Steve Smith Alerts Australia About Joe Root Finally Getting Over ‘50-100’ Curse

Steve Smith admitted Joe Root's consistent red-ball form could present a challenge for the Australian team during the upcoming Ashes series.

Steve Smith Alerts Australia About Joe Root Finally Getting Over ‘50-100’ Curse

Steve Smith praised Joe Root for breaking the 50-100 run jinx, in red-ball cricket. (via Guardian)

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Australian batting star Steve Smith, just a few months ahead of the 2025-26 Ashes, spoke about Joe Root‘s remarkable turnaround in red-ball cricket, and his ability to convert fifties into hundreds. Smith praised Root’s recent performances, which have captivated cricket fans worldwide.

Joe Root has been in the form of his life, having performed brilliantly in the recently-concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, against India. He finished the series as the second-highest run-scorer, with 537 runs in nine innings at an average of 67.12, including three hundreds. Root also etched his name into the history books by surpassing Ricky Ponting to become the all-time second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket.

The 34-year-old now has a magnificent Test tally of 13,543 runs in 158 matches, at an average of 51.3, having hit 39 centuries and 66 fifties. Joe Root is also just 54 runs away from becoming the first cricketer in the world to score 6,000 runs in the WTC era. He could very well break this record in England’s upcoming Test series, the highly anticipated Ashes against Australia, scheduled to begin in November.

Australian star Steve Smith praised Root’s recent upsurge, noting that the 34-year-old was finally able to break the ‘curse’ of getting out between the 50-100 run mark. Smith, on an interview with Sky Sports, stated that Root had been failing to convert good starts into centuries, but has now overcome that. The Australian star admitted his team might face a significant challenge against Joe Root, in the Ashes:

In the last two years, he [Joe Root] has been incredible. His ability to make big scores, to go from 50 to a 100, which was one thing he, you know, he got caught in that 50 to 100 spot for quite a while.

However, he humorously pointed out that the English batter has yet to score a hundred on Australian soil in red-ball cricket. Smith added that, thereafter, bringing up a century Down Under, would be on Joe Root’s ‘bucket list’.

The 36-year-old, however, stated that Root might face a lot of trouble doing so on Australia’s tricky surfaces and against their experienced bowling attack, even joking that he hoped the Englishman would not get a century at all.

He, hasn’t scored a 100 in Australia, that’s being talked about quite a lot. I am sure that is something that he wants to tick off his bucket list… Hopefully he does not get a 100 this time.

Joe Root’s record in Australia, despite not having scored a hundred, is still decent. He has accumulated 892 runs in 14 Test matches at an average of over 35, including nine half-centuries and a highest score of 89. In the same Sky Sports interview, Steve Smith had earlier warned England that their top-order batters would face a lot of challenges in the Ashes, despite their progress with the ‘Bazball’ style of play.

Nevertheless, Steve Smith is another player who will be hoping to get the best results from the upcoming Ashes, as he remains the player closest to Joe Root among the Test ‘Fab Four’ in terms of records. Smith himself has scored 10,477 runs in 119 red-ball matches at a superior average to Root’s, at 56.02.

Steve Smith Opens Up About His Dream to Play in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Veteran Australian star Steve Smith recently spoke about his long-held desire to play for the national team at the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. T20 cricket will be a part of the LA Olympics, with the sport making its return to the multi-nation event after more than 120 years.

Steve Smith LA Olympics
Steve Smith wishes to play for Australia at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. (via Crictracker)

Steve Smith, who has fallen out of favor of Australia’s T20I setup, is vying to make his way back into the team, to fulfil his dream of playing at the Olympics, which he grew up watching. While he noted that he has played for the Australian cricket team in many other international events, including World Cups and bilateral series, playing in the Olympics, he added, would be a new experience for him.

I’ve watched a lot of Olympics since I was a young kid and really enjoyed watching the Australian athletes go about it. So, you know, when I heard that cricket was going to be a part of it, I was like, that would be really cool to be involved.

The New South Wales-based batsman is currently playing for Welsh Fire in his maiden appearance in The Hundred. Smith’s venture in The Hundred marks his return to franchise cricket outside Australia after a long hiatus, with his last appearance being for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL.