The third test match of the Ashes series will be played from today (July 6) between Australia and England at Headingley Carnegie and the hosts will definitely like to win it in order to keep their hopes of winning the series alive. On the other hand, the Aussies have already taken a lead of 2-0 and with a win in the third test match, they will be able to write the series in their name.
This test match is going to be the 100th test match of former Aussie skipper Steve Smith and he is the 14th Aussie cricketer to touch the three digit mark. In the 99 test matches, Steve Smith has scored more than 9000 runs at an average of almost 60 and in his test career, the batter has scored 32 centuries, 4 double centuries and 37 fifties.
During a conversation with former England cricketer Nasser Hussain, the former Aussie cricketer Ricky Ponting ranked Steve Smith as the second greatest in Australia’s history. Nasser Hussain asked, “Steve Smith will play his 100th Test at Headingley. Where would you rank him among Australian greats?”
Ricky Ponting stated, “If it all ended tomorrow he’d be the second-greatest batsman Australia have produced after Don Bradman. Statistically, you cannot argue with that. He’s achieving things so quickly. Even at Lord’s, he became the second-fastest in history to reach 9,000 Test runs.”
Steve Smith will certainly like to make this more memorable by playing a big innings and helping his team in winning the test match as well as the series. Speaking before the match, he stated, “It is something that has been on my bucket list, to win an Ashes series in England. What a way to top it off, if I could do it in my 100th game. It would be special for sure.”
Will England be able to make a comeback in the Ashes series? What do you think? Let us know your views.
