Steve Smith closes in on Sir Don Bradman in elusive Ashes company, goes past India great Rahul Dravid after SCG hundred
Steve Smith scored an unbeaten 129 on Day 3 of the fifth Ashes Test against England. Riding on Smith's ton and Travis Head's 163, Australia were 518/7 in reply to England's 384.
Steve Smith closed in on legendary Sir Don Bradman after his hundred against England in the fifth and final Ashes 2025-26 Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Tuesday. Coming into bat at no.5, Smith registered his 13th hundred in the history of the Ashes, just second to Bradman's tally of 19.
In reply to England's 384 in the first innings, Australia finished the day on 519/7 with Smith unbeaten on 129 runs. It also took Smith second to Bradman for most runs in the Ashes. Smith currently has 3682 runs in Tests against England, while Bradman finished his career with 5028.
Taking control of the game after Travis Head's 163 on a flat SCG track, Smith breezed his way into a three-figure mark with a whirlwind innings to record his 37th hundred, his first in this series, which moved him to sixth in the all-time list of most Test hundreds.
In the process, Smith went past India great Rahul Dravid, who finished at 36. South African Jacques Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41), Joe Root (41) and Kumar Sangakkara (38) are ahead of Smith. The list is headed by legendary Sachin Tendulkar with 51 Test hundreds.
Cricketers with most hundreds in Ashes
| Rank | Player | Team | Hundreds |
| 1 | Sir Don Bradman | Australia | 19 |
| 2 | Steve Smith | Australia | 13 |
| 3 | Sir Jack Hobbs | England | 12 |
| 4 | Steve Waugh | Australia | 10 |
| 5 | Wally Hammond | England | 9 |
| 6 | David Gower | England | 9 |
| 7 | Herbert Sutcliffe | England | 8 |
| 8 | Greg Chappell | Australia | 8 |
| 9 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 8 |
| 10 | Arthur Morris | Australia | 8 |
With this hundred, Smith also pipped Tendulkar. The Australian skipper reached his 37th Test ton in 219 innings, while Tendulkar achieved the feat in 220 innings. Former Australian captain Ponting was the fastest to reach the milestone in 212 innings, followed by Sangakkara (218 innings). Root is slowest to the mark in 284 innings.
More records by Steve Smith during AUS vs ENG 5th Ashes Test
- This was also Smith's 18th Test hundred as captain of Australia. He is fourth on the list, behind South Africa's Graeme Smith (25), India's Virat Kohli (20) and Ponting (19).
- With this hundred, Smith became the second Australian, after Ponting, to score five hundreds at the iconic SCG. In 13 matches, Smith has so far scored 1225 runs at this venue, along with five centuries. Ponting has 1480 runs and six hundreds at this venue.
Most hundreds in Test career
| Rank | Player | Team | Matches | Hundreds |
| 1 | Sachin Tendulkar | India | 200 | 51 |
| 2 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 166 | 45 |
| 3 | Joe Root | England | 163 | 41 |
| 4 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 168 | 41 |
| 5 | Kumar Sangakkara | Sri Lanka | 134 | 38 |
| 6 | Steve Smith | Australia | 124 | 37 |
| 7 | Rahul Dravid | India | 164 | 36 |
| 8 | Younis Khan | Pakistan | 118 | 34 |
| 9 | Sunil Gavaskar | India | 125 | 34 |
| 10 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 131 | 34 |
About the Author
Koushik, a Deputy Content Producer at LiveMint, has more than seven years of experience in sports reporting and desk. At LiveMint, Koushik covers sports extensively and keeps the readers informed on key developments from around the world. Koushik is very particular about factual storytelling and is committed to delivering accurate, insightful news.
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