Steve Smith- the most clutch batsman in history?

[Gollum]

2015 WC

 

QF- Run a ball 65 vs Pak when poyzz (esp. Wahab) were all over Clarke, Watson etc. Underrated knock that made the win effortless in the end.

SF- 105 (90) vs India after we got Warner out cheaply, and Finch was struggling big time. MOTM

F- 56* vs NZ, walk in the park

 

3 50+ scores in 3 consecutive KO games!!!

2019 WC

 

SF- defiant 85 when all others around him were collapsing. If not for an unlucky run out would have scored a 100 there as well and taken Aus to 250+

 

2023 WTC final

 

121(268) after being put in to bat. Walked in 1st session when there was help for fast bowlers. Weathered the storm, played second fiddle but held the innings together. Far from his best but still found a way to score runs.

 

Sure he failed in the SF of 2021 T20 WC (didn't bat in the final). But 5/6 success rate in ICC KOs is an insane stat. GOAT for a reason, mentally he is just built different, cricket's answer to Djokovic

[zen]

yeah, he is probably in a league of his own esp. among current players.  

 

However, there are players like Imran (1985 WCC F; 1987 WC SF; 1989 Nehru Cup final - Man of the Match, and also Man of the Series; 1992 WC SF & F), Viv (1979 SF & F; 1983 SF and F), etc. who used to step up their game in KOs.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by zen

[Majestic]

Steve Smith is a GOAT Test batsman 

[Nikola]

If he does well in upcoming odi worldcup then he surely will be at top of the list.

[Gollum]

2 minutes ago, Nikola said:

If he does well in upcoming odi worldcup then he surely will be at top of the list.

4/4 success in ODI WC KOs till now. Even Viv, SRT, Ponting, ABDV don't come close!!!! This guy is a freak, mental giant. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Gollum

[Nikola]

1 minute ago, Gollum said:

4/4 success in ODI WC KOs till now. Even Viv, SRT, Ponting, ABDV don't come close!!!! This guy is a freak, mental giant. 

 

He is already pretty good but to be ahead of everyone else he will have to do well in one more odi worldcup & probably win australia cup too.

[Chakdephatte]

Best test batsman I have watched live but I don't buy buzzwords like clutch. Sachin was the best opener in world cups but no one called him clutch. There can be immense pressure in any random match, can't measure it for long careers.

[Lord]

He is the best batsman across formats easily. Kohli's LOI numbers don't matter unless he gives a clutch performance in knockouts.

[maniac]

The greatest disservice ICF has done is delete my thread which said “the word hack should never be used for Steve Smith” way back in 2012 ashes  . What a clutch player. Anyways even when he came in as a spinner who could bat, you knew he was going to be an ATG player. I thought he will become Aussie Jadeja but he became Bradman lol

[Norman]

Imagine Kohli doing that lol...

 

His fans are still jerking off to his 80 against Pakistan at the MCG. That too in a group stage game.

 

 

Wed have seen temples built for him had he won as many knockout games for India as Smith has...

[maniac]

Just now, Norman said:

 

 

His fans are still jerking off to his 80 against Pakistan at the MCG. That too in a group stage game.

 

 

 

tbf most of us did

[raki05]

41 minutes ago, Norman said:

Imagine Kohli doing that lol...

 

His fans are still jerking off to his 80 against Pakistan at the MCG. That too in a group stage game.

 

 

Wed have seen temples built for him had he won as many knockout games for India as Smith has...

Man that match was something ,especially after 21 wc humiliation and asia cup humiliation, that match has too much pressure . Cricket is aus 3rd -4th main games their players have confessed most of the people dont even recognised them when they go on public so they dont carry the same pressure which Indian players face. However i cant take that 80 to justify his pathetic test form in last 3 years.

Edited June 8, 2023 by raki05

[BlueBlood]

I have no idea how Steve Smith improved so much from where he started as a part-time batsman and full-time legspinner.

He is neither a prodigy like Tendulkar nor a classy technique oriented player like Lara, Root/Cook or Dravid who we can assume would score mountains of runs.

 

It's sheer willpower and nothing else. Even his technique is so strange that a fast bowler could exploit as he's a bit too slow to react compared to someone like Pujara with a low batlift but all his best performances are in SENA pace friendly nations.

 

Seeing him perform so well in clutch games across the world goes to show that someone naturally talented like Sachin, Kohli, Rohit etc. have massively under-performed to their potential.

 

We have to understand he got banned too for a bit where he played in third tier T20 and T10 tournaments across Carribean, Canada, USA with retired players like Chris Gayle. I attended one of his tournaments in USA where there were literally no crowds and he was playing there with third tier players when he was banned as no other league allowed him to play.

 

If this guy was Indian or Pakistani player, he would have been championed as the greatest comeback player of all time.

