Overview
Steven Peter Devereux Smith (born 2 June 1989) is an Australian international cricketer and a former captain of the Australian national team across all three formats. Since 2021, he has served as vice-captain of the Australian Test team. Widely regarded as one of the finest Test batsmen of his generation, Smith has scored over 10,000 Test runs and was named the ICC Men's Test Player of the Decade for 2011–2020.
Smith was initially selected for Australia in 2010 as a leg-spinning all-rounder, having impressed with the bat in domestic cricket. After featuring in five Test matches between 2010 and 2011 in an all-rounder's role, he was recalled to the Test side in 2013 as a specialist batsman. He assumed the Test captaincy from Michael Clarke in late 2015. In the longer format he has predominantly batted at number four, while batting at number three in ODIs and T20Is.
In December 2017, Smith reached an ICC Test batting rating of 947, the second-highest figure on record, behind only Don Bradman's 961. His honours include the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy as ICC Cricketer of the Year in 2015; ICC Test Player of the Year in 2015 and 2017; the Allan Border Medal in 2015, 2018, 2021 and 2023; Australian Test Player of the Year in 2015 and 2018; and Australian One Day International Player of the Year in 2015 and 2021. He was named one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Year in the 2016 Wisden Almanack.
In March 2018, during the third Test against South Africa, a ball-tampering incident occurred for which Smith, then captain, was widely criticised. He stood down from the captaincy during the match and was replaced by Tim Paine. Following the investigation that ensued, Smith returned to international cricket after serving the sanctions imposed and has continued to be a leading batsman for Australia, later returning to a leadership role as Test vice-captain.
References
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on English Wikipedia page for Steve Smith (cricketer)