Steve Smith reaches milestone: Here’s how his fellow Aussies got to 10,000

One did it with a push to mid-on, one with a cut shot to the boundary and the third a drive through covers. Here’s the tale of the first three Aussies to reach 10,000 runs.

Steve Smith celebrates after scoring his ten thousandth run during the first day of the first Test cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. Picture: AFP

Allan Border did it with a relatively unremarkable shot to mid-on for a single against the West Indies at the SCG in 1993.

Steve Waugh was more emphatic, with a cut shot to the boundary against England at the same ground in 2003.

Ricky Ponting got there by stroking a shot through the covers for two runs against the West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St Johns, Antigua, in 2008.

And on Wednesday in Galle, Steve Smith became the fourth Australian – the first in almost 17 years, and only the 15th batsman in Test cricket’s 145-year history – to reach the coveted milestone of 10,000 runs with a single to mid-on – just like Border – with the first delivery he faced.

Just a ball later he lobbed up an easy caught and bowled but Prabath Jayasuriya dropped the plum and Smith survived.

Playing just his 115th Test, Smith is the equal second-fastest to reach 10,000 runs behind only West Indian Brian Lara, who got there in 111 Tests.

Smith had been expected to reach the milestone during the home series against India after reaching 9949 runs with a century in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. But scores of 13 in the second innings and 33 and four in the New Year Test at the SCG left him agonisingly one run short at the end of the series. Remarkably he was not the first batter to be stranded on 9999, with the same fate striking Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene.

When Border reached the milestone 32 years ago, he was just the second to do so after Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar. Facing West Indian off-spinner Carl Hooper on day two of the third Test, Border pushed the ball to mid-on for a quick single to reach 21 runs for the innings and 10,000 for his career.

Allan Border raises his bat to the crowd after scoring his 10,000th run in Test cricket against the West Indies at the SCG. Picture: Gregg Porteous

The Australian’s front page on January 4, 1993.

Playing in his 136th Test, the Australian captain raised his bat to the 26,511 spectators who were there to witness the historic moment.

He was eventually dismissed for 74, still needing 70 runs to overhaul Gavaskar’s career tally of 10,122, as the most prolific runscorer at that time. In a Test utterly dominated by batsmen, Border didn’t get to bat in the second innings at the SCG with Australia finishing a drawn Test on 0-117.

Border, who was 37 at the time, revealed he had his own concerns about how long he would last in cricket. “Going for Gavaskar is a nice thought, but if I scored 10,000 and didn’t play the cricket to get to 10,122 it wouldn’t have been the end of the Earth,” he said.

“Ten thousand seemed like a nice round figure to finish on. As it’s turned out I might have a few more runs left in me yet. I’ll just keep batting now and doing my bit for the side. The Gavaskar figure is the goal and then set something up for someone else to pass.”

The SCG scoreboard congratulates Allan Border on reaching the milestone. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Border said it had been “special” to reach the milestone at the SCG, the ground where he made his first-class debut.

“I played a lot of my cricket here,” he said. “I like Sydney, I like playing here. I just wanted to do it in Australia rather than have an ordinary series here and go to New Zealand (the next Test series starting a month later) with 20 to get. It’s just really nice to get 10,000, especially here.

“Over the last couple of weeks it was obvious that it was going to happen sooner than I expected, I suppose, the way the runs have been coming. It was more just relief to get it out of the road so I can concentrate on batting.

“It’s a great milestone but it was just hanging there.”

Border ended up being lucky that he reached the milestone at the SCG … because he might well have had to wait until New Zealand otherwise.

Innings of 19 and 1 in the fourth Test in Adelaide were costly as the West Indies won by just one run in one of cricket’s greatest matches to level the five-Test series at 1-1. Things got worse in the fifth Test in Perth, when Border was dismissed for a pair of ducks as Australia surrendered to an innings defeat and the visitors claimed the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy.

It would take Border three Tests after Sydney to overhaul Gavaskar. In Christchurch, he finally reached the summit with an innings of 88 in Australia’s first Test innings victory.

He would finish his career with 11,174 runs at an average of 50.56 – and is now the 11th-highest runscorer of all time.

Ten years to the day after Border reached 10,000 runs, Waugh was the third batsman to reach the milestone during a spectacular unbeaten century off 130 balls that he reached with a cover drive off the last ball of the second day from Englishman Richard Dawson.

Steve Waugh hits a cover drive on the last ball of the day to bring up his century against England at the SCG in 2003. Picture: Mark Evans

Earlier, a cut shot off the same bowler had taken Waugh to 69 and into the 10,000-run club in his 156th Test.

After a difficult year of substandard innings that led some to question whether he should retain his place in the team, Waugh’s fifth-Test fireworks ignited the crowd of 41,931 in his home city, including then prime minister John Howard who went to the changerooms after stumps to congratulate him.

After the day’s play, Waugh spoke more of the relief at breaking his 16-Test century drought than reaching the milestone. “You always aim for that perfect innings and you never know when it may happen or if it ever will,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s something I’ve always aimed for, to play that almost perfect innings and today was pretty close to as good as I can play.’’

Waugh played down the significance of reaching 10,000 runs, saying that other players such as Sachin Tendulkar and Ponting would likely pass him. ‘‘I don’t think it rates that high really,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s nice to get those runs but if you’re going to play a lot of Tests those sort of records are going to come your way.”

Steve Waugh walks off the field after becoming the third player to pass 10,000 Test runs. Picture: Mark Evans

Waugh was dismissed the next morning without scoring another run as Australia fell to a 225-run defeat, but the Ashes series was already long won after Australia claimed all of the first four Tests.

Waugh finished his career with 10,927 runs at an average of 48.64 – and is now the 12th-highest runscorer of all time.

Ponting became the seventh member of the 10,000 club five years later during the second Test against the West Indies in St Johns, Antigua.

Playing his 118th Test, Ponting hit spinner Ramnaresh Sarwan through the covers for two runs to bring up his milestone, watched by Vivian Richards after whom the ground was named.

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Ricky Ponting raises his bat to acknowledge the applause of the crowd after becoming the seventh player to score 10,000 runs during the second Test match against West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St. John's, Antigua. Picture: AP

Ponting said the milestone had weighed heavily on his mind when he won the toss and batted on a flat wicket, needing an innings of 61 to hit the mark.

“I was probably thinking about it at the start of the innings more than any other time,” Ponting said.

“The wicket was obviously very good so I thought today I was going to have as good a chance as any to get across that line.

“To get it out of the way was great … and to be the third fastest player in history is a nice little thing that I will be able to look back upon when I’m finished.”

Ponting’s milestone was witnessed by a disappointingly small crowd of about 2000. Like Waugh, he took a pragmatic approach to reaching 10,000 runs.

“I’ve played (118) Tests now and I guess if you bat in the top order and play that many games you are probably expected to be around the mark that I am around at the moment,” Ponting said.

“I am proud of everything I’ve achieved in the game but probably more proud of how many winning teams I’ve played in rather than how many runs I’ve scored.”

Ponting’s innings of 65 and 38 in the second Test weren’t enough to secure victory as the West Indies held on for a draw, but the Australians still won the three-Test series 2-0.

Ponting would go on to score 13,378 runs at an average of 58.72, making him the second-highest runscorer of all time behind Indian Sachin Tendulkar. He remains in that position today, with Smith the closest active player to his tally.