Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith notched his 37th Test century on Day 3 of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), climbing further up the record books on Tuesday.
Smith brought up his hundred by running three off a shot to fine leg off Jacob Bethell, prompting rapturous applause from the SCG crowd. The milestone came at a venue that has long been a happy hunting ground for the right-hander, who removed his helmet, raised his bat and acknowledged the cheers, with his wife applauding from the stands. At the time of writing, Smith was unbeaten on 110 off 178 balls.
It was Smith’s 13th Ashes century, with only Sir Don Bradman (19) scoring more hundreds in the series. The knock was also his first century of the ongoing Ashes. With this effort, the 36-year-old became the second-highest run-scorer at the SCG with 1,206 runs, behind former skipper Ricky Ponting, who leads the list with 1,480 runs. Smith is also second on the all-time list of Test centuries at the venue.
Smith is now second on the all-time Ashes run-scoring list with 3,663 runs, again behind Bradman, who amassed 5,028 runs. He made his Ashes debut in Perth in 2010 and took 15 innings to score his maiden hundred, which came at The Oval in 2013. His most prolific Ashes series came in 2019 in England, where he scored 774 runs at an average of 110.57.
In the overall list of Test centuries, Smith moved past former India batter Rahul Dravid (36) and is now one short of equalling Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara. India legend Sachin Tendulkar tops the chart with 51 Test centuries.
Smith’s century proved vital as Australia’s lead crossed the 100-run mark on Day 3, after Travis Head had laid the perfect platform. Head was dominant at the top of the order, bringing up his 12th Test hundred at nearly a run-a-ball before being dismissed for 163, trapped lbw by Bethell. Usman Khawaja, playing his final Test, made 17 before falling to Brydon Carse.
Smith, well supported by Cameron Green, then helped Australia consolidate their advantage and take a position of strength while adding another milestone to his illustrious career.
(IANS)
