Batting legend Ricky Ponting feels Steven Smith can become Australia’s greatest batsman after Sir Don Bradman if sustains his current form for a longer period of time.
Smith, who began his as a leg-spinner who could wield the bat occasionally, has transformed himself into one of the best batsmen in the world. The added responsibility of captaincy has taken his batting to a whole new level and his latest exploits with the bat has elevated his stature by leaps and bounds. The Australia skipper scored a match-winning 109 in second innings against India in the first Test of the four-match series to help his team go 1-0 in the series. It was his 18th Test ton and the centuries have come inside only four years. Smith, who scored his first Test ton in 2013 Ashes series, now has 933 ICC rating points which is the sixth-highest for any batsman in history. And Smith’s current form has convinced Ponting that if he can maintain this form, he can even surpass his illustrious compatriot.
“If Smithy keeps maintaining what he’s doing now for another 100 Tests then he probably will end up being a better player than me,” Ponting told News Ltd. “He’s not doing much wrong at the moment, is he?
“I know he’s got great passion and got great drive to be the best player he can be and probably the best player the world has ever seen, which is a great attitude to have. I wanted to be the best player in the world as well and I wanted to be able to sustain it for a long period of time. And that’s what really separates the great players; how long you can actually sustain a high level of excellence,” he added.
Earlier, Ponting had praised Smith for his captaincy after the 27-year-old had led his team to a win against Pakistan in a nail-biting match at Brisbane in December. Smith’s average of 73.37 in 21 Tests as a skipper is second only to Bradman for captains to have led in more than 10 matches.
“The thing I love about him is he leads from the front, doesn’t he,” Ponting had said after Smith scored a century in the first-innings to help the Aussies defeat Pakistan in Brisbane.
“Whenever there’s a tough situation with the bat, he’s always the first to put his hand up and get the job done. That will make the players gravitate more towards him as a captain and a leader as well. That’s the most important thing a lot of the time.”