Steve Smith is the second-greatest batter Australia have produced after Don Bradman, feels Ricky Ponting

Ahead of the third Ashes Test, at Leeds, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting lavished huge praise on Steve Smith. Smith is gearing up for his 100th Test match when Australia and England will lock horns in the third Test, at Leeds, Headingley, and will become the 14th Australian to reach three-figure Test appearances. Easily one of the greatest Test batters of current times, and a modern-day great, Smith has been Australia’s go-to-batter in whites. Thus, Ponting made a big claim as he feels Smith is Australia’s second-greatest batter after Don Bradman. 

‘If it all ended tomorrow Steve Smith would be Australia’s second-greatest batter after Don Bradman’

“If it all ended tomorrow he’d be the second-greatest batsman Australia have produced after Don Bradman. Statistically, you cannot argue with that. He’s achieving things so quickly. Even at Lord’s, he became the second-fastest in history to reach 9,000 Test runs,” Ponting said while speaking with Nasser Hussain for the Daily Mail.

The former Aussie skipper added, “Quickest to 32 Test hundreds, innings-wise. It doesn’t look as though he’s slowing down. He has been a bit guarded about how long he will go on for, which is a bit strange to me. He jokes about not being able to sleep. With the number of hundreds he scores he should be able to sleep pretty easily, I reckon.”

Smith started his career as a leg spinner but soon became a handy batter and is now regarded highly in the Test format. In 99 Tests, the right-hander has 9,113 runs at an average of 59.56 along with 32 hundreds and 37 half-centuries. He was awarded the ICC Test Player of the Decade in December 2020. He continues to score heaps of runs and slammed a century in Australia’s 209-run win over India in the WTC final.

In the second Ashes Test, at Lord’s, Smith returned as the Player-of-the-Match for his 110 in the first innings. He will be eager to score another triple-figure knock in the upcoming third Ashes Test with Pat Cummins & Co. leading the series 2-0.

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