Ricky Ponting lauds Steven Smith; compares him with Sir Don Bradman
Ricky Ponting lauds Steven Smith; compares him with Sir Don Bradman
Ricky Ponting strongly believes Steven Smith — currently the world’s No. 1 batsman in Test cricket with one of the highest rating points — can be Australia‘s greatest batsman since Don Bradman. Widely considered as Australia’s greatest batsman after Bradman, Ponting has issued challenge to the current captain to sustain his current form for another 100 Tests. Smith has been lauded often for his batting skills in the past, and the praises have increased after his match-winning innings in the first Test against India in Pune. Smith has achieved the feat of scoring 18th hundred in just 51 Tests, increasing his ICC ranking points to 933 — the sixth- highest — among any batsman in history. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: India vs Australia, 1st Test at Pune
Smith is short of a mere 112 runs to officially rank behind Bradman as the third fastest batsman to ever pass the 5,000-run milestone, which he may achieve in the upcoming second Test against India at Bengaluru. Ponting firmly believes that Smith has the potential to become one of the greatest cricketers of Australia.
“If Smithy keeps maintaining what he’s doing now for another 100 Tests then he probably will end up being a better player than me,” Ponting told News Ltd. “He’s not doing much wrong at the moment, is he?
“I know he’s got great passion and got great drive to be the best player he can be and probably the best player the world has ever seen, which is a great attitude to have. I wanted to be the best player in the world as well and I wanted to be able to sustain it for a long period of time. And that’s what really separates the great players; how long you can actually sustain a high level of excellence,” Ponting said.
Pointing believes that Smith has developed into a better player in the last 12 months. When Australia were in England for the Ashes series, Ponting made another observation as Smith scored his maiden century in the final Test at The Oval. It was just the beginning, as by the end of 2014, Smith had scored five hundreds in just one year. He assumed the captaincy following the retirement of Michael Clarke.
“I rate Steven Smith very highly and think he is an important part of Australian cricket’s future,” Ponting had written in his autobiography At the Close of Play.
“This came home to me during the 2013 Ashes when somebody asked me on radio who was a potential next captain and as I quickly went through the list of candidates he seemed to be the obvious one.”
The burden of captaincy has weighed down many in the past, but for Smith the extra responsibility has only spurred him on, as he averages 73.37 as the Australian captain.
“The thing I love about him is he leads from the front, doesn’t he,” Ponting said in December after Smith made a first-innings hundred to set up a fifth-day victory against Pakistan in Brisbane.”
“Whenever there’s a tough situation with the bat, he is always the first to put his hand up and get the job done. That will make the players gravitate more towards him as a captain and a leader as well.”