WTC Final: Decoding Steve Smith's stellar Test numbers in England

Australia are gearing up to take on India in the high-voltage ICC World Test Championship final. The Kennington Oval in London will host this affair, starting on June 7. Steve Smith will be critical to Australia's success as he owns a stellar record in England in Tests. Indian bowlers must be aware of the same. Here we decode Smith's stats in the UK.

Across 16 Tests on England soil, Smith has mustered 1,727 runs with the help of six tons and seven fifties. The tally includes two double-tons as well. His average of 59.55 is the highest among visiting batters with at least 850 Test runs in England since 2010. Meanwhile, no other visiting batter has even scored 1,100 Test runs in England in this period.

Australia's last Test assignment on England soil was the 2019 Ashes, which marked Smith's return to Test cricket after the sandpapergate fiasco. He celebrated his return in style, slamming 774 runs in four Tests at 110.57. These are the joint-sixth-most runs by a visiting batter in a bilateral Test series. The veteran batter smashed three tons and as many fifties in the tour.

Smith has enjoyed tackling Indian bowlers in Tests, having hammered 1,887 runs across 18 Tests at 65.06. He has clobbered eight centuries and five fifties. He has the joint-most Test hundreds by an Australian against India, a record he shares with Ricky Ponting (eight each). He managed 145 runs at 29 in the four-match away Test series versus India earlier this year.

Since his debut for Australia in 2010, Smith has smoked 8,792 runs from 96 Tests. His average of 59.80 is the third-highest among batters with over 25 Tests. The third-ranked Test batter is only behind Sir Donald Bradman (99.94) and England's Herbert Sutcliffe (60.73) in this regard. Smith owns 30 centuries and 37 half-centuries in the format. The batter has slammed four Test double-centuries.