Steve Smith: The Most Unconventional Great Batter

Steve Smith debuted for Australia as a leg-spin bowling all-rounder and became, through persistent remodelling of his technique, the world's best Test batter through the 2014-2020 period. His career average exceeds 60 — the highest by any active batter — and his method is so distinctive that it defies conventional coaching wisdom while consistently producing runs.

The Unusual Technique

Smith uses a trigger movement that takes him back and across his stumps before the bowler delivers — opposite to most modern batting coaching which advocates a light movement forward. He holds the bat high, loops it past fourth slip in his backlift, and plays the ball at the last possible moment. His trigger movement looks like a vulnerability against the short ball — but he reads the length and pulls efficiently. The result is a system that frustrates bowlers by removing the obvious weakness.

Ball-Tampering and the 12-Month Ban

In March 2018 at Cape Town, Smith was captain of Australia when Cameron Bancroft used sandpaper on the ball under instruction from the team's leadership group. Smith and David Warner received 12-month international bans. Smith returned for the 2019 Ashes and scored 774 runs — the most by any away batter in an Ashes series since Bradman. The comeback was one of sport's great redemption stories.

Smith was booed by English crowds throughout the 2019 series — a reaction to the sandpaper controversy. He responded by scoring centuries at Edgbaston, Old Trafford, and The Oval, and adding a century at Lord's only to be struck by a Jofra Archer bouncer that concussed him. On his return from concussion (he missed the Headingley Test), he scored another century. The booing was replaced, grudgingly, by applause. His 774 runs was the most by any batter in the series by 350 runs.

WTC Final and Later Career

Smith scored 121 in Australia's 2023 WTC Final win over India. He retired from the Australian Test captaincy role that had been handed back after Paine's departure, and was reappointed as an opener in the 2024-25 Ashes. His longevity — the ability to adapt form and role over 15+ years of Test cricket — sets him alongside the sport's greatest players.