Steve Smith shattered records on his way to 37th Test century on the third day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the SCG. In the process, he also broke Don Bradman’s all-time record and is sitting on top of the tree in international cricket.
Australia’s stand-in Test skipper Steve Smith turned heads today, showing his class at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the fifth and final Ashes Test. He notched up his 37th Test century, taking his century tally against England to 13. He shattered a lot of records on the day, but one of them was extremely special as he broke Don Bradman’s massive record. Smith is now the highest run-scorer against England in international cricket history, going past Bradman on his way to an unbeaten 129.ย
Smith has now amassed 5085 in 122 innings across formats against England at an average of 48.89 with 14 centuries and 21 fifties to his credit. He needed 73 runs to break Bradman’s record coming into the SCG Test and Smith continued his love affair with the venue to notch up an unbeaten 129 in the first innings. For the unversed, Bradman scored 5028 in 63 innings at an average of almost 90 with 19 centuries and 12 fifties against England.ย
Among Indian players, Virat Kohli is on top of this list, having smashed 4036 runs in 109 innings across formats against England at an average of 41.18 with eight tons and 24 fifties.ย
Most runs vs England in international cricket
Steve Smith (Australia) – 5085 runs
Don Bradman (Australia) – 5028 runs
Allan Border (Australia) – 4850 runs
Viv Richards (West Indies) – 4488 runs
Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 4141 runs
Virat Kohli (India) – 4036 runs
Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 3990 runs
Steve Smith eyes Sachin Tendulkar’s record next
Steve Smith is not done yet in the first innings against England and he is eyeing to go past Sachin Tendulkar on the list of most runs against a single opponent in international cricket. He is only 24 runs away from surpassing Sachin’s stunning record vs Sri Lanka at the highest level. Notably, Tendulkar owns the overall record too, with a staggering 6707 runs against Australia across formats.
Most runs vs an opponent in international cricket
6707 runs – Sachin Tendulkar vs Australia
5551 – Virat Kohli vs Australia
5108 – Sachin Tendulkar vs Sri Lanka
5085* – Steven Smith vs England
5028 – Don Bradman vs England
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