Think ‘greatest Test innings of all time’ and you might recall Ben Stokes’ wild 2019 escape act, or perhaps VVS Laxman’s 281 to down Australia in 2001 after India was asked to follow on.
The shortlist is long, and offers apples with oranges comparisons, but you’ll find one thing uniting contenders is a fear that preceded the greatness.
This is the common theme with Steve Smith’s greatest Test contributions, too.
We most fondly remember his consecutive centuries at Edgbaston in the 2019 Ashes for their unlikely brilliance, but also for just how dire things would’ve been for Australia without them.
Similar could be said for his double century at Old Trafford later that series or, two years earlier, his century that spearheaded a rare win against India in Pune – both knocks among his most revered.
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In each of these innings, Smith was at the crease inside 10 overs and led a fightback for a side in desperate need.
If those innings are most memorable to us for the crises they prevented, then it’s reasonable to think they might be memorable to Smith for the same reason.
Smith has 32 Test centuries, but they are not equal when it comes to the memories they invoke.
Consider that on Wednesday when pondering why Smith would be willing to put a chunk of his Test legacy on the line with a risky move up the order late in his career.
Recent years have seen Smith fail to dead-bat talk of Test retirement which – at just 34 years old and not far removed from his 2019 masterpiece – comes as a shock.
But as a deep-thinker, and someone who has experienced arguably the most crippling low the game has to offer, Smith’s view of Test cricket is the same as ours – a pursuit of good feeling and memories that will last a lifetime.
At No.4 in a Test XI largely firing on all cylinders, the opportunity to claim these rewards have been dwindling.
By the final ball of the 2019 Ashes, Smith was averaging a stunning 64.56 in Test cricket, and had 26 centuries after his heroics in that series.
Since then, Smith has averaged 45.37 in Test cricket while adding six more centuries – impressive numbers to be sure, but a drastic dip from the Bradmanesque standard he had set.
