Smith's slow route to century No. 21
Steven Smith's 21 Test hundred was his slowest century - and it came at a critical time for Australia in the first Ashes Test at the Gabba
Gaurav Sundararaman
25-Nov-2017
Steven Smith became the third quickest to reach 21 Test centuries • ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Third-quickest to 21 tons
Steven Smith completed his 21st Test century in his 105th innings - he is the third quickest to this milestone. Don Bradman scored his 21st in 56 innings, while Sunil Gavaskar got there in 98. Smith now has 11 centuries at home and 10 away. He also has more runs against England than any other team, going past his tally of 1429 against India. Incidentally, 19 of his 21 hundreds have come in the first innings.
Steven Smith completed his 21st Test century in his 105th innings - he is the third quickest to this milestone. Don Bradman scored his 21st in 56 innings, while Sunil Gavaskar got there in 98. Smith now has 11 centuries at home and 10 away. He also has more runs against England than any other team, going past his tally of 1429 against India. Incidentally, 19 of his 21 hundreds have come in the first innings.
Record average
Smith's unbeaten 141 helped boost his career average to 61.23 - the most for a batsman with a minimum of 100 innings and also the highest average after 57 Tests. Smith has also scored 5511 runs - the most for any batsmen to have played a minimum of 57 Tests.
| Player | Team | Runs | Average |
| Steven Smith | Aus | 5511 | 61.2 |
| Gary Sobers | WI | 5172 | 60.1 |
| Wally Hammond | Eng | 4920 | 60.0 |
| Sir Jack Hobbs | Eng | 5261 | 59.8 |
| Ken Barrington | Eng | 4710 | 58.9 |
Slow but steady
Smith did not find it easy to score his 21st hundred. He took 261 balls to get to his century- his slowest in terms of balls faced, eclipsing the 227 deliveries he required against India in Ranchi earlier this year. The Gabba effort was also the slowest Ashes century for Australia since 1993, when David Boon took 284 balls to record a hundred at Lord's. Smith's first fifty came off 112 balls while his second took 149.
Captain's knock
Smith scored his 13th Test century - in only 48 innings - as captain, equalling Greg Chappell. Only five Australia captains have more hundreds than Smith. Since he took over the leadership in December 2014, Smith has the most centuries among all captains in Tests. Virat Kohli is second with 11; no other captain has more than five. Smith's average of 61.23 is also the second highest for any captain to have led in a minimum of 10 matches. Only Bradman has a higher average with 101.51.
Tough runs
On day two, England bowled just seven short balls at Smith and were focusing on a good length. However, on the third day, England bowled 14 short balls to Smith in the first hour, with six fielders on the leg side preventing him from scoring. During the first session, Smith scored only 17 runs off 72 balls with just one boundary. Australia managed to score only 48 and lost three wickets before lunch. Smith had a control percentage of 91 - the highest for any batsmen in the match so far.
On day two, England bowled just seven short balls at Smith and were focusing on a good length. However, on the third day, England bowled 14 short balls to Smith in the first hour, with six fielders on the leg side preventing him from scoring. During the first session, Smith scored only 17 runs off 72 balls with just one boundary. Australia managed to score only 48 and lost three wickets before lunch. Smith had a control percentage of 91 - the highest for any batsmen in the match so far.
Gaurav Sundararaman is a senior stats analyst at ESPNcricinfo