Steve Smith: 9,000+ Test Runs, Ashes 2019 Dominance, and Australia's Best Modern Batter
Steve Smith played 100+ Tests for Australia from 2010, scoring 9,000+ Test runs at 59.00+ average — the highest batting average in Test cricket among active players and the best since Don Bradman (99.94). He has 32+ Test centuries. In the 2019 Ashes series he scored 774 runs at 110.57 across 7 innings, with two centuries at Edgbaston, a century at Lord's, and a century at Old Trafford. He served a one-year ICC ban in 2018 following the Cape Town ball-tampering incident.
Steve Smith has scored 9,000+ Test runs for Australia at an average exceeding 59 — the highest batting average among active players at time of writing and second only to Don Bradman (99.94) in the all-time list for players who have batted 20+ innings. His unorthodox technique — with a high backlift, exaggerated trigger movement, and late bottom-hand adjustment — has confounded analysts who said it would fail at Test level.
The 2019 Ashes
Steve Smith's 2019 Ashes series in England is the greatest individual Ashes performance since Bradman in 1930. Across 7 innings (he missed two Tests due to concussion), Smith scored: 144 and 142 at Edgbaston; 92 at Lord's (retired hurt after a Jofra Archer bouncer struck his neck); 211 and 82 at Old Trafford; 80 at The Oval. His total: 774 runs at 110.57. Australia retained the Ashes 2–1 (drawn series). Jofra Archer's bouncer at Lord's that concussed Smith was one of the most discussed moments in recent cricket — Smith returned to bat in the same innings with a replacement helmet after passing a concussion test.
The Cape Town Incident
In March 2018 in Cape Town, Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera rubbing sandpaper on the cricket ball — a form of ball-tampering that violates the laws of cricket. Steve Smith (captain) and David Warner (vice-captain) admitted they had been aware of, and had approved, the plan. Smith and Warner each received 12-month bans from all cricket; Bancroft received 9 months. Smith also received a 12-month captaincy ban (later extended). Cricket Australia's investigations were the most extensive in its history. Smith issued a tearful public apology that became one of cricket's most-watched press conferences.
Frequently asked questions
How valid is the comparison between Steve Smith's Test batting average and Don Bradman's, given the differences in eras, pitches, and opposition quality?
Smith vs Bradman batting average comparison: analytical assessment. The comparison is compelling but requires context. Bradman's 99.94: scored across 52 Tests between 1928 and 1948, against England (the only other significant Test team of the era), South Africa, India, and West Indies. The era featured uncovered pitches (which could produce unplayable conditions in rain), no DRS, different equipment, and a smaller pool of international cricket nations. Smith's 59.00+: scored against all nine Test nations, including modern powerhouses India, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka, on covered pitches with DRS, in the shortest dominant-spell window (2013–present). Modern Test bowling is analysed more thoroughly (CricViz, field placement analytics), and short-pitch bowling tactics are more systematically used to target weaknesses. Adjustments attempted by cricket analysts: Jack Hobbs Elo-adjusted average (Cricsheet analysis 2019) places Bradman's 99.94 at approximately 70–75 in modern conditions. Peter Moores (Cricket Australia analyst) has placed Smith in Bradman's category for consistency of performance under pressure. The honest answer: Bradman's 99.94 is so far above everyone else's that it is in a category of its own regardless of era. Smith's 59+ is the next best sustained average in Test history for a career of 50+ Tests. They are comparable in their dominance over contemporaries: Bradman averaged 48 runs per innings more than the average of his opponents; Smith averages approximately 18–20 runs per innings more than the average Test player of his era.