Smith becomes only the 15th player in Test history to achieve this feat and the fourth Australian, following Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, and Allan Border. His journey to 10,000 runs came in just 115 Tests, making him the second-fastest batter to reach this milestone, behind Brian Lara (111 Tests).
Cricket enthusiasts had anticipated Smith crossing the landmark during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but he remained just one run short at 9,999 until this innings.
Fastest Players to 10,000 Test Runs:
1️⃣ Brian Lara – 111 Tests
2️⃣ Steve Smith – 115 Tests
3️⃣ Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara – 195 Tests
4️⃣ Ricky Ponting – 196 Tests
Elite List of Players with Over 10,000 Test Runs:
🏏 Sachin Tendulkar – 15,921
🏏 Ricky Ponting – 13,378
🏏 Jacques Kallis – 13,289
🏏 Rahul Dravid – 13,288
🏏 Joe Root – 12,972
🏏 Alastair Cook – 12,472
🏏 Kumar Sangakkara – 12,400
🏏 Brian Lara – 11,953
🏏 Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 11,867
🏏 Mahela Jayawardene – 11,814
🏏 Allan Border – 11,174
🏏 Steve Waugh – 10,927
🏏 Sunil Gavaskar – 10,122
🏏 Younis Khan – 10,099
🏏 Steve Smith – 10,009*
Smith's remarkable consistency and ability to dominate in all conditions have cemented his legacy as one of the greatest Test batsmen of all time. His next challenge? Chasing down more records as he continues to lead Australia’s batting lineup.