[BacktoCricaddict]

His batting ability is almost as good as his

• hands' ability to use sandpaper
• brain's ability to fade, and
• eyes' ability to manufacture tears

 

[BlueBlood]

Just now, BacktoCricaddict said:

His batting ability is almost as good as his

• hands' ability to use sandpaper
• brain's ability to fade, and
• eyes' ability to manufacture tears

 

 

This is complete BS.

 

I saw this guy play in third tier T10 tournaments and he was the only known guy. I saw he still kept up spirits high while he was banned and considered a pariah by everyone. He only played there to keep up his match level fitness and practice.

 

He could have easily quit like all the losers in Indian cricket / Pakistan cricket do saying board was against him and toured the world playing T20/T10 leagues.

 

His rise back to the top and comeback is legendary and not fully appreciated by idiots who don't understand the stress he had to go through.

 

The guy was playing in Canada in a small league in the middle of nowhere. He didn't have to go through that but he kept persisting.

 

I saw him in person and he was just a normal guy signing autographs and playing cricket in small towns across US, Carribean, Canada and any league that would allow him to play for peanuts.

 

He deserves every success he gets as there will be no one else like him again in cricket history. We already saw with so many other players how they crumble under little pressure like KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and even Sachin etc.

[vvvslaxman]

It is his unreal ability to adapt himself to different condition. He takes it up a a challenge and conquers it.  

[Lord]

1 hour ago, Chakdephatte said:

Best test batsman I have watched live but I don't buy buzzwords like clutch. Sachin was the best opener in world cups but no one called him clutch. There can be immense pressure in any random match, can't measure it for long careers.

The pressure of knockouts is much bigger than league phase or bilaterals. For Indians, Pak games are also high pressure though.

 

Sachin performed v Pak in WC and in QF 2011 WC,semis of 96 WC. He was good but Smith is better in that aspect

[maniac]

16 minutes ago, Lord said:

The pressure of knockouts is much bigger than league phase or bilaterals. For Indians, Pak games are also high pressure though.

 

Sachin performed v Pak in WC and in QF 2011 WC,semis of 96 WC. He was good but Smith is better in that aspect

I think pressure in knockouts individually is overrated unless a player is actually shivering and having a nervous breakdown. 
 

Mohinder Amarnath and Faulkner won man of the match for their bowling. Does it make them  clutch bowlers?

Sachin got out to Malinga in the final. Has Sachin never got out to Malinga cheaply  in a bilateral game before?

 

sometimes it’s your day it’s your day.

Yes as a team and team management  can take pressure and make wrong decisions but individually a person taking pressure just because it’s a knockout is a little exaggerated.

 

yes if it is a close  situation someone might choke and maybe knockouts can accentuate the pressure but it is not as big as it is made out to be when we call players chokers.

 

 

Edited June 8, 2023 by maniac

[maniac]

39 minutes ago, BlueBlood said:

I have no idea how Steve Smith improved so much from where he started as a part-time batsman and full-time legspinner.

He is neither a prodigy like Tendulkar nor a classy technique oriented player like Lara, Root/Cook or Dravid who we can assume would score mountains of runs.

 

It's sheer willpower and nothing else. Even his technique is so strange that a fast bowler could exploit as he's a bit too slow to react compared to someone like Pujara with a low batlift but all his best performances are in SENA pace friendly nations.

 

Seeing him perform so well in clutch games across the world goes to show that someone naturally talented like Sachin, Kohli, Rohit etc. have massively under-performed to their potential.

 

We have to understand he got banned too for a bit where he played in third tier T20 and T10 tournaments across Carribean, Canada, USA with retired players like Chris Gayle. I attended one of his tournaments in USA where there were literally no crowds and he was playing there with third tier players when he was banned as no other league allowed him to play.

 

If this guy was Indian or Pakistani player, he would have been championed as the greatest comeback player of all time.

A positive post   You had to put a teeka to avoid nazar didn’t you?

[BacktoCricaddict]

37 minutes ago, BlueBlood said:

 

This is complete BS.

 

I saw this guy play in third tier T10 tournaments and he was the only known guy. I saw he still kept up spirits high while he was banned and considered a pariah by everyone. He only played there to keep up his match level fitness and practice.

 

He could have easily quit like all the losers in Indian cricket / Pakistan cricket do saying board was against him and toured the world playing T20/T10 leagues.

 

His rise back to the top and comeback is legendary and not fully appreciated by idiots who don't understand the stress he had to go through.

 

The guy was playing in Canada in a small league in the middle of nowhere. He didn't have to go through that but he kept persisting.

 

I saw him in person and he was just a normal guy signing autographs and playing cricket in small towns across US, Carribean, Canada and any league that would allow him to play for peanuts.

 

He deserves every success he gets as there will be no one else like him again in cricket history. We already saw with so many other players how they crumble under little pressure like KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma and even Sachin etc.

You're right.  It's BS.  Allow me to issue a correction:  His batting ability is almost  as good as his ability to sandpaper a cricket ball, brain-fade DRS, and shed croc tears.   

 

Considering how legendary those other 3 attributes that I listed were, saying his batting is as good as those?  Absolutely a compliment.