New Delhi: With 10,000 runs and 35 Test centuries, Steve Smith is undoubtedly elevated himself to be the best batter of the modern generation, ahead of the likes of Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Kane Williamson, believes former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting.
Smith needed just a run to become only the fourth Australian to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket, He reached the landmark with a flick to mid-on off spinner Prabath Jayasuriya minutes before lunch on the opening day of Australia’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle and went on to score his 35th hundred.
In the process, he went past former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar’s mark of 34 Test centuries, 17 of them on foreign soil, one more than Kohli in the list of batters with most away tons in Test cricket. Kohli has scored 9230 runs in 123 matches with an average of 46.85 including 31 Test tons.
Smith had missed the chance to complete 10,000 runs at his home of the Sydney Cricket Ground against India in the fifth and final match f the Border-Gavaskar series that Australia won 3-1 to qualify for the World Test Championship against South Africa in June.
Smith reached the elite list of 10,000 runs with an average of 55, only behind Sangakkara (57.40) in terms of batting averages and Ponting believes these statistics are hard to ignore by anyone when determining who is the best batter of the current generation.
“Is he the best player of his generation? It’s hard to argue against it. Joe Root is the other one now, and (Kane) Williamson’s record is outstanding as well. Joe’s last couple of years have elevated him right back up there, I think,” Ponting said told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Five or six years ago, when this big four emerged, with (Virat) Kohli being one of those as well, Joe was probably down near the bottom part of that because he hadn’t made the hundreds the other guys had made, but he’s made 19 hundreds in the past four years,” he added.
Fifth fastest
The 35-year-old is fifth on the list of batters with 10,000 runs in terms of innings taken (205) with Sachin tendulkar, Brian Lara and Kumar Sangakkara all taking 195 innings to reach the milestone.
He joined former Australia captains Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting to reach the mark and received a standing ovation from his team-mates when he ran to complete his first run.
Steve Smith completed 10,000 runs with his 35th Test ton and is considered to be part of ‘Fab Four’ of modern day great batters that includes Virat Kohli, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
