‘Great to Tick That Off’: Smith Reflects on 10,000 Test Runs Milestone

Smith joins legends Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh in this elite club, achieving the milestone in just 205 innings – the fifth-fastest in Test history.

Steve Smith said he was "nice to tick that off" with a flick wide of mid-on off Prabath Jayasuriya after becoming only the fourth Australian to cross the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket on day one of the Galle Test against Sri Lanka.

Smith joins legends Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh in this elite club, achieving the milestone in just 205 innings – the fifth-fastest in Test history.

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"Nice to tick that off," Smith said to Channel Seven, the official broadcaster, at lunchtime.

Allan Border, one of the players Smith now shares this milestone with, praised his determination and unique style. "He's not the bloke where you say to your son 'here's a technique you've got to follow,' but it's worked for him, and that's a good sign that you know your game. He's done it so well. There are prettier players, but not many who’ve got that record,” Border was quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald as saying.

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Border went on to compare Smith to the greats of the game, saying, “I’m a huge fan of (Sachin) Tendulkar and (Brian) Lara – they were phenomenally good cricketers, but Steve is definitely up with that lot, for sure.”

The stand-in skipper became the fourth Australian man to reach the rare milestone of 10,000 Test runs and the overall 15th player to achieve the feat.

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Smith has accumulated his runs at an average of over 55, with Kumar Sangakkara being the only batter to have crossed the 10,000-run mark with a better return (57.40). Among active players, only Joe Root's tally of 12,972 Test runs is higher than Smith's.

Having missed his fairytale moment in front of his home crowd at the SCG against India when he was dismissed with his career tally on 9,999 runs, Smith scored his 10,000th run on the first ball he faced on Wednesday.

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Right-hander was introduced to the crease at 137/2 in the first session. He played a single to mid-on off Prabath Jayasuriya, much applause coming from the crowd before hugging his batting partner, Usman Khawaja.

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