Steve Smith joins elite club with 10,000 Test runs milestone

Australia’s stand-in captain Steve Smith has etched his name into cricket history by becoming the 15th player to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. The milestone was achieved during the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium on Wednesday, as confirmed by the ICC.

Smith, who missed the opportunity to reach this landmark in his home city of Sydney during the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, finally reached the milestone in Galle. He played his signature flick toward mid-on, set off for a single, and raised his bat in acknowledgment as the Australian dressing room applauded his achievement. His landmark run moved Australia to 137/2, further strengthening their position after electing to bat first.

At 35 years old, Smith has accumulated his runs at an impressive average of over 55, making him one of the most prolific batters in the game’s history. Among players who have crossed the 10,000-run mark, only Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara has achieved the feat with a better average (57.40). Smith also became the fifth-fastest player in terms of innings to reach the milestone.

With this achievement, Smith joins an elite list of Australian greats, becoming only the fourth from his country to surpass 10,000 Test runs. He follows in the footsteps of legendary cricketers Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting.

Earlier in the day, Smith led Australia as captain and won the toss, opting to bat first against Sri Lanka. The team also saw a debut in the longest format, with right-hand batter Josh Inglis making his first appearance in Test cricket for the Baggy Greens. Both teams entered the match with three spinners and one seaming option in their playing XI, emphasizing the conditions at Galle.

Teams:

Australia (Playing XI): Usman Khawaja, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Josh Inglis, Beau Webster, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Matthew Kuhnemann, Nathan Lyon, Todd Murphy.

Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kusal Mendis (wk), Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando.