Steve Smith

Steve Smith (cricketer, born 1989)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steven Smith

Personal information
Full name	Steven Peter Devereux Smith
Born	2 June 1989 (age 25) Sydney, Australia
Nickname	Smudge[1]
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Batting style	Right-handed
Bowling style	Right-arm leg break
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	Australia
Test debut(cap 415)	13 July 2010 v Pakistan
Last Test	6 January 2015 v India
ODI debut(cap 182)	19 February 2010 v West Indies
Last ODI	26 March 2015 v India
ODI shirt no.	49
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2007–present	New South Wales Blues(squad no. 19)
2009	Royal Challengers Bangalore
2010	Worcestershire
2011	Kochi Tuskers Kerala
2011–present	Sydney Sixers
2012–2013	Pune Warriors India
2013	Antigua Hawksbills
2014–present	Rajasthan Royals
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 26 57 69 88 Runs scored 2,304 1493 5,536 2,467 Batting average 52.36 39.928 51.25 40.44 100s/50s 8/10 4/6 17/27 3/14 Top score 192 105 192 105 Balls bowled 1,056 1,022 4,621 1,952 Wickets 14 27 58 46 Bowling average 54.14 33.15 55.53 37.58 5 wickets in innings 0 0 1 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 3/18 3/16 7/64 3/16 Catches/stumpings 23/– 31/– 82/– 56/–
Source: ESPN Cricinfo, 23 January 2015

Steven Peter Devereux Smith (born 2 June 1989) is an Australian cricketer who represents Australia, New South Wales Blues, Sydney Sixers and Rajasthan Royals. He is the current vice-captain of the Australian Test team and captain of New South Wales. Although he was initially selected for Australia as an all-rounder who could bowl right-arm leg spin, Smith now plays primarily as a batsman.

In December 2014, Smith was made permanent vice-captain and was chosen to captain the Australian Test side in the 2014–15 series against India after Michael Clarke was ruled out of the remainder of the series due to injury.^[3] He also took over Clarke's fielding spot in the slips.

As of January 2015, Smith is ranked as the 4th best Test batsman in the world according to the ICC Player Rankings. Smith was the leading run scorer in 2014–15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India. In 2014 he won the award of Australian Cricketer of the Year.

Early life[edit]

Smith was born in Sydney to an Australian father, Peter, who has a degree in chemistry and works with pigments and waxes,^[4] and a British mother.^[5] He was educated at Menai High School, but at 17 he earned the approval of the school's principal to skip the High School Certificate (HSC) and play cricket in England.^[6][7]

Domestic cricket career[edit]

Smith made his first class debut against Western Australia at the SCG on 24 January 2008. He scored 33 in his only innings as NSW defeated WA outright.^[8]

He was part of the New South Wales team that won the 2009 Twenty20 Champions League. In the final against Trinidad and Tobago in the final at Hyderabad, Smith made 33 with the bat and took two wickets.^[9]

In November 2009, during a Ford Ranger Cup match against Tasmania, Smith attempted to resurrect the innings after a middle order collapse with a quickfire 81 off 59 deliveries, taking the Blues total to a respectable 271. The game was lost despite Smith's efforts.^[10]

By the end of the 2009–10 domestic season Smith had a first-class batting average of over 50 after just 13 first-class matches. While his first-class bowling average in the high forties was not as impressive, his bowling appeared to be steadily improving following some well-publicised mentoring from Shane Warne.^[11] In the final match of the season he took 7 for 64 in the second innings against South Australia.^[12]

Playing in a club match, right-handed Smith took guard left-handed and hit a six.^[13]

One of his earliest achievements was being the leading wicket taker at the 2008 KFC 20/20 competition. This was despite only playing four out of the five games. He took 4/15 against Queensland and finished with 9 wickets overall.^[14] Due to his efforts, he was named the second best player of the tournament.^[15]

International career[edit]

Smith made his international cricket debut in a T20 international match against Pakistan at Melbourne in February 2010. The same month, he made is one day international debut against the West Indies also at Melbourne, playing in the fifth match of the series.^[16]

In the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 competition held in the West Indies between April and May 2010 Australia finished runners up to England. Smith took 11 wickets over seven games at an average of 14.81 to finish as the equal second highest wicket-taker at the tournament.^[17]

Smith made his Test debut at Lords in July 2010, playing both Tests against Pakistan in the 2010 Test series played in England.^[16] He was selected mainly for his bowling, and batted down the order, although his bowling was not required in the first innings. In the second innings, he took 3 wickets for 51 as Australian won by 150 runs.^[18] In the second Test he was called to bowl only ten overs and took no wickets, although he played an impressive role with the bat in the second innings. Batting with the tail, he scored 77 including nine fours and two sixes off successive balls, helping Australia to set a competitive target after having been bowled out for 88 in the first innings.^[19]

