The Ashes: (England tour of Australia)

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Smith is such a beast. How do one get him out? Even Kohli has a short fall of getting out to a out swinging delivery. I wish Smith all the luck to become the highest test scorer in history passing Tendulkar's record. As @Yash. said I wish the same for Kohli in Limited Overs.

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Just saw Smith averages 76 at home and an equally impressive 46 runs away from home. Cricinfo stats he averages 57 in away conditions and 35 in neutral which is UAE (against Pakistan) so averaging away + neutral that is still an impressive average of 46.

 

[Yash.]

46 runs away from home.

Statsguru says its 53..

 

[LiveLoveABD]

The Steve Smith hype is getting a bit over the top. Is he one of the best today? Yes, without doubt. GOAT? Long long way to go.

Also, these comparisons with Kohli are beyond me. Kohli has had one bad away tour i.e England and a problem against seam, but so does Smith. He has a huge appetite for big runs, but to classify him as an all conditions batsman is rich.

Joe Root can play the moving ball, but he has a temperament issue in terms of patience. I also don't rate his game against spin as highly as Smith's or Kohli's.

I still feel Kane Williamson is the most accomplished test batsman in the world, followed by Smith and Kohli and closely followed by Root.

Stats are for me quite useless as I've said time and again.

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Statsguru says its 53..

That is what I mentioned, Statsguru is saying 57 away from home and counting UAE matches which is away from home as neutral. Smith averages 35 in UAE so if you average the averages of away and neutral its 46.

 

[Markkkkk]

To think Smith is not one of the best batsmen OAT is negligence

 

[Yash.]

I still feel Kane Williamson is the most accomplished test batsman in the world, followed by Smith and Kohli and closely followed by Root.

There's a difference in having talent and performing. Yeah, sure there is no current batsman as technically accomplished, talented and complete as Kane but he does not perform consistently. Somehow, the bowlers have regularly found a way around him.


Although you dont seem to agree with stats but sometimes, they clearly give an indication...
He has not been able to continue along the batting he had in his first 5 years. Since, start of 2016, he has the lowest average, lowest no. of runs, lowest no. of centuries among the big 4 - Root, Smith, Kohli and Kane.

 

[Markkkkk]

He has not been able to continue along the batting he had in his first 5 years. Since, start of 2016, he has the lowest average, lowest no. of runs, lowest no. of centuries among the big 4 - Root, Smith, Kohli and Kane.

I’m pretty sure he also played the least amount of games so the runs and centuries are irrelevant. I agree that he hasn’t been up to his standard recently

 

[Rehan_24]

For me, The best batsman is one who makes teams won matches no matter longer formats or shorter ones. Smith is definitely one who is quite tough for bowlers to get him out. He plays sheet anchor role. I am not sure who is the best batsman among Smith, Virat, Kane, and Root, However, I know that Virat is the most complete batsman in the modern era both in Test and One Day Matches. I remember Virat's one inning against Australia and that was enough to prove his class. Smith probably can be categorized as the Best Fighter Batsman in Test Cricket. The best tag is yet to be decided. It would be interesting to see how Virat performs in the coming Overseas tours of India and the debate might get settled once and for all then.

 

[Markkkkk]

I'm sorry but right now there is no debate between Kohli and Smith in Tests. In ODIs Kohli is far ahead but Smith is equally better in Tests. Smith averages 10 more than Kohli and his records are far more superior wherever you look. Smith averages 76 (!) at home and 50 odd away from home while Kohli averages 63 at home (which is Smith's overall average by the way) and 45 at home. Once again it's a substantial difference (13 and 5 respectively). Smith scores more runs than Kohli pretty much everywhere. Maybe one day Kohli can be in conversation but not right now. Smith's numbers in past 4 years are the closest thing to Bradman we'll see in a long time

 

[ParkedTheBus]

Smith can't be judged solely by statistics, that would do him injustice. You just need to observe how reliant Australia are on him and the circumstances he scores his runs in. In simple terms, Australian batting lineup is Smith and 10 others. 9/10 times, if he plays well, they do. If he doesn't, they don't. He doesn't have the luxury of having 3 or 4 other batsmen in the XI who can score runs if he has a bad day. With the exception of Warner who's inconsistent and often a home-track bully, there's no one else in the team capable of scoring runs in his absence. The fact he took a distinctly average side and nearly won at the home of the best team of the post-2014 era (India) is the biggest measure of his greatness imho. As a batsman, he's part-Kallis in terms of patience and appetite for runs and part-Lara in terms of carrying an average side on his own with little support. There might be an occasional exception where someone else steps up like Marsh in Adelaide but to consistently deliver despite the ridiculously high pressure is what makes Smith one of the GOATs.

 

[ParkedTheBus]

Feel Cook shouldn't have played this game. Looks finished and dead rubbers might have been a good chance to bring through youngsters. Same with Broad too. Jack Leach (should've been in the squad 200%) could've played instead of Ali but the ECB seems to hate him for some reason.

 

[CerealKiller]

35 in neutral which is UAE (against Pakistan)

Plus his first two Tests in England in 2010 against Pakistan

 

[Rehan_24]

I'm sorry but right now there is no debate between Kohli and Smith in Tests. In ODIs Kohli is far ahead but Smith is equally better in Tests. Smith averages 10 more than Kohli and his records are far more superior wherever you look. Smith averages 76 (!) at home and 50 odd away from home while Kohli averages 63 at home (which is Smith's overall average by the way) and 45 at home. Once again it's a substantial difference (13 and 5 respectively). Smith scores more runs than Kohli pretty much everywhere. Maybe one day Kohli can be in conversation but not right now. Smith's numbers in past 4 years are the closest thing to Bradman we'll see in a long time

You are right in your views but I remember when Ricky Ponting was cruising through record run in a year in tests, There was a buzz in Australia for him to call a batsman equal to Bradman or even greater than him, But Bill Lawry rejected that notion, Later on, Tendulkar proved the entire world that he is best as far as statistics are concerned across all formats. So we will see how it goes in future. It's not about a debate it's about when we call someone the best batsman in the world, then surely comparisons and opinions come and apart from statistics you see other things as well. Statistically, he is the clear winner in a current lot of best batsmen as you guys are saying. Likewise, in shorter formats, Smith is nowhere near to Virat.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

There's a difference in having talent and performing. Yeah, sure there is no current batsman as technically accomplished, talented and complete as Kane but he does not perform consistently. Somehow, the bowlers have regularly found a way around him.


Although you dont seem to agree with stats but sometimes, they clearly give an indication...
He has not been able to continue along the batting he had in his first 5 years. Since, start of 2016, he has the lowest average, lowest no. of runs, lowest no. of centuries among the big 4 - Root, Smith, Kohli and Kane.

Obviously, you are entitled to an opinion and you could be right. It's just that I've seen him bat with such *ease* and panache on grass banks and dust bowls that I rate him highest. I haven't seen Kohli/Smith play a memorable innings on a green top and I believe that along with a dust bowl it's the biggest challenge in cricket for a world class batsman. I was a die hard Tendulkar fan and the reason I started watching cricket but if I keep my feelings aside I rate Kallis much much higher than him.