Another Test, another Smith century. Smith has now scored a century in 4 consecutive Tests. Jacques Kallis, Mohammad Yousuf and Gautim Gambhir all scored centuries in 5 consecutive Tests, while Bradman holds the record with centuries in six straight Test matches.
Smith's century was the 14th of his career. Only four batsman have scored more centuries before turning 27 - Tendulkar, Alastair Cook, Bradman and Harvey. Sir Garry also had 14 Test centuries before the age of 27.
79 batsman have scored a minimum of 2000 runs prior to their 27th birthday. Smith's average (59.35) is fifth best of all time. Only Bradman, Harvey, Graeme Pollock and Lara posted a higher average.
It is fucking ridiculous how the guy keeps scoring centuries with that stupid and ugly technique. Having said that most of his centuries have come on flat roads in Australia, and even in England the only big score he had was on a flat pitch at Lords'. He struggles in moving conditions, and has been poor in the subcontinent.
I'd just like to agree that his technique is shocking in my opinion aswell and so while batsman talk about having a sweet action and knowing how and when to gracefully hit a shot, it shows that it doesn't always matter.
Sometime things are that bad that they're good. Maybe Smith's action falls into that category? Whatever the reason, he's clearly doing something right anyway!
[quote author=pwarbi link=topic=102850.msg680071#msg680071 date=1456068831]
I'd just like to agree that his technique is shocking in my opinion aswell and so while batsman talk about having a sweet action and knowing how and when to gracefully hit a shot, it shows that it doesn't always matter.
Sometime things are that bad that they're good. Maybe Smith's action falls into that category? Whatever the reason, he's clearly doing something right anyway!
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I think too much is made of Smith's "ugly" trigger movement. Yes, it is unorthodox, however, if you pay close attention to how perfectly balanced and still he is when he strikes the ball, it goes a long way to explaining why he averages 59 in Test matches. When the ball is delivered, he has perfect technique.
Smith's back and across trigger movement not only allows him to be perfectly balanced at the point of delivery, but it also affords him more time, allows him to stand taller in his crease, transfer his weight to the front front which gets him in a rhythm to play (or leave), and perhaps most importantly, provides a level of comfort.
[quote author=thedeatheater1410 link=topic=102850.msg680056#msg680056 date=1456052041]
It is f-word-ing ridiculous how the guy keeps scoring centuries with that stupid and ugly technique. Having said that most of his centuries have come on flat roads in Australia, and even in England the only big score he had was on a flat pitch at Lords'. He struggles in moving conditions, and has been poor in the subcontinent.
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The notion that Smith is a flat-track bully is an unfair one, IMO. He averages 59.16 overseas! To say that Smith has been poor in the subcontinent is also a little dubious - he has played just 4 Test matches in Asia (a very small sample size), but averaged 41.87 with 3 fifties in 8 innings.
Since Smith made his Test debut, 32 batsman have scored 1000+ runs in overseas Tests. Smith's average (59.16) is fourth best. Younis Khan, Sangakkara and Chanderpaul are the only three with a better average when playing overseas. Of Smith's 14 centuries, 8 have come at home, 6 overseas. That is a very even distribution.
For comparison, Root averages 46.54 in overseas Tests and Williamson 43.91.
To take things one step further, over the last 2 years, Smith has scored the most runs in overseas Tests (with 8 scores of 50+ in 17 innings) and done so at an average of 80 - second only to Sarfraz Ahmed.
[quote author=dillinger10 link=topic=102850.msg680198#msg680198 date=1456127941]
The notion that Smith is a flat-track bully is an unfair one, IMO. He averages 59.16 overseas! To say that Smith has been poor in the subcontinent is also a little dubious - he has played just 4 Test matches in Asia (a very small sample size), but averaged 41.87 with 3 fifties in 8 innings.
Since Smith made his Test debut, 32 batsman have scored 1000+ runs in overseas Tests. Smith's average (59.16) is fourth best. Younis Khan, Sangakkara and Chanderpaul are the only three with a better average when playing overseas. Of Smith's 14 centuries, 8 have come at home, 6 overseas. That is a very even distribution.
For comparison, Root averages 46.54 in overseas Tests and Williamson 43.91.
To take things one step further, over the last 2 years, Smith has scored the most runs in overseas Tests (with 8 scores of 50+ in 17 innings) and done so at an average of 80 - second only to Sarfraz Ahmed.
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Agreed I guess I was just speaking without checking the facts. But the fact remains that with his kind of technique a slump should be around the corner. For one he walks across his stumps too much, and while flat tracks might allow him to that, on pitches which have uneven bounce or random movement it would be committing suicide. Let's see how he fares in India later this year
