Australian captain Steve Smith hammered his second Test double hundred on Saturday on the third day of the third Test against England in Perth. With his first double century at home, he became the first captain to score an Ashes Test double ton since Allan Border did so in 1993. In the course of his innings, the 28-year old also broke a 50-year old record held by Sir Garfield Sobers, as he became the player to score maximum runs after 108 innings in Test cricket.
Speaking on Smith's performance, former Australian captain Ricky Ponting said that Smith is better than some of the best players in the world at the moment.
"You look at the other better players in the world; Virat Kohli is on a pretty high pedestal but then you look at Joe Root and Kane Williamson, as far as Im concerned those guys are nowhere near as good as Steven Smith and Ive said that for a long time," Ponting told cricket.com.au.
The three-time World Cup winning player further added that England players came to him seeking advice on how to get Smith out. "I even had England players come to me this morning saying Just give us something on Smith. What are we going to bowl to Smith?. And I said, Look, one, Im not going to tell you. And two, I dont know anyway because it seems like he's got every base covered," the 42-year old said.
Ponting further added that if Smith was playing in the era of Timeless Tests, he would be invincible. "You look at his wagon wheel, he's got boundaries almost all around the ground and there's no obvious weakness and with his appetite for runs that he's got hell just keep batting forever. Imagine him back in the day when there were Timeless Tests he wouldve just batted forever!"
The former Australian batsman also went on to praise the selectors for backing Mitchell Marsh's selection in the team and said the left-handed batsman has grown as a cricketer.
"There has been a lot of noise about Mitchell Marsh and his selection back in the team again.Have the selectors made the wrong or the right call? I think it's been proven again theyve made the right call There wouldnt be a person in Australia that's not happy seeing Mitchell Marsh doing what he's doing at the moment," he said.
Ponting added that Marsh's performance in Perth can boost his international Test career. "Some of the striking and how clean and pure the striking has been today, this could be the start of a really long and successful international career now. It seems like he's unlocked something within himself and he can go and play with a bit of freedom and he now knows he's got the game to succeed at Test level, which is really important," he said.
Smith and Marsh built an unbeaten 301-run stand on Day 3 as Australia reached 549/4 at stumps. Marsh went on to score his maiden Test ton and remained unbeaten on 181. Smith, on the other hand, reached 229* at stumps. England managed to take only one wicket in the day as Shaun Marsh got out on 28 on Moeen's Ali delivery in the first session.
