Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith achieved his 37th Test century on Day 3 of the final Ashes match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Smith reached his century by scoring three runs off a shot to fine leg bowled by Jocob Bethell, receiving applause from the crowd including his wife. Currently, Smith is batting at 110 runs off 178 balls.
This century marks Smith’s 13th in Ashes matches, placing him behind only Don Bradman who has 19 centuries in the Ashes. It is also Smith’s first century in this series. Additionally, Smith has become the second-highest run-scorer at the SCG with 1206 runs, following former skipper Ricky Ponting who leads with 1480 runs and is also second in the list of all-time Test centuries at the SCG.
Steve Smith, aged 36, now ranks second in the all-time list of Ashes Test runs with 3663 runs, trailing behind Don Bradman who holds the top position with 5028 runs. Smith made his Ashes debut in 2010 and achieved his first century in 2013 at The Oval. Since then, he has shown consistent performance, with his best Ashes series being in 2019 where he scored 774 runs at an average of 110.57.
In the overall Test centuries list, Smith has surpassed former India batsman Rahul Dravid’s 36 centuries and is one century away from matching Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara. Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the most Test centuries with 51 to his name. Smith’s century in the match helped Australia extend their lead beyond 100 runs on day three after a strong performance by Travis Head.
Head, who scored his 12th Test century at a rapid rate, finished with 163 runs before being dismissed lbw by Jacob Bethell. Usman Khawaja, playing his final Test match, contributed 17 runs before falling to Brydon Carse. Smith, supported by Cameron Green, played a crucial role in extending Australia’s lead and consolidating their position of strength while achieving personal milestones.
