Ashes: Cricket legend Sir Garfield Sobers says Steve Smith is his favourite modern player

STEVE Smith has joined Sir Garfield Sobers in the record books as the second fastest man to 6000 Test runs.

Australian captain Steve Smith reached 6000 Test runs at the SCG on Friday.

STEVE Smith joined Sir Garfield Sobers in the record books as the second fastest man to 6000 Test runs on Friday night.

But perhaps the greatest endorsement of Smith’s genius is that the legendary West Indian all-rounder rates the Australian captain as his favourite modern day player.

Smith has the chance on Saturday to experience one of the crowning moments of his career if he can make it to triple figures and join Sir Donald Bradman with four centuries in an Ashes series – the most in the history of the game.

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This is the kind of company Smith is keeping these days, and late on Friday there was a preview to what’s to come when he glided past the 6000 milestone in just his 111th innings – the same number it took Sobers.

Only Bradman did it quicker in just 68.

Australian captain Steve Smith reached 6000 Test runs at the SCG on Friday.

Smith is in extraordinary company at just 28 years of age, and at this point of his career he is light years ahead of other modern era phenomenona Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting

In an interview with News Corp 12 months ago, Sobers had no hesitation anointing Smith as the modern-day master.

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“I like your young boy Steve Smith. He proves something I have long believed, that the only thing you really must have in cricket is a solid defence,” said Sobers.

“After that, it does not matter what shots you have or how you play them.

“Smith will improvise in his other shots and that’s fine because when it matters, he can defend well.

West Indian legend Sir Garfield Sobers.

“I like seeing people who have the ability to improvise do it and play shots others can’t.”

Smith has made only one score under 40 all Ashes series and he is rocketing towards 700 runs from the five matches.

Englishmen Wally Hammond and Herbert Sutcliffe have also made four hundreds in an Ashes series, but Bradman is the only Australian.

It’s a feat that has not been achieved since 1930.

Smith already has 23 Test centuries and is well on target at his current rate to challenge Sachin Tendulkar’s mantle of 51 Test centuries and 15,921 runs.