Ashes 2023: "There's Bradman There And Certainly There's Steve Smith... - Ricky Ponting Rates Smith As Second Best Australia Batter Of All Time

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting rated Steve Smith as second best Australian batter of all time behind legendary Don Bradman. He said that the current vice-captain of the team solves problems quicker than most and he has no doubt about why he’s best.

Steve Smith – a dominant force in the most extended format of the game – has been one of the best batters in Test cricket. In a current lot of batters, there’s no one close to him that can match his calibre in this particular format. Such is his aura that he’s often rated on the same page with Sir Don Bradman.

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Steve Smith paved a pivotal role in Australia becoming the ICC World Test Champions as he was amongst the leading run-getters in this cycle. So far he has played 97 Tests, scoring around 9K runs and has the out-of-box average of 60.05 to go with 31 Test hundreds to his name.

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Ricky Ponting said that he does not doubt that Steve Smith is the second-best batter for Australia behind Don Bradman. He highlighted how his average has been the same for a long time. Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:

“On the Australian list, there’s Bradman there and certainly there’s Steve Smith behind it. He has got 31 hundreds in 97 games, that strike rate is phenomenal. No doubt in my mind that right now he is in the No.2 spot (behind Bradman). To have that average stretched out for so many games, and he hasn’t finished yet either!“

Also Read: Ashes 2023: “Huge Mistake” – Twitter Stunned As Australia Drop Mitchell Starc From Playing XI In The First Ashes Test At Edgbaston

Ashes 2023: There’s no doubt that he solves problems quicker than most – Ricky Ponting on Steve Smith

Ricky Ponting admitted that Steve Smith is beyond him as he used to solve problems quicker than most. He explained:

“Yes he has (a tip on me) at the moment (smiles). After a hundred Test matches, I averaged 60. But I fell off after that pretty quickly (laughs). There’s no doubt that he solves problems quicker than most. He is also not too scared to try and change things. When I look back at my career I was a bit scared to change things.”

Steve Smith is currently part of the Australian side for the Ashes 2023. He averages around 60 in Tests against England and will be a huge threat to the Ben Stokes-led side.

Also Read: Ashes 2023: “Ashes For Australia And England Cricketers In The Pinnacle” – Steve Smith Makes A Bold Remark As He Puts Ashes Over WTC

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