‘I just love batting’: Steve Smith incredible Ashes batting statistics revealed

STEVE Smith says he doesn’t actually like watching cricket. But he likes batting. And batting. And batting. In 1258 balls faced this series, the Aussie skipper has smashed EIGHT batting milestones.

Steve Smith numbers keep soaring.

STEVE Smith says he doesn’t actually like watching cricket.

But he likes batting. And batting. And batting.

He gets in his “zone” as he called it and has been treating every ball as a different challenge this series. All 1258 of them.

That’s how many deliveries he’s faced, more than 209 overs just bowled at him, during an epic four Test stretch that has him walking with the cricket Gods, and in reach of knocking over their records.

Steve Smith numbers keep soaring.

Through more than 30 hours at the crease he has put every other batsman in the shade.

Smith’s stoic day five hundred at the MCG, his third for the series, took him in to rare air, and he continues to etch his name in the history books in a fashion no-one in recent times comes close to matching.

PLAYER RATINGS: who starred and who struggled?

MATCH REPORT: Smith slams pitch after saving the day

CHAPPELLI: why Starc makes the difference for Australia

SNIPPETS: Khawaja goes in to bat ... for himself

The list of achievements on the back of his innings of 102 not out included:

- Becoming the first Australian captain since Don Bradman in 1946/47 to score 600 runs in an Ashes series.

- The first Australian to score three hundreds in an Ashes series since Matthew Hayden in 2002-03.

- His 604 runs are also the most runs in an Ashes series by an Australian since Slater scored 623 in 1994-95.

- He’s the third quickest to 23 Test hundreds, in 110 innings. Only Sir Donald Bradman (59 innings) and Sunil Gavaskar (109) got there quicker.

- He joined Ricky Ponting as the only batsman to make six hundreds in a calendar year more than once.

- Smith moved to equal eighth on the all-time list of Australian century makers with his 23rd ton.

- He passed 3000 Test runs in Australia.

- And he scored a fourth consecutive Boxing Day Test century, taking his MCG average to 136.

Steve Smith was in complete control at the MCG.

Smith has Bradman’s 1946/47 Ashes total of 680 runs, the second highest five-Test series total as captain, in his sights with one Test remaining.

But right now, they share top billing anyway. Bradman, and the man some are calling the best since Bradman, neck and neck, with captaincy records particularly.

And leading from the front is the mark of a man in control of his actions, and his ambitions. A man the absolute top of his game, a game which Smith thinks can still get better.

“I feel like my game is in really good order. I am adapting to each of the bowlers, I am changing my plans to them, how they are going to get me out,” Smith said.

“I’m in front of the game as much as possible. Hopefully I can keep getting better as well.

“Playing this game you can never be satisfied, never think you are too good for the game. The game can come back and bite you quickly.

“You’ve got to keep working hard and each time I go to the middle now I make sure I have my same routines, I’m doing my basic things really well. I am trying to get myself in the same zone every time.

“I just love batting. I want to keep making runs.”

Just try and stop him.

Originally published as ‘I just love batting’: Steve Smith incredible Ashes batting statistics revealed