Steve Smith is a former captain of the Australian national cricket team and an international cricketer from Australia. He became just the second foreign player to record a 947 Test batting average, behind only Don Bradman’s 961. Steve is considered as one of the greatest batsmen in the world as a result of his many excellent achievements over the years. Steve was born and bred in Sydney before moving to England at the age of 17 to play club cricket. He returned to Australia and was picked for the ‘Under-19 Cricket World Cup’ as a member of the Australian cricket team.In February 2010, he made his international debut in a Twenty20 (T20) match against Pakistan, after which he entered the ‘Big Bash League’ and Australian first-class cricket. In the same month, he made his one-day international (ODI) debut in Melbourne against the West Indies. He had originally joined the Australian squad as a leg spinner and batted in the lower middle order. Since his Test debut against Pakistan in July 2010, he has steadily moved up the batting order.He has consistently performed well across all formats, especially Test cricket, and was named the world’s best Test batsman in 2015, 2016, and 2017. His Test batting average is a staggering 61.37.
Childhood and Puberty
Steve Smith was born Steven Peter Devereux Smith in Kogarah, Sydney, New South Wales, on June 2, 1989. Peter Smith, his father, was a chemist. Gillian, his mum, was a stay-at-home wife. Steve has had dual citizenship since birth, as his father is an Australian and his mother is an Englishwoman.
Steve has been passionate about cricket since he was a boy. He graduated from Illawong, Sydney’s “Menai High School.” Throughout his school years, he was an avid cricket player. His academics suffered as a result. He had, however, brought honour to his high school by leading his squad to several victories in multiple inter-school tournaments. He dropped out of high school in the end.
Owing to his dual citizenship, he had to chose between playing for England and Australia. At the age of 17, he moved to England and joined a small cricket team called “Sevenoaks Vine” in the “Kent Cricket League.” His consistent good results secured him a spot on Surrey’s county team.
He had the possibility of playing for New South Wales as well. About the fact that Surrey gave him a much higher wage, Steve ultimately decided to play in Australia.
A CAREER
At the 2008 ‘Under-19 World Cup,’ Steve Smith was a part of the ‘Australian Under-19′ squad, which won in Malaysia. He was mainly a leg spinner and a batsman in the lower order. He scored 114 runs and took 7 wickets in the four matches he played in the tournament.
In the same year, he made his Australian first-class debut for New South Wales against Western Australia at the ‘Sydney Cricket Ground.’ He was also a part of the New South Wales squad that won the T20 Champions League in 2009.
His results were consistently above average, gaining him recognition from giants such as Shane Warne. Toward the end of the 2009–2010 domestic season, his success improved.
Steve made his international debut against Pakistan in a T20 match in February 2010.
Steve made his One-Day International debut against the West Indies at the ‘Melbourne Cricket Ground’ in the same month.
Steve was also picked for the Australian T20 team, which competed in the 2010 ‘ICC World T20′ tournament. At the end of the tournament, Steve had taken 11 wickets in seven matches, making him the tournament’s second-highest wicket-taker. The tournament’s first runner-up was Australia.
He was assigned to the Australian Test squad in mid-2010 for the Test series against Pakistan in England. In July 2010, he made his test debut at the ‘Lords Cricket Ground.’ As an all-rounder, he regularly delivered. In 2010–2011, he also starred in the ‘Ashes’ film.
Following the ‘Ashes,’ Steve took a short break from Test cricket, then returned in 2013 to retake his spot as a core member of the Australian team.
He is currently ranked as one of the greatest Test batsmen in the world, with 6,199 runs scored and a batting average of 61.37 in 64 matches. In Test matches, he has hit 23 centuries and 24 half-centuries. Although he started his career as a bowler, his bowling ability declined over time, and he only managed to take 17 wickets in Test matches, with an abysmal average of 54.88.
Steve has scored 3,431 runs in 108 One-Day Internationals. He has a 41.84 ranking, which is very remarkable. He also has 8 centuries and 19 half-centuries to his name. In ODIs, he has 27 wickets at an average of 34.48.
He has also represented the ‘Pune Fighters,’ the ‘Rajasthan Royals,’ and the ‘Rising Pune Supergiants,’ in the ‘Indian Premier League.
Achievements
Steve Smith, widely regarded as one of the best international players in the world, was rated the best Test batsman in the ‘ICC Players Rankings’ in 2015, 2016, and 2017.
He was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) in 2015. As a result, he became the youngest cricketer to receive the award. He was named the ‘ICC Test Player of the Year’ in 2015 and 2017. As a result, he became the first player to win the ICC Test Player of the Year award twice. In 2015 and 2018, he was also awarded the ‘Allan Boundary Medal’ for the best player in Australian cricket.
He is known for being the only ODI player in the history of the ‘World Cup,’ having scored five consecutive 50s during the 2015 ‘Cricket World Cup.’
He also holds the record for being the first Australian cricketer to cross 10,000 runs in international cricket.