Steve Smith hammers his 53rd century in First-Class cricket: Stats
What's the story
Steve Smith has sent a warning to England ahead of the Ashes series by scoring a brilliant 118 for New South Wales (NSW) in his first game of cricket in more than two months. The match was part of the Sheffield Shield tournament against Queensland at The Gabba. Despite not playing cricket for more than two months, Smith looked in great touch as he helped NSW reach 5-349 after play resumed following a washout on the opening day.
Match impact
Smith's innings included an impressive 86 runs in boundaries
Smith came to the crease when his side was 116/2. He shared a commanding 202-run stand alongside fellow centurion Kurtis Patterson (122). Smith's innings included an impressive 86 runs in boundaries, with a six off Mitchell Swepson being the highlight. He was eventually caught by Matt Renshaw at gully after scoring his century off 158 balls. James Bazley dismissed Smith in the 88th over of NSW's innings.
Stats
Smith surpasses 15,200 runs in FC cricket
Smith's knock of 118 has seen him get to 15,220 runs from 183 First-Class matches (317 innings), as per ESPNcricinfo. This is now his 53rd century in FC cricket. In addition, he also owns 64 fifties. As many as 10,477 of Smith's FC runs have come for the Aussies in Test cricket from 119 matches at 56.02. Versus England, the star batter has amassed 3,417 Test runs from 37 matches at 56.01.
Information
Smith to captain in 1st Ashes Test
This performance has put England on notice ahead of the first Ashes Test in Perth on November 21, where Smith will captain Australia in place of injured Pat Cummins.