Forget Steve Smith v Bradman, how about comparing him to Babe Ruth

STEVE Smith stands to create Ashes history on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but his legend is growing so rapidly, even baseball’s ultimate field of dreams has a Smith tale to tell.

FORGET about comparing Steve Smith to Sir Donald Bradman. How about Babe Ruth?

Australia’s batting phenomenon stands to create Ashes history on Thursday at the Sydney Cricket Ground, but his legend is growing so rapidly, even baseball’s ultimate field of dreams has a Smith tale to tell.

Eighteen months ago Smith’s connections had him warming up with the Boston Red Sox before a Major League fixture, when he was thrust into a batting cage over home plate and immediately took aim at Fenway Park’s “Green Monster” – an ominous 11.3 metre wall, 100-metres away.

Smith was booked in to throw the ceremonial first pitch – which he later did with a rocket arm – but the ultra-competitor in him was really there to take down ‘The Monster’.

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Steve Smith can create another piece of history at his home ground. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Clearing it for a home run is still considered the American Pastime’s oasis, yet wearing sneakers and having never swung a baseball bat in his life – the man critics say has cricket’s best eye since Viv Richards – went within a whisker of doing it.

Smith is adamant he would have too, but for once his reputation didn’t precede him, and he wasn’t able to convince the pitcher – oblivious to what his celebrity guest was capable of – to throw some heat rather than lobbing dollies.

Babe Ruth, said to have been the first man to clear The Green Monster, met Don Bradman in New York in 1932 and quipped to his cricketing equivalent: “Us little fellows could hit them harder than the big ones.”

Smith is today poised to enter Bradman and Babe’s league of batting Grand Masters, as the run-scoring machine looks to match Sir Donald’s stunning record of four centuries in an Ashes.

Smith is on track to match Sir Donald Bradman’s record of four tons in an Ashes series. Picture: Phil Hillyard

“I’m batting well, I’m feeling really good at the crease,” said Smith, who could make a pair this Test and still average over 100 for the series.

“For me it’s just ensuring I don’t get too far ahead of myself. If you walk out there and expect you’re going to get runs the game can bite you pretty quickly.

“It’s just ensuring I’m hungry each time I go to the middle, start really well, do my basics really well and have my routines that I go through.

“I wasn’t aware (of the Bradman record), that’d be nice and a good way to end the series.

“It’s been a good one personally for me but also for the team.

“I love batting out here at the SCG. It’s my home ground and I’ve made a few good scores here before, so hopefully I can continue the run.”

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Smith – with 604 runs for the series – sat out a training session earlier this week with back soreness, but is adamant it won’t hold him back when he takes the crease.

“It’s stiff, but nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

Mitchell Starc is a confirmed starter for Australia, with Smith backing his big quick to not be significantly hampered by the heel bruising that kept him out of Boxing Day.

Smith is confident the pitch will stay green and suit his fast bowlers, who are ready to feast on England and blow the series result out to 4-0.

New York Yankees' Babe Ruth clouts a towering home run in this undated photo. Baseball A/CT Historical

Selectors were agonising over whether to risk Starc with a huge series against South Africa on the horizon, but Smith is happy to back the judgement of his spearhead, who is adamant he is ready to go.

“He says he’s ready to go,” said Smith.

“(The message was) make sure you’re completely fit and don’t be doing further damage. We’ve obviously got some one-dayers after this and T20s and an important series in South Africa as well, so that was the conversation I had after the Perth Test match.

“We’ve wrapped up the series which is great and we want to continue winning, that’s important, but ‘you’re a key member of our line-up and don’t do further damage because we need you in South Africa.’”

Sir Donald Bradman with baseballer Babe Ruth in 1932.

Smith admits he’d love to see big scores from run-shy opener Cameron Bancroft and No.3 Usman Khawaja to book their places for the tour of South Africa.

“They probably haven’t had the strongest of summers that they would have liked. Watching them play I think they’re batting well.

“It’ll be great if they could get a score in this Test match and help us win this Test match.

“South Africa is still a fair way away, lots can happen between now and then. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”