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Sport Nation
'I didn’t know that I was close': Another historical milestone awaits Smith in second Test
Lachlan Geleit, SEN • February 6th, 2025 11:54 am
Aussie cricket great Steve Smith is on the verge of another historical milestone after passing 10,000 Test runs, although this one was a benchmark he wasn’t aware of.
After scoring 140 in the first Test in Galle and reaching the 10k mark, Smith finds himself with 1863 Test runs in Asia, which puts him just 27 runs behind the current Australian top Test run-scorer on the continent which is Ricky Ponting with 1889.
Ponting’s 1889 Test runs in Asia came from 48 innings, while Smith’s 1863 is from just 42. The stand-in skipper also equalled Allan Border with the most Test tons for an Aussie in Asia on six in the first Test.
Having first toured the continent in India in 2010 when he was an unused squad player, the 35-year-old reflected on his time playing red-ball cricket in Asia over one and a half decades.
“I've always loved playing against spinners in difficult conditions,” Smith told SEN Cricket.
“I've learned a lot over my journey, just from batting in the nets early on and then getting obviously opportunities to play as well and being able to implement what I practice in the game.
“It’s been good fun, and I didn’t know that I was close to any of these things, so, that's all good.
“I just go out there and try and do what I can for the team, hopefully score some runs and help the team win.”
As Australia don’t play another Test in Asia until January 2027 for a five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, Smith refused to look that far ahead when he is 37 to ponder whether he’ll again play the longest format in India.
“Not really,” Smith said in response to whether his eyes are on that series.
“I just take it day by day and I'm looking forward to this Test. It’s been a good series so far and we played beautifully in the first one.
“Hopefully we can go up 2-0 and win this series, and we'll go from there.”
The second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle begins at 5:30pm (NZDT) on Thursday - listen to every ball LIVE on the Sport Nation app, thanks to SEN Cricket.
