He arrives onto the wicket with the enthusiasm of a strapping youngster. He hops around, and jumps and evades the bouncers.
He frequents pressure with a nerve wracking expression of energy that binds the viewer to the TV screen or the handheld gadget that runs on modern day apps but never lacking any joys of interest.
Even prior to the start of a game, he walks out into the middle simply to get a sense of what it will be like the next day; to get accustomed to the proceedings.
And that’s not all.
For as long as he stays at the wicket, there’s life left in a game of cricket, irrespective of what day it is or session of a single day’s play one is amid.
But then, in cricket records matter, performances matter and what also matters are the big numbers.
It’s a sport where as a pure batsman, your are always chasing big scores, the hundreds, the mega centuries, the impactful tons and hopefully, if all goes well, those that come in victories.
And by that count, a certain Steve Smith stands head and shoulders above his contemporaries as also his compatriots.
But that’s primarily because his penchant for hunting for the runs has not only led to records, but undoubtably created great impact and culminated in big performances.
When he arrived into the Australian set up, the names around him were massive, ever representative of the great Australian legacy; there was Watson, there was Clarke and lest it is forgotten, there was Hussey.
Today, as Steven Smith prepares to enter his hundredth Test match, he has not only made his past teammates proud of his effort but drawn awe from even three of the most exciting and remarkable names widely considered his closest – albeit- warmest rivals.
There’s Virat Kohli known for his tirelessness with the bat. There’s Kane Williamson who possesses the grace few others do. And then, there’s Root who’s become a brand ambassador of batting consistency.
But there’s only one Steven Smith, the giant killer in Test match cricket, the man behind exciting, even Bradmanesque-numbers in Test match cricket and the one the English quite simply dread and teams like India don’t quite rejoice facing.
In a span of over a decade, few cricketers have undergone a massive turn of fortunes as also turned the proverbial corner in their careers quite like Steven Smith.
He arrived as a talented leg spinner but is today standing ever so keenly against a flourishing tally of 9,113 runs in the most arduous format of the game.
From having little experience of how to hit big hundreds, he’s fired 32 in Tests alone, which include 12 against England and 9 against India.
He was once the avid youngster who could have even possibly captained the side.
Today, he is back to being the normal teammate having captained Australia in the past experiencing a massive change in fortunes, having seen the downside of being involved in a controversial and avoidable tactic. He lost love, found himself being trolled, became a subject of memes and regained the respect, but only at the back of matchless consistency with the bat.
At 34, an age where perhaps many- if not all- consider slowing down and taking a stock of their fitness, becoming a subject of workload management as is the case with his colleagues like Glenn Maxwell, there’s no stopping Steven Smith.
There might be pauses his career such as the period of suspension from international cricket post the infamous sandpaper-saga, but there are certainly no full stops.
He’s fired 3 centuries already in 2023; one each against South Africa, India and England, the latter, Australia’s arch rivals.
As a matter of fact, Smith began his 2023 with a defiant 104 versus a Rabada, Nortje, Maharaj and Jansen-powered Protea attack.
And just when England are vying to hit back at Australia in the much-anticipated Third Test at Headingley, Smith has thrown caution to the winds about to enter his hundredth Test match.
With shots all around the wicket and runs compiled rather compellingly everywhere, whether Delhi or Dubai, Jo’burg or Sydney, Auckland or Dublin, the legend of Steven Smith has panned out quite like a marvel superhero flick that sets the film cash registers ringing.
There are batsmen you can watch if you’re not too busy with whatever it is you do for a living. There are batsmen you don’t mind watching for your favourite has made his way back to the pavilion. Then, there are those who fill the stadia anywhere around the world. Steve Smith, much like Virat Kohli, slots himself in this rare category having caught the imagination of the world for his instinct for domination.
It’s not that he’s not been felled by bowlers; several including Ashwin and Jadeja, Anderson and Rabada have prevailed against him, but Smith, despite some misses, has always hit back with rich vigor.
Besides hitting almost 5,000 one day runs, Smith’s quite exemplarily amplified his desire to bat and bat on; something that can be gauged from the fact that as on July 5, he’s faced no fewer than 16,945 deliveries in five day cricket at the highest level.
The greats never allow setbacks to hassle them, to made proud shoulders wallow by disappointments; Smith, who as recently as the Second Ashes Test was subjected to strange verbals by those in attendance, a huge gamut of English fans, has overcome his share of troubles.
The desire to stick along, get his eye in and achieve something that would make wearing the baggy green a proud feeling is still very much there.
Maybe that is why, much like those who are envied, he’s received his share of brickbats in addition to garlands of respect.
Keep going, keep scoring Smith!