Steve Smith becomes fourth Australian with this feat (away Tests)
What's the story
Batting ace Steve Smith has become just the fourth Australian to complete 5,000 runs in away (home of opposition) Test matches. He reached the milestone with his 21st run on Day 4 of the opening Test against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban. Arguably the greatest Test batter of the current era, Smith has made a mark across all conditions. Here are his stats.
Elite list
Smith joins these names
Playing his 56th away Test as per Cricinfo, Smith has raced to 5,006 runs at an impressive average of 53.82.
His tally includes 17 tons and 20 half-centuries, with his best score being 215.
Meanwhile, Allan Border (5,431), Ricky Ponting (5,360), and Steve Waugh (5,083) were the other Aussies with 5,000-plus runs in away Test matches.
However, Smith's tally of 17 tons in these games is the most for any Aussie.
Information
Smith fails to convert two starts
Smith, who entered the game needing 46 runs to reach the milestone, got starts in both innings, but he failed to convert them. He made a 53-ball 25 in his first outing and followed it up with 27 runs off 41 balls.
Smith vs SA
Smith closing in on this feat
Smith is also closing in on 1,000 Test runs against the Proteas side.
Across 14 matches against them, Smith has raced to 985 runs at an average of 42.82.
He has hit 2 tons and five fifties.
463 of his runs have come across seven Tests in the rainbow nation at an average of 38.58 (50s: 2, 100: 1).
Feat
11,000 Test runs loading for Smith
Smith is also in line to become the 3rd Australian batter to enter the 11,000-run club in Tests after Ponting (13,378) and Border (11,734).
Having played 126 matches, Smith has raced to 10,972 runs.
His record includes an impressive 37 hundreds and 45 fifties.
Smith's average of 55.69 is only second to Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara's 57.40 among batters with 10,000-plus Test runs.