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‘All I could picture trying to sleep was back of Hazlewood’s shirt’: Smith's confession after being stranded on 9999

Jan 14, 2025 07:17 PM IST

Steven Smith spoke about being stranded on 9999 Test runs heading into the next Test match.

Steven Smith was dismissed twice after reaching 9,990 Test runs in the final Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India, even dismissed on 9,999 in the second innings on his home ground and in the presence of friends and family.

Australia's Steve Smith in action at the SCG vs India.(AP)
Australia's Steve Smith in action at the SCG vs India.(AP)

Smith stands to become only the fourth Australian batter to reach the 10,000-run mark in Test cricket, following in the footsteps of Allan Border, Steve Waugh, and Ricky Ponting. However, he earned an unwanted record as he became only the fourth batter and the first Aussie to be dismissed in the ‘nervous 9990s’.

Speaking on radio talkshow SEN 1170 Breakfast, Smith admitted that the massive landmark was something that played on him. “I don’t read too much into stats and stuff, but 10,000 is a bit of a different beast,” explained Smith. “It probably was (on my mind), to be honest. Normally I sort of don’t buy into any of that stuff, but pre-game, I was doing lots of media because I was approaching that mark.”

‘All I could picture trying to sleep at night was…’

Smith looked set to cross the mark in the first innings as he batted well for 33, but fell short as he edged behind. Smith mentioned a funny story about the golden number before the Test and how it related to one of his teammates.

“I knew I needed 38, and all I could actually picture trying to sleep at night was the back of Josh Hazlewood’s shirt because he’s number 38 (laughs). It’s strange like that, isn’t it?” joked Smith.

“It was probably playing on my mind more than any other game that I’ve played, to be honest. But, it is what it is, fortunately, we were able to win that game in the end, so it didn’t really matter,” said the batter, as debutant Beau Webster and Travis Head guided Australia home to a win to win back the BGT.

Looking forward to the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, where he will be captain in the absence of Pat Cummins, Smith mentioned he looked forward to putting the hunt for the record behind him.

“I’d love to tick it off on the first day in Galle. It would have been great to have been able to do it in Sydney in front of all my friends and family because you’re joining a pretty elite group there I suppose, but it wasn’t to be,” explained Smith, who will be only the 15th Test batter to breach that five-digit mark in terms of runs as he continues to perform as one of his generation’s best in the sport.

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