Happy Birthday Steve Smith: Top Interesting Facts About 'Modern-Day Bradman'

In the last decade, Australian cricket team's lynchpin batsman Steven Smith has emerged as one of the most dependable and effective batsmen. The highly unorthodox but effective Smith is considered as one of the modern-day stalwarts in international cricket. Australia's batting mainstay, Smith, celebrated his 32nd birthday on Wednesday. Let's take a look at five interesting facts from his career. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram

Australian player Steve Smith, currently one of the best cricketers in the world, started his career as a leg-spinner in the year 2010. But in the next three years, he established himself as a batsman. Today, Smith is scoring runs in Test cricket at an average of more than 61. This stat is one of the many reasons why Smith is often compared to legendary Don Bradman. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram

If we talk about Australian players who have played more than 20 Test matches, then Smith (61.80) is second only to Don Bradman (99.94) in terms of average. Adam Voges of Australia, who has played 20 Test matches, has an average of 61.87. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram

11 years ago, Steve Smith made his international debut against Pakistan in a T20 match. He came out to bat at number eight and scored just 8 runs. Smith took two wickets for 34 runs in his four overs. He made his ODI debut against West Indies. In the first ODI, Smith did not get a chance to bat and while bowling he picked two wickets for 78 runs. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram

Steve Smith left school at the age of 17 to play in the Kent Cricket League. Steve Smith's Test career started in the year 2010. In the first Test against Pakistan at Lord's, Smith could only manage 13 runs in both the innings and took three wickets. His first Test century came in the 23rd innings of his career in the 2013 Ashes series. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram

The ICC has named Steve Smith as the best Test cricketer of the decade (2011-2020) in male category. Smith has scored 7040 runs in Test cricket in the last ten years at an average of 65.79 and has scored 26 centuries and 28 half-centuries. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram

The year 2018 was a nightmare for Smith. He had to face a one-year ban for ball-tampering in South Africa. Because of this, he had to lose his captaincy as well. He was banned from cricket for a year after being found guilty in the ball-tampering case. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram

After completing the ban, Steve Smith had a decent outing in the World Cup but returned to remarkable batting form during the Ashes 2019. Smith played four Tests in the five-match test series and scored 774 runs. Photo Courtesy: steve_smith49 / Instagram