Smith's fielding attracted attention during the 2009–10 season with some spectacular catches in the outfield.^[20]

In the 2010–11 Australian summer, Smith played three Tests in the 2010–11 Ashes series, this time playing more as a batsman, taking the number six spot in the order. His performances were solid during the series, getting a number of starts and scoring two half centuries. Following the 2010–11 Ashes, Smith did not play another Test for two years, his next Test series coming against India in March 2013. He posted several starts, with a top of 92 in the 1st Test at Mohali.^[21] Since then, Smith became a regular in the Australian Test line-up and he has been played mainly as a batsman. The 2013 Ashes series in England brought his maiden Test century, which he achieved in the first innings of the last Test of the series at The Oval,^[21] reaching the total in style by hitting a six off the bowling of Jonathan Trott. He became only the sixth Australian to reach his maiden Test 100 with a six.^[22]

SPD Smith's record as captain
	Matches	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	No result
Test [23]	3	1	0	2	0	–
ODI [24]	1	1	0	0	0	–
Date last Updated:		23 Jan 2015

On 15 December 2014, Smith was named Australia's new vice-captain and following an injury to Michael Clarke, he was appointed stand-in skipper against India with Brad Haddin as his deputy.^[3] He captained Australia in the Second Test match against India at the Gabba.^[25] On 26 December, Smith scored his 1,000th run in the 2014 calendar year.^[26]

During the 4th Test against India in Sydney, Smith joined Don Bradman (6), Neil Harvey, Jack Fingleton and Matthew Hayden (4 each) as Australian centurions in four or more consecutive Tests, a streak Smith started during the 1st Test at Adelaide. Smith also became the first Australian skipper to open their captaincy with three consecutive centuries, and the second batsman since Jacques Kallis against West Indies to score a century in every match of a Test series.^[27] During the 2014–15 Border Gavaskar Trophy Test Series against India, Smith set a record for the most runs (769) scored by an individual in a series against India,^[28] surpassing the previous record held by Don Bradman.^[29]

Playing Style[edit]

Smith is a right-handed batsman with a technique that has attracted attention for its unorthodoxy. He moves around frequently in the crease, controls the bat with his bottom hand (that is, the hand closest to the blade of the bat), and is capable of playing unconventional cricket shots like the reverse sweep.^[30] Due to his unorthodox style, Smith was initially labelled as a limited-overs batsman who might struggle in the longer form of the game, especially early in his career when he was vulnerable outside off stump.^[30]However, Smith compensates for his unique technique with outstanding hand-eye coordination, and his footwork, especially to spin bowlers, is exemplary.^[30]

Much of the credit for Smith's success can also be attributed to batting coach Trent Woodhill, who coached Smith as a junior and noted his abundant talent.^[7] He has also defended Smith's unique batting style, and has long argued that in Australia, many naturally talented cricketers who may not necessarily have an orthodox technique are let down by over-coaching; in the years between leaving school and his elevation into international cricket, Smith had his technique picked apart by a number of well-intentioned coaches.^[7]Since re-establishing his working relationship with Woodhill, Smith appears to have regained calm and confidence in his cricket, which has since produced results over the last few seasons.^[31]

International Centuries[edit]

• In the column Runs, * indicates being not out.
• The column title Match refers to the match number of his career.

Test Centuries[edit]

Steve Smith's Test centuries
#	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year	Result
1	138*	12	England	London, England, United Kingdom	Kennington Oval	2013	Drawn
2	111	15	England	Perth, Australia	WACA Ground	2013	Won
3	115	17	England	Sydney, Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground	2014	Won
4	100	18	South Africa	Centurion, South Africa	SuperSport Park	2014	Won
5	162*	23	India	Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Oval	2014	Won
6	133	24	India	Brisbane, Australia	The Gabba	2014	Won
7	192	25	India	Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	2014	Drawn
8	117	26	India	Sydney, Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground	2015	Drawn

One Day International Centuries[edit]

Steve Smith's One Day International centuries
#	Runs	Match	Against	City/Country	Venue	Year	Result
1	101		Pakistan	Sharjah, United Arab Emirates	Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium	2014	Won
2	104		South Africa	Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne Cricket Ground	2014	Won
3	102*	48	England	Hobart, Australia	Bellerive Oval	2015	Won
4	105	57	India	Sydney, Australia	Sydney Cricket Ground	2015	Won

Awards[edit]

Test Awards[edit]

Player of the Series Awards[edit]

S No	Opponent	Man of Match Awards	Date	Series Performance	Result
1	India	Match 2: Gabba, Brisbane Match 4: SCG, Sydney	Dec 2014 – Jan 2015	Runs: 769 (1,135 balls: 83×4, 5x6), Ave – 128.17, SR – 67.75 Field: 17–0–86–0, 6 catches	Won; 2–0 [32]

Man of the Match Awards[edit]

