‘Unique, relentless and consistent’ Steve Smith named ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade

‘Unique, relentless and consistent’ Steve Smith named ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade
Steve Smith

The International Cricket Council (ICC) declared the player of the decade awards today. And Australian run machine Steve Smith has been named as the ICC Men’s Test Cricketer of the Decade. Smith burst into the international scene at the turn of the decade. And became the talk of the town for his unorthodox technique. The initial years were rough for the New South Welshman as he failed to hold on to good starts. But once he notched up his maiden hundred in the 2003 Ashes tour, Smith never looked back.

Centuries became a regular feature for him in all whites as he amassed 7040 runs in the format. Smith’s unbelievable 26 hundreds and 28 fifties in the period paired with his otherworldy average of 65.79 puts him right amongst the greatest of the game. The Aussie trumped the likes of veteran James Anderson, Rangana Herath, Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Yasir Shah and Kane Williamson to bag the prestigious award.

Unique, relentless and unbelievably consistent

ICC today declared him the winner of the award as the global body hailed Smith as “unique, relentless and unbelievably consistent.’ The awards were based on votes by the fans. And it looks like the cricketing fraternity has unified to hail the rum machine as the best of the decade. Without any doubt, Smith featured in the ICC Test Team of the Decade as Kohli was named the captain of the side.

Southpaws Alastair Cook and David Warner were named as the openers of the side. Three of the biggest names in modern-day cricket – Williamson, Kohli and Smith, made up the middle order. Ben Stokes and Ravichandran Ashwin occupy the all-rounder spots while the three specialist quicks are Dale Steyn, Stuart Broad and Anderson. Unlike the T20 team of the decade, this XI was much more balanced. ICC hailed it as “a line-up that could probably bat for a week!“

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