Greater Noida (Nilesh Tiwari): Australian top batsman for record-smashing Steve Smith bid adieu to the world of One-Day International cricket for good. Smith appeared in his last match in an ODI game in the Champions Trophy semifinal against India in Dubai in which he struck the top spot for Australia with 73 runs but ended up playing the match with an Australian defeat.
The 170 ODI match career of Steve Smith produced 5,800 runs with strike rate of 86.96 and average of 43.28. He scored 12 hundreds and 35 half-centuries in his ODI career to become the 12th top Australian run-getter in ODIs. His top score of 164 runs was when Australia played New Zealand in the 2016 match. In his initial days of ODI career, Smith represented both as a leg-spin bowler and batsman, catching 90 and leaking 28 wickets.
Smith chose to retire from ODI cricket just after his country lost the semifinal match and announced it directly to his teammates. The Australian cricket team still trusts Smith for Test matches and T20 Internationals.
Smith said in a Cricket Australia-released statement how thankful he is for the wonderful experience that he had playing the game. The highlight of his career was to have won two World Cups playing for a great team of players that I have been lucky enough to play with. A great moment for other players to prepare for the next competitions in the 2027 World Cup.
After a break from ODI cricket Smith gives his complete focus to test cricket and seems to be included in the World Test Championship Final with the West Indies tour and the upcoming Ashes being hosted in Australian conditions. He guaranteed his commitment towards test cricket as his first priority and actually believing to have ample skills to contribute to the sport.
Smith was part of both the 2015 and the 2023 World Cup Australian title-winning teams. He took over as the ODI captain after the retirement of Michael Clarke and was in charge of the team for 64 matches, during which he lost 28 and won 32, and lost four no-result games. Smith also performed a stand-in’s duty as a captain in the Champions Trophy in place of injured Pat Cummins.
Australian men’s selectors chairman George Bailey was completely in support of Smith’s move. “Steve has always said he was playing his career series by series and we have a lot of respect for that,” Bailey told. “His record as an ODI player is one of the greatest, and finishing as a two-time World Cup winner gets him one of Australia’s greatest in the format. He is still a vital member of our Test side and a highly regarded leader in the team.”