S No	Opponent	Venue	Date	Match Performance	Result
1	England	WACA, Perth	13–17 December 2013	1st Innings: 111 (208 balls: 14×4, 2x6); DNB 2nd Innings: 15 (50 balls); DNB, 1 catch	Won [33]
2	India	Gabba, Brisbane	17–20 December 2014	1st Innings: 1–0–4–0, 1 catch; 133 (191 balls: 13×4, 2x6) 2nd Innings: DNB; 28 (39 balls: 4×4)	Won [34]
3	India	SCG, Sydney	6–10 January 2015	1st Innings: 117 (208 balls: 15×4); 4–0–17–0, 1 catch 2nd Innings: 71 (70 balls: 8×4, 1x6); 2–0–7–0, 1 catch	Draw [35]

ODI Awards[edit]

Player of the Series Awards[edit]

S No	Opponent	Man of Match Awards	Date	Series Performance	Result
1	Pakistan	Match 1: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah	Oct 2014	Runs: 190 (238 balls: 11×4, 2x6), Ave – 63.33, SR – 79.83 Field: 2–0–7–0, 6 catches	Won; 3–0 [36]
2	South Africa	Match 3: Manuka Oval, Canberra Match 4: MCG, Melbourne	Nov 2014	Runs: 254 (261 balls: 23×4, 1x6), Ave – 84.67, SR – 97.32 Field: 8–1–44–1, 4 catches	Won; 4–1 [37]

ODI Man of the Match[edit]

S No	Opponent	Venue	Date	Match Performance	Result
1	Pakistan	Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah	7 October 2014	101 (118 balls: 6x4, 2x6); DNB	Won [38]
2	South Africa	Manuka Oval, Canberra	19 November 2014	73 (55 balls: 8x4); DNB	Won [39]
3	South Africa	MCG, Melbourne	21 November 2014	3–0–27–0, 2 catches; 104 (112 balls: 7x4)	Won [40]
4	England	Bellerive Oval, Hobart	23 January 2015	DNB; 102* (95 balls: 6x4, 1x6)	Won [41]
5	India	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	26 March 2015	105 (93 balls: 11x4, 2x6); DNB, 1 run out	Won [42]

Twenty20 International Awards[edit]

Man of the Match Awards[edit]

S No	Opponent	Venue	Date	Match Performance	Result
1	West Indies	Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia	11 May 2010	4–0–20–3, 1 catch; DNB	Won [43]

Big Bash League[edit]

Smith made his domestic T20 cricket debut for New South Wales in a match against South Australia at Adelaide on 1 January 2008 during the six team KFC Big Bash competition.^[44] In 2011–12, the Australian T20 competition became the city-based Big Bash League featuring eight teams. Smith joined the Sydney Sixers and filled in as captain when Brad Haddin could not play due to Test duties,^[45] subsequently leading the team to victory in the inaugural season. As an all-rounder, he scored 166 runs with the bat from nine matches with a strike rate of 130.71, including one half century. With the ball, he took 6 wickets at an economy rate of 8.06 per over. He also took nine catches throughout the tournament.^[46] In the final match, the Sixers beat Perth Scorchers by 7 wickets while chasing down the target of 157 within 18.5 overs after the Scorchers made 5/156 in 20 overs. Due to his good form during the Big Bash League, Smith attracted the attention of Sourav Ganguly and was later recruited to play for the Pune Warriors India team captained by Angelo Mathews in the 2012 Indian Premier League.^{[citation needed]}

Indian Premier League[edit]

Smith was first bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2010 Indian Premier League as a replacement for Jesse Ryder.^[47] During the 2011 IPL player auction, he was bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala for $200,000,^[48] but he had to undergo an ankle operation was not available to play for them that season.^[49]

The next season, Kochi Tuskers were dropped from the IPL and Smith was put up for auction. He went unsold at the 2012 IPL Players Auction, but was later bought as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh by the Pune Warriors India team.^[50] In his first match for the Pune Warriors India, he scored 39 runs off 32 balls to lead his team to victory against the Mumbai Indians. He received the Man of the Match award for this effort.^[51]

In the auction for IPL 2014, Smith was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs.4 crore.^[52]

Career best performances[edit]

	Batting
	Score	Fixture	Venue	Season
Test	192	Australia v India	MCG, Melbourne	2014[53]
ODI	105	Australia v India	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	2015[42]
T20I	34	Australia v Sri Lanka	WACA, Perth	2010[54]
FC	192	Australia v India	MCG, Melbourne	2014[53]
LA	104	Australia v South Africa	MCG, Melbourne	2014[55]
T20	65	Sydney Sixers v Perth Scorchers	Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney	2014[56]

Personal Life[edit]

Smith started dating Dani Willis, a commerce and law student at Macquarie University, in 2011.^[57] He is also a keen horse racing fan who has a share in four racehorses, three with leading trainer Chris Waller