next 114 Test matches, his career would take a turn … he scored 34 centuries, the seventh-most ever in Test cricket.
This cements Smith’s place among Cricketing legends — from all-rounder to one of the game’s greatest Test batters.
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