New Delhi: Premier Australian batter Steve Smith rued missing the opportunity to complete 10,000 runs in front of his family at home ground Sydney during the fifth and final Test of the Boder-Gavaskar series against India.
The No.4 batter needed 38 runs to reach the milestone in the series-concluding game but fell short by one run as Australia won the match by six wickets to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years.
Smith managed 33 and four in his two innings to remain one short of the coveted landmark and is looking forward to the Sri Lanka series to complete it where Australia will travel for a two-game series starting in Galle in January 29.
“I don’t read too much into stats and stuff, but, 10,000 is a bit of a different beast,” Smith told SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“It probably was (on my mind), to be honest. Normally I sort of don’t buy into any of that stuff, but pre-game, I was doing lots of media because I was approaching that mark.
“It would have been great to have been able to do it in Sydney in front of all my friends and family because you’re joining a pretty elite group there I suppose, but it wasn’t to be.
“As a kid, I never would have dreamt of that, I dreamt to play cricket for Australia and have a career playing for Australia, but to have been able to get to this mark, it’s a dream come true in a way,” he added.
The Hazlewood connection
Steve said the number ’38’ hung so heavily on his mind that he joked he would be associated with Josh Hazlewood, whose jersey number is 38, forever.
“I knew I needed 38, and all I could actually picture trying to sleep at night was the back of Josh Hazlewood’s shirt because he’s number 38 (laughs). It’s strange like that, isn’t it?
“It was probably playing on my mind more than any other game that I’ve played, to be honest. But, it is what it is, fortunately, we were able to win that game in the end, so it didn’t really matter,” he said.
Smith hopes he could do the formality on the opening day of the Sri Lanka, as it would lift a weight off his shoulder an enable him to become the fourth Australian batter and 15th overall to enter the 10,000-run club.
Steve Smith needed 38 runs to reach the milestone in the fifth Test of the BGT series but fell short by one run as Australia won the match by six wickets in Sydney. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
