During the recent Boxing Day Test, Australia’s Steve Smith surpassed Allan Border to become the second-highest run scorer in Ashes history, behind Sir Don Bradman.
Photo : AP
During the Boxing Day Test against England, Australia’s stand-in skipper Steve Smith overtook Allan Border on an exclusive list. Despite his cheap scores of 9 and 24* in the first and second innings, respectively, he became the Baggy Greens’ second-highest run scorer in Ashes history. Now, the only person behind him on the list is Sir Don Bradman.
In the first innings, Josh Tongue, an England seamer, rattled Smith’s wickets. Despite the difficult ground to bat on, Smith managed to stay undefeated on the second occasion. Overall, Australia’s batting performance was subpar as they were unable to score more than 200 runs in either of their two innings.
Smith’s consistency in the series over the years has seen him amass 3,553 runs against England in Tests, despite his inability to live up to expectations in the current Ashes. In 40 Test matches, the 36-year-old has scored 12 hundreds and 14 fifties. With 3,548 runs from 47 Test matches, including 8 hundreds and 21 fifties, he surpassed Border on the list.
Most runs for Australia in The Ashes –
1. Sir Don Bradman – 5028 runs
2. Steve Smith – 3553 runs
3. Allan Border – 3548 runs
4. Steve Waugh – 3173 runs
5. Clem Hill – 2660 runs
Smith, however, expressed disapproval of the Melbourne pitch, where the Boxing Day Test was finished in just two days. None of the hitters were able to reach a half-century, making the track nothing less than a nightmare for them. Twenty wickets were taken on the first day, and sixteen wickets were taken on the second.
“Yeah, I think a little bit too much. It was tricky; no one could really get in. I think when you see 36 wickets across two days, that’s probably too much. So, probably it did a little bit more than they (the curators) would have wanted. Maybe if we drop it (the grass) down to 8mm, it’d be about right, potentially,” Smith said during the post-match presentation.
