Steve Smith pulls off sensational Ashes feat at Lord's
Steve Smith becomes the first player since Donald Bradman – 86 YEARS ago – to pull off sensational Ashes feat as Australia star draws level with Steve Waugh’s Test century tally with sublime knock at Lord’s
- Steve Smith compiled his 12th Ashes Test at Lord’s on Thursday
- Former Australia captain is joint-second in the all-time list of Ashes centurions
- With 19 centuries, only Sir Donald Bradman has more Ashes tons than Smith
Steve Smith wrote another chapter of Ashes history on Thursday, becoming the first player since Sir Donald Bradman to score 12 centuries in the series
The former Australia captain resumed on 85 at Lord’s on Day Two of the second Test and brought up his 32nd century in his 99th Test less than an hour into the day’s play, drawing level with Steve Waugh’s tally.
With 41 Test tons, Ricky Ponting is the only Australian with more Test centuries than the pair.
Smith’s century also draws him level with England great Jack Hobbs in the list of Ashes centurions, seven behind Bradman’s all-time record of 19.
Waugh is the only other batter to have reached three figures in Ashes Tests on at least 10 occasions.
Steve Smith brought up his 12th Ashes Test and drew level with Steve Waugh on 32 Test tons, the second-most by an Australian behind only Ricky Ponting
Smith resumed on 85 on Day Two at Lord’s and brought up his ton in less than an hour
Along with Bradman and Hobbs, former Aussie skipper Allan Border is the only player to have scored more runs in the Ashes than Smith.
Of the current players, meanwhile, only five other batters feature on the list of all-time Ashes centurions.
Usman Khawaja and Joe Root have both compiled four tons each, while David Warner and Ben Stokes have three apiece and Travis Head has two centuries against England.
Lord’s has always been a special ground for Smith. The Australian made his Test debut at the Home of Cricket against Pakistan in 2010 and made 215 against England five years later.
Four years ago, he was struck on the neck and the arm by England quick Jofra Archer during a vicious spell of fast bowling in the afternoon session on Day Four of the second Test.
The second blow forced Smith to retire hurt on 80, only for him to return at the crease 40 minutes later.
Looking uncharacteristically out of sorts, he added another 12 runs before falling LBW without playing a shot and was forced to miss the third Test with concussion.
The former Australia captain has 32 tons in 174 Test innings since making his debut in 2010
Smith’s ton drew him level with Steve Waugh’s tally of 32 centuries for Australia
With 41 Test tons, Ricky Ponting is the only Australian ahead of Smith and Waugh
Despite playing just four Tests, Smith was the top run scorer in the series four years ago with 774 runs at an average of 110.75, which included 144 and 142 in the two innings in at Edgbaston and 211 at Old Trafford.
But the 34-year-old was underwhelming at Edgbaston in the opening Test of the series, making 16 in the first innings and six in his second dig.
On the first day at Lord’s on Wednesday, Smith became the second-fastest player in cricket history behind Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara to reach 9,000 Test runs.
Smith reached the milestone in 174 innings, two more than Sangakkara and three fewer than Ricky Ponting, the next Australian on the list.
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