Steven Smith will become the 41st cricketer and the 14th Australian international to partake in 100 Test matches when he would take the field at Headingly on Thursday for the third Test match of Ashes 2023.
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Unarguably one of the best Test batters in modern-day cricket, Smith will also treat this crucial milestone in his career as a wonderful opportunity to seal his maiden Ashes series victory on English soil.
Among players from the present Australian squad for Ashes 2023, only batter David Warner (106) and spinner Nathan Lyon (122) have played more than 100 Tests. Other Aussie batters to have played more than 100 Tests include Ricky Ponting (168), Steve Waugh (168), Allan Border (156), Mark Waugh (128), Ian Healy (119), Michael Clarke (115), David Boon (107), Justin Langer (105), Mark Taylor (104) and Matthew Hayden (103).
For players to have amassed more than 5,000 Test runs, Smith’s average of 59.56 is bettered only by the legendary Don Bradman (99.94). The 34-year-old also holds the record of winning most ‘Player of the Match’ awards (8) in Test matches against England, and has also smashed the second-highest number of centuries (12) in Ashes history.
Does Steve Smith Have Most Runs Before 100th Test Match?
One of the biggest achievements in Test batting history, Smith also holds the record of the becoming the first batter to reach 9,000 runs before playing the 100th Test match. He is, in fact, also the joint second-fastest to 9,000 Test runs in terms of innings (174) alongside former India captain Rahul Dravid and after former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara (172).
His aforementioned average of 59.56 is also the highest for a player after 99 Tests, with Dravid falling next in the list with an average of 58.16. Also, Smith’s 32 centuries on the eve of 100th Test is the most by any player. The likes of Indian legends Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar and Hayden had 30 centuries to their names by the completion of their respective 99 Tests.
Most Test Runs After 99 Test Matches
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | 100s | HS |
| Steven Smith | 175 | 9113 | 59.56 | 32 | 239 |
| Brian Lara | 174 | 8833 | 52.27 | 23 | 375 |
| Younis Khan | 176 | 8594 | 53.71 | 29 | 313 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 166 | 8572 | 55.66 | 25 | 287 |
| Rahul Dravid | 167 | 8492 | 58.16 | 22 | 270 |
Can Steve Smith Finish As Highest Run-scorer In Test Cricket?
It depends on whether he manages to keep himself fit and going on with this unbelievable consistency in the upcoming years to come. If we look at the number of innings it took for the leading run-scorers in Test cricket to reach where they are, Smith becoming the numero uno doesn’t seem like a distant dream.
The highest run-scorer in Test cricket, Tendulkar, had played 200 Test matches to score 15,921 runs. As Smith has not even played half the number of Tests that Tendulkar played, him scoring another 6,000 runs doesn’t seem mathematically impossible. The biggest challenge to begin with, however, will be to remain injury-free for he already turned 34 last month.
