Sydney [Australia], January 6 : Steve Smith added another chapter to his remarkable Test career on Tuesday at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), scripting fresh Ashes history with a sublime century against England in the fifth Test.
The Australian batter moved past England great Jack Hobbs to become the second-highest run scorer in Ashes history, while also climbing to second place on the list of most Ashes centuries.
The 36-year-old brought up his 37th Test hundred, building on Travis Head's blistering 163 to help Australia surge past England's first-innings total of 318 and secure a crucial lead of 134 runs. Smith's knock not only strengthened Australia's position in the match but also reinforced his status as one of the finest batters the Ashes rivalry has witnessed.
With this innings, Smith went past Hobbs' tally of 3,636 Ashes runs to move to second on the all-time list, now trailing only Don Bradman. Smith now has 3,682 runs in the Ashes, while Bradman remains at the top with 5,028. Smith's century was also his 13th against England in Test cricket, a number surpassed only by Bradman, who scored 19 hundreds against the old rivals.
Speaking after the day's play, Smith reflected on his innings and the conditions at SCG.
"Nice batting wicket out there. Nice to start my innings on the back of a great innings from Travis Head. When you're out there with him they forget about you and I was able to get into my work. Worked out well today. Couple of nice partnerships," Smith said on Fox, as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
Smith's latest effort also saw him climb the list of most runs scored against a single opponent in international cricket. He now has 5,085 runs against England, trailing only Sachin Tendulkar's 6,707 runs against Australia, Virat Kohli's 5,551 against Australia, and Tendulkar's 5,108 against Sri Lanka.
At the Sydney Cricket Ground, Smith's numbers further underline his dominance. In 13 Tests at the venue, he has scored 1,225 runs from 20 innings at an average of 72.05, including five centuries. Only Ricky Ponting has more runs at the SCG, with 1,480, and more hundreds, with six.
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