Steve Smith wrote himself into the Ashes history books as he notched up his 32nd Test century at Lord’s on Day 2 of the second Test of the series. The Australian batsman took 184 balls to get to 110 runs before debutant Josh Tongue dismissed him, setting Australia up for a total of 416 in their first innings.
Smith has now become the fastest and the only Australian player to achieve 32 centuries in Tests, a feat that also took him past West Indies’ Brian Lara as the fourth-highest scoring batsman in Tests between Ashes rivals Australia and England. His game was filled with poise throughout the innings, displaying an air of strength and defiance that reverberated through the stadium.
Australia will now look to capitalize on this strong start as they attempt to level the series against Great Britain.
But that’s not all. With his impressive display against Australia, Smith is now equal with England’s legendary batsman Jack Hobbs, having scored 12 centuries against them – the most by any player ever! Not even Sachin Tendulkar could match up to Smith’s performance against Australia with 11 centuries under his belt. Hats off to this extraordinary cricketer, who continues to break records and set new standards for the sport!