Steve Smith

Steve Smith bats right-handed with an action that is unlike any other at international level. His pre-ball routine involves a series of bat taps, shoulder movements, and stance adjustments that coaches would conventionally teach a young player to avoid. Yet in each delivery, Smith resets himself — through a trigger movement toward off stump — and plays a shot that is determined by extraordinary hand-eye coordination and concentration rather than by technically premeditated geometry.

His great strength is back-foot play. When bowlers drop short, Smith has time to wait on the ball and play it very late through square leg or cut it behind point. He does not commit early, which makes him very difficult to dismiss with seam or swing. Against spin, his footwork is nimble and he uses his strong bottom hand to hit through the line, unlike many batters who attempt to hit with the top hand as the primary driver.

His comeback after the 2018 sandpaper ban produced his greatest single series: 687 Ashes runs at 110 average in England in 2019, despite missing a Test. England attacked his body with short-pitched deliveries but Smith responded with one of the great counter-attacks in Ashes history. That series — which Australia retained — cemented his place as the defining batter of his generation.