Steve Smith: Ashes 2019 Double Comeback, 156 and 144 — The Most Unorthodox Great Batsman
Steven Peter Devereux Smith was born on 2 June 1989 in Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia. He played 110 Tests for Australia (2010–2024), scoring 9,174 runs at 58.44 with 33 centuries — the fourth-highest run total in Test history and an average that ranks him alongside Bradman (99.94) and Warne-era batsmen as one of the four highest career batting averages for batsmen with 50+ Tests. His return from a 12-month ban (sandpaper gate, Cape Town 2018) at the 2019 Ashes was among the most celebrated comebacks in cricket history: he scored 156 at Edgbaston (First Test) and 144 at Old Trafford (Third Test) in his first two Ashes matches after the ban. A jaffa from Jofra Archer struck him on the neck at Lord's and concussed him; he returned 40 minutes later and scored 80. His batting technique — a crab-like stance, waving bat, exaggerated backlift, and unorthodox pre-delivery movement — defies coaching manuals but produces a consistently high average against pace bowling in all conditions.
Steven Peter Devereux Smith was born on 2 June 1989 in Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia. He made his Test debut against Pakistan in 2010 and played 110 Tests from 2010 to 2024 (as of this writing), scoring 9,174 runs at 58.44 with 33 centuries — the fourth-highest Test run total in Australian history. His average of 58.44 is the highest active Test batting average and places him among the four highest career averages for batsmen with 50+ Tests alongside Bradman (99.94), Graeme Pollock (60.97), and Barry Richards (72.57 in 4 Tests).
The Sandpaper Gate and 12-Month Ban
In the Third Test between South Africa and Australia at Newlands, Cape Town on 24 March 2018, Cameron Bancroft used sandpaper to alter the condition of the ball during play — a violation of the Laws of Cricket. It later emerged that Smith (as captain) and David Warner (as vice-captain) had also been involved in planning the ball-tampering scheme. Smith and Warner were each banned from international and domestic cricket for 12 months; Bancroft for 9 months. Smith stepped down as Australian captain. It was the most significant ball-tampering scandal in Test cricket since the Pakistan matches-fixing episode of 2010 and caused widespread damage to Cricket Australia's reputation internationally.
Ashes 2019: The Comeback — 156, Concussion, 144
Steve Smith returned from his 12-month ban for the 2019 Ashes in England. In the First Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, he scored 156 in Australia's first innings — an innings defined by its sheer weight of concentration after the ban. In the Second Test at Lord's, Jofra Archer struck him on the neck with a bouncer in his first innings; he left the field and passed return-to-play concussion protocols before returning 40 minutes later to score 80 runs. He was replaced in the match by Marnus Labuschagne under the concussion substitute rule. In the Third Test at Old Trafford, Smith scored 211 runs across two innings (211 in the first innings). His total of 774 runs in the series — at an average of 110.57 — set a new record for the most runs by an Australian in an Ashes series in England. He was named Player of the Series.
Frequently asked questions
How unorthodox is Steve Smith's batting technique, and why does it work despite coaching manuals advising against it?
Steve Smith's batting technique is the most analysed deviation from coaching orthodoxy in modern cricket. His stance is wider than standard, with bat waving in pre-delivery movement; his backlift is very high (above shoulder height) and not straight; he stands slightly chest-on to the bowler rather than side-on; and he makes multiple small adjustments during the delivery stride rather than setting a single committed position before the ball arrives. All of these elements would be corrected in a junior coaching session. Why does it work: research in batting biomechanics suggests that Smith's multiple pre-delivery movements allow him to receive more visual information about the ball's trajectory before committing to a shot — he delays the decision point slightly longer than conventional batsmen, making adjustments possible that would not be available to a batsman with a simpler, earlier movement pattern. His high backlift gives him more time and arc on the downswing for cut and drive shots; his wide stance provides a stable base for playing on both sides of the wicket. The technique is personal: it developed organically as he rose through youth cricket and was not coached into him. Attempts to mechanically replicate it tend to produce worse outcomes because the timing of the adjustments is Smith-specific. His average of 58.44 — the highest active career average in Test cricket — is the statistical argument that the coaching manuals are wrong, or at least that batting technique admits more individual variation than any single prescription can capture.