For many years now this exciting young talent from Sydney has been stamping his authority on not just Australian cricket, but on the world stage as well.
‘Smudge’ has come a long way since making his test debut back in 2010 against Pakistan, shrugging off a slightly shaky start in his test career by becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.
Above Photo: Steve Smith
His rapid rise in the game was most recently recognised by his appointment as captain for the Australian test side, due to the unfortunate injury of Michael Clarke.
With Clarke hinting that his injury concerns may eventually lead to his early retirement, the path is cleared for Steven Smith to take over the reins and cement his spot as captain for years to come.
He certainly couldn’t have started life as captain any better in the ongoing test match series between Australia and India. On day two of the Boxing Day test, the 25-year-old raced to an innings of 192 to effectively bat India out of the contest, a career high score for the Aussie.
This century made it his third of the series, having scored 133 at the Gabba and 162 not out in Adelaide. His incredible performances in Brisbane and Melbourne insured that Smith would also write his name in the history books this Christmas, becoming the first player to score two tons in his first two tests as captain for Australia.
Having scored big in Adelaide earlier in the same month, it means that Smith has now consecutively scored centuries three tests in a row.
Australian’s are widely known for enjoying pokies, and recent reports in the media suggest that Smith is no different. Sites such as PokiesPalace.com.au are known to attract numerous Australian poker players. Whilst on overseas trips, and particularly in England, these type of games, known as fruit machines, can be played at Fruity Reels.
However, it wasn’t Smith’s batting performances that got himself a place in the test side back in 2010. His promising career started as a leg spinner, at a time where Australia were really struggling with spin bowling options. Despite his bowling being the primary reason for his original inclusion into the team, it is now Smith’s batting which grabs all the headlines and he has become one of the best young batsmanin the world.
It has been a great start to life as captain for Smith, as he will hope that his recent performances can carry Australia onto bigger and better things. The men from down under have failed to dominate the game of cricket for quite some time now and their loyal supporters will be hoping that the future is beginning to look brighter, with captain Steven Smith leading the way.