Former England captain Nasser Hussain has tipped Steve Smith as the second–best Australian batter since the great Sir Donald Bradman. Smith has been performing consistently for Australia in the last decade in all three formats of the game.
The talisman could not deliver the goods at the flat surface of Edgbaston in the opening Ashes Test against England. However, Smith made a fantastic return to form in the second Test match at Lord’s as he scored a fine knock of 110 runs in the first innings to help Australia post a par score of 416 runs.
Moreover, Smith scored 34 runs in the second essay for the visitors. As Smith has performed consistently, he is now the second-ranked batter in the ICC Test rankings.
Smith also became the second fastest to 9000 runs (176 innings) after Kumar Sangakkara. The right-hander has scored 9113 runs in 99 Test matches at an average of 59.56. The third Test match at Headingley will be the 100th Test match for Steve Smith.
In his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain stated: “In considering where Steve Smith stands among Australian cricketers upon the occasion of his 100th Test cap, you would have to call him the second-best since Sir Donald Bradman. Only the late Shane Warne would be above someone with such a phenomenal statistical record. Whenever I judge how great a player someone is, I assess whether they can perform in all conditions around the world.”
Hussain added Smith doesn’t depend on favorable batting conditions to score his runs as he showed his class in the WTC Final against India and also the Lord’s Test against England.
“Just look at what he has done in England so far this summer. Playing in that World Test Championship final on a slightly spicy pitch, he got a hundred. Then, batting first at Lord’s last week, he struck another. These are performances that show he is no flat-track bully who only scores runs when everything is in his favour, but a batsman able to adapt to challenges posed around the world.”
Hussain hailed Smith for his consistent performances despite the fact he gets booed by the English crowd, especially after the Sandpaper Gate incident.
“Smith obviously had difficult times. None more so than the whole sandpaper scandal in Cape Town five years ago, and losing the Australian captaincy meant he paid the biggest price. Smith gets booed when he gets off the bus and when he goes out to bat, and has songs sung at him fielding on the boundary.”
The third Ashes Test will be played at Headingley from Thursday onwards.
