Biography of Steve Smith:- Steve Smith first wore baggy green in 2010 in a T20 international match against Pakistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Steve is quite a sportsman, and a well-disciplined cricketer, his sportsmanship before and after 2010 is the reason he is second ‘Captain Grumpy’ for Australia.
Smith is an excellent all-rounder, initially taken as a leg-spinner later turned to the full-time batsman; Smith has a heroic character of morality and his commitment in all the three departments and formats of cricket.
Steve Smith initiated his first-class career from New South Wales in 2008, before that he was a brilliant local player in high school. He has to drop his high school to pursue a career in cricket.
Biography of Steve Smith
- Born:- 2 June 1989 (age 28), Sydney, Australia
- Height:- 1.76 m
- 2007-Present:- New South Wales (squad no. 19)
- 2011-Present:- Sydney Sixers
- Last t20I:- 27 March 2016 v India
- Current Teams:- Australia national cricket team (#49 / Batsman)
Steve Smith has an unorthodox bowling and batting technique, he moves around the pitch while bowling. His batting technique is robust and natural, his high school coach never told him to change his stance or approach towards the ball.
It is the reason, his position to grip the bat with his bottom hand and switching position for reverse sweep and switch hit is amazingly quick and undetectable for the bowler.
Smith was appreciated in the initial stages of International career by legendary leg-spinner Shane Warne, later on, he concentrated more on his batting technique along with acrobatic fielding to make a permanent place in all the formats for Australia.
Since 2010, Steve Smith has been awarded countless trophies and feats; he is a record holder in captaincy and personal batting stats. Steve was handed over the captaincy of Australia in late 2015 after Michael Clarke retired from all the formats of cricket.
Steve performed well, especially in test cricket, he scored three consecutive centuries after becoming test captain of Australia, a record never made or held by anyone in International cricket. Steve Smith stats and records show him one of the most successful Test captains in the 2015-16 seasons.
Test Career:
Initially termed as a T20-specific batsman, Steve Smith proved his ability to outshine many of his teammates in test cricket. After playing his debut test match against Pakistan at Lords. ‘Steve Smith was used as a bowler by Ricky Ponting, he remained down the order just before the tail starts.
Having an average summer in 2010 with not much runs and wickets to his record book, Steve was selected for Ashes series in 2010-11 summer, with a couple of half-centuries, Steve was rejected from the national selection and remained there for two years.
He made his technique firm and covered his batting flaws that he committed during a series against Pakistan and England previously, Smith was again selected in the 2013-14 season against India, he excelled in every department in ashes series in 2013 against England.
Steve Smith scored his maiden century scoring last runs off a beautiful six becoming only the sixth player to do so.
It was 2014 against India that returned his form back; he punished Indian bowling on Australian soil registering comprehensive wins as he was made captain in place of injured Clarke after the first test.
He made four consecutive hundreds in Test match innings, a unique record to achieve. He scored 769 runs in a series against India, second most by any player only behind Sir Don Bradman.
The year 2015 was his finest year to break any record in place; he became the youngest player to feature as number 1 test player in ICC Test Rankings in 2015. Steve Smith got great confidence by his consistency in coming series against West Indies and New Zealand.
He was made full-time captain after Ashes 2015, he was honored for captaining the first-ever day night test match in the history of Cricket against New Zealand. Steve Smith batting position dangled in the starting years, he was sometimes pushed to number 6, number 5, or promoted to number 3 and number 4 according to the conditions.
Before he was made captain, he became a regular number 3 batsman, one of the most crucial positions in test cricket. After Usman Khwaja had performed brilliantly for Australia at number 3, Smith demoted himself to number 4.
Smith’s worst nightmare as a captain in Test cricket proved right when Australia was first defeated against Sri Lanka 3-0 and then from South Africa in 2016. However, Smith scored 247 runs and remained the only successful batsman for Australia for Sri Lanka tour.
