WTC Final: Steve Smith establishes new record for most Test runs by a visiting