New Delhi (Sports Desk): During the fifth and final Test match between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Steve Smith acknowledged that he was thinking about reaching the 10,000-run mark.
At his home ground in Sydney, Steve Smith was just one run away from reaching 10,000 Test runs.
“I don’t read too much into stats and stuff, but 10,000 is a bit of a different beast,” Smith told SEN 1170 Breakfast.
“It probably was (on my mind), to be honest. Normally I sort of don’t buy into any of that stuff, but pre-game, I was doing lots of media because I was approaching that mark.
“I knew I needed 38, and all I could actually picture trying to sleep at night was the back of Josh Hazlewood’s shirt because he’s number 38 (laughs). It’s strange like that, isn’t it?
“It was probably playing on my mind more than any other game that I’ve played, to be honest.
“But, it is what it is, fortunately, we were able to win that game in the end, so it didn’t really matter.”
On Day 1 of the Galle Test, Smith, who will captain Australia in Pat Cummins’ absence for the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka, hopes to complete the task.
In his 203rd innings, he achieved the milestone, joining Steve Waugh, Allan Border, and Ricky Ponting in the exclusive group. Smith is the fifteenth hitter overall to accomplish the accomplishment, which was originally accomplished by Sunil Gavaskar in 1987. Border, the two men who give this rivalry its names, was, incidentally, the second to arrive.
“It’s pretty special. I’d love to tick it off on the first day in Galle,” Smith said.
“It would have been great to have been able to do it in Sydney in front of all my friends and family because you’re joining a pretty elite group there I suppose, but it wasn’t to be.
“As a kid, I never would have dreamt of that, I dreamt to play cricket for Australia and have a career playing for Australia, but to have been able to get to this mark, it’s a dream come true in a way.”