Awards and Trophies:
Steve Smith was named ICC Cricketer of the Year and Test Cricketer of the year; he was awarded Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy in 2015 for his brilliant calendar year in cricket. His rating points (936) reached 10th highest in the history of Test Cricket the same year.
ODI and T20i Career:
Steve Smith stepped into the international arena from the T20i format; he played his first T20 against Pakistan and his ODI debut against West Indies in the same year. Later in the year, Steve Smith was part of the team in ICC T20 World Cup 2010.
Australia reaching the finals lost to England, Smith was second-highest wicket taker in the tournament. His scoring had been above average in ODI and T20i format in the next couple of years including ICC 2015 World Cup.
Smith battled hard in ICC T20 World Cup 2016, he made a brilliant 61 against Pakistan in a must-win game. His team lost in the next match against India, though it wasn’t the best decision by the umpire of giving out to Steve Smith, though he was clearly not out that further resulted in elimination from the tournament.
In the 3rd ODI match against South Africa, Steve Smith along with David Warner helped Australia regain their lost form and legacy by scoring 108 individually setting a total of 371 in that match.
Steve Smith Stats and Records
Steve Smith stats are impressive throughout his short ongoing career, he is a superb all-rounder in T20 internationals and an excellent slip fielder in test cricket.
His amazing catch against Pakistan is still remembered. Steve Smith has the highest score of 215 in test cricket with an average of 54.78 per inning.
Steve Smith scored 4300+ runs along with 15 centuries and 18 fifties in Test cricket alone. In One Day Internationals, Steve Smith grabbed around 2800 runs in 88 games with an average of 44 per inning, his bowling average being 34.48 is quite good as a supporting bowler. He pocketed 7 centuries and 14 half-centuries in his ODI career.
International Cricket Leagues
Smith started his T20 league career from domestic state league; he played his first match for New South Wales against South Australia. Steve Smith got a good run in that season taking enough wickets to become a captain in the next season.
In the 2012 season of Big Bash League, Steve Smith was sold to Sydney Sixers for the season as a captain. He was absolutely brilliant in all the departments, he took 6 wickets and nine catches along with a scoring average above 130 as Sydney Sixers won the tournament.
Steve Smith continued to play for the franchise in the subsequent years; he contested in multiple seasons of Indian Premier League starting his IPL campaign from Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2010 season of IPL. Being a wild card entry and as a replacement for New Zealand star Jesse Ryder.
Steve had an average season. Later in 2011, Kochi Tuskers bought him for around $0.2 Million in the initial auction of the premier league, he was later ruled out of the tournament and his contract canceled with Kochi Tuskers as he undergoes a major ankle surgery.
Kochi was charged for corruption charges and was dismembered from IPL; he was again put to action but never sold in his category as his performances weren’t satisfying in the season to be selected. Steve Smith was later chosen by Pune Warriors again as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh.
In the subsequent season of 2014, Steve Smith was sold for approximately 0.6 Million USD by Rajasthan Royals in 2014. He was made captain for half of the tournament, he made his way to top three in the competition with the superb captaincy.
His prime season started in Summers 2016, he had an extraordinary form in domestic and international cricket. Rising Pune SuperGiants bought him for $600,000 for 2016 season of the Indian Premier League, he scored his first ever century in a match against Gujarat Lions that came off 54 balls as SuperGiants cruised to the victory.
Steve Smith Stats and records show him one of the most influential T20 players, as a captain of Sydney Sixers in Big Bash League, his demand in International cricket leagues is sky high, especially after his tremendous form after 2015 season till now.
Steve Smith Family & Personal Life
Steve Smith is still unmarried, he is dating Danielle Willis, an Australian national since 2011. Steve Smith lives in Sydney in his father’s house, Peter Smith.
His mother is English woman, the reason he played and got coaching from English coaches while studying in school.
Steve Smith is a Catholic, he is often termed as Captain Grumpy for his serious approach towards his players on disciplinary grounds.
