Ponting ahead of Smith's 100 Test: 'The second-greatest Australian batter after Bradman'

Set to play his 100th Test match, Steve Smith will be aiming for glory when Australia take on England in the third Ashes Test, scheduled for July 6-10 in Leeds. He will also become the 14th Aussie to reach three-figure Test appearances.

In 99 Tests, Smith has hammered 9113 runs, at an average of 59.56 and strike rate of 53.78, packed with 32 tons, four double hundreds and 37 half-centuries. 

It is to be noted that his highest Test knock is 239, which came against England in the 2017-18 Ashes series. In the third Ashes Test which Australia won by 43 runs, Smith grabbed his 32nd Test ton, slamming 110 runs off 184 balls in the first innings. During his knock, the veteran also clattered seven fours.

Speaking with Nasser Hussain for the Daily Mail, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting pointed out Smith's brilliance and ranked him as the second-greatest batter in his country's cricket history. Hussain asked, "Steve Smith will play his 100th Test at Headingley. Where would you rank him among Australian greats?"

"If it all ended tomorrow he'd be the second-greatest batsman Australia have produced after Don Bradman. Statistically, you cannot argue with that. He's achieving things so quickly. Even at Lord's, he became the second-fastest in history to reach 9,000 Test runs", replied the Aussie legend.

For his displays in the second Ashes Test, Smith was also adjudged as the Player of the Match. He will be hoping to put in a similar display in Leeds and mark his 100th Test appearance with a series-clinching victory. Speaking ahead of the match, Smith said, "It is something that has been on my bucket list, to win an Ashes series in England. What a way to top it off, if I could do it in my 100th game. It would be special for sure."