Following unavoidable circumstances in the Australian camp, vice-captain Steve Smith returned to the captaincy role for the first time in three years. Sacked as the captain of the side in 2018 for the infamous sandpapergate controversy, Smith has now completed a full circle to once again captain the Aussies. After Pat Cummins was ruled out of the Adelaide Test due to Covid-19 concerns, Smith will have the task to guide Australia to a win with his proven track record in Adelaide.
“We are going to have a bat. I think you can control the game if you bat first. Huge honour (to lead Australia again). Feel for Patty (Cummins) for missing this game. Hopefully we can have a good week. He just wished me good luck and said it's your team go well. Excited for Jhye and Michael Neser,” the stand-in-captain Smith said at the coin toss.
The Australian veteran has lost only two of the 20 Test matches he has captained on home turf. The numbers only get better for Smith as he has led the senior side on 34 occasions in Test match cricket, winning 18 of those and drawing 8. His win percentage of 53 is one of the best among the Aussie captains. The right-handed batter in his 18 matches as captain on home soil has guided Australia to 13 wins with three draws.
The impressive numbers are clearly reflected in his batting performances; as he has the second-best batting average with 70.36, which is only bettered by Don Bradman (101.51). He has better stats in comparison with former great Allan Border. While being the leader of the side he has 15 centuries to his name, only after Ricky Ponting with 19 hundreds as Australian captain. He currently shares the record with Steve Waugh and Alan Border both having 15 hundreds as captain.
The 32-year-old has 3,659 runs as the leader of the side and stands sixth in the top run-getters as the captain of Aussies. With 28 fifty-plus scores in Test cricket as the captain of the side, Smith is only behind Ricky Ponting (54), Allan Border (51), and Greg Chappell (32).
Smith who replaced Cummins will be no stranger to the deputy role. Cummins is expected to be available for the third Test on Boxing Day (December 26). The Australia skipper was unfortunate to have missed out on the pink-ball Test after coming in contact with a Covid-19 positive case.
