BigCricket

Australia will embark on nine Tests against sub-continent teams this southern hemisphere winter, playing three away to Pakistan, two to Sri Lanka and the crown jewel in such an environment – four Tests for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. There is also a single historic Test scheduled to be played against Afghanistan in India before the series against India itself gets underway.

India and Pakistan away from home has been a mountain which Australia have simply been unable to overcome over the years, failing to win series more often than they haven’t. 

In fact, while Sri Lanka have had some slip ups at home against the men from down under, Australia have won just 15 out of their last 71 Tests on the sub continent, and 9 out of 55 against India and Pakistan, losing 27 of those.

It means there will be serious value to be found at Neds when it comes to backing Australia to fall over the line when they take on Pakistan in the first of these three tours. 

But Australia can’t be written off, despite their lack of success against teams on pitches that can often be described as “dustbowls.”

That isn’t always the case in Pakistan, and hasn’t been in the last couple of years however, with quick bowlers doing plenty of damage for both Pakistan and opposition touring teams since tours resumed to the nation for the first time in more than a decade.

Pakistan are hard to beat at home – of that there can be no doubt.

But Australia are a strong side who are improving in these conditions. Last time against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, they held on for a famous draw and have only gotten since then. The green and gold have some of the world’s best players against spin in the shape of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, while it’s fair to say Usman Khawaja has also improved that department of his game out of sight in the last couple of years, provided of course he is kept at the top of the order.

More than that though, it’s the bowling attack where it could be argued Australia have made the greatest strides forward in these conditions.

Nathan Lyon is now one of the greatest off-spinners of all-time, but on top of that, he is receiving substantial competition from Mitchell Swepson, who has lit up domestic cricket over the past 24 months. On top of that, the reverse swing exploits of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins continue to strengthen, while competition for pace bowling spots will come heavily from Melbourne Boxing Day debutant Scott Boland and Jhye Richardson.

It’s an attack with enormous depth, and given the lack of runs Australia have so often experienced on the sub-continent may not also be someway towards being taken care of, it’s going to be difficult to write off a team who just bombed England out of the Ashes with a 4-0 series win, which was just a single wicket away from being 5-0.

Pakistan recently got the better of Bangladesh in a Test series, but that doesn’t say all that much for the side against another sub-continent opposition in that part of the world.

Australia bring with them a new challenge, and while the history is against Justin Langer’s side, logic says they are more than just a half chance.

Every sports discipline in history has produced their own specific sets of iconic figures.

These names that become renowned in households across the planet have achieved this status as they are the ones that redefine what it means to excel.

We understand what Tiger Woods means to the game of golf, just as we are aware of what Usain Bolt represents in the world of athletics. But in the history of Australian Cricket, much of the story remains unwritten.

With his individual idiosyncrasies and his sublime strokeplay, could Steve Smith carve his way into the summer game’s pantheon by the time the sun sets on his career?

The peerless contender

You could compare Smith’s performance to the likes of Virat Kohli, but when one considers Smith’s skills in comparison to his peers, the New South Welshman remains unmatched.

Of course, it’s impossible to give it context to ‘Smudge’s’ greatness without also mentioning Don Bradman, the undisputed legend of Australian cricket. One could very well say that Steve Smith is second only to him. And let’s be honest, that is an accomplishment in and of itself.

Smith’s performance

Smith is one of the finest Test batsmen to have ever graced Australian cricket. He averages an impressive 64.56 from 68 Tests – which is the second most by any cricketer that has played 20 tests or more.

The only other name that currently comes close is Kohli, with an average of 53.14.

But what is it that is keeping Smith from soaring in the stratosphere with some of the game’s past stars?

For starters, he has shown to have trouble maintaining his form. On top of that, a whole year of his career was eliminated due to suspension.

However, keep in mind that Smith is still relatively young – the former captain only turned 32 this June – meaning he has a lengthy portion of his career still ahead of him. Therefore, there is a view that his full potential is yet to be seen.

The work of a batsman is never easy.

Source: Pixabay.com

The next Ricky Ponting?

With a Test average of 51.85 over the course of his international career, Ricky Ponting is without doubt one of the greatest cricketers to ever pull on a baggy green cap.

However, since Ponting spends his days commentating or quaffing fine wines these days, his achievements are simpler to assess.

On the other hand, Smith’s career is still well and truly alive and kicking. For this reason, it is impossible to give an accurate assessment of where he’ll stand before stumps are called on his career.

One thing is for sure, if Smith keeps up his current pace, then chances are he will surpass Ponting’s overall statistics.

A big black mark on Smith’s reputation

With that being said, Smith’s reputation is not without stains either.

Remember the ball tampering events taking place in South Africa in March 2018? This resulted in receiving a year long ban from competing. Although he is not the first to have done so, he did cheat. And as the old adage goes, cheaters never prosper.

Not only did Smith let down the fans, he dragged Cricket’s good name down with him (or at least a sizable portion of it). Whether this alone is enough to put the game in a state of crisis, is anyone’s guess. But one thing is for sure – love him or hate him, he has made a name for himself and everyone recognizes him to be one of the greatest.

He can reach the lowest of lows and always finds a way to rise back from the ashes – or as proven 2019, ‘for the ashes’ as well.

Other batsmen can only fantasize about achieving half of what he already has under his belt, and when we remember that we haven’t seen the last of him, his peers and opponents are set to be daydreaming for many summers to come.

Conclusion

Steve Smith stands tall as one of the greatest Test batsmen of all time, second only to Don Bradman – that much remains undisputed.

A much better question, on the other hand, is this – who deserves to claim the title of the third best?

I guess we will see in due time.

As always, keep your eyes peeled on the bbl live score 2021 to keep yourself up-to-date on everything cricket-related. And don’t forget to stay in tune with more content on Australian cricket as we publish it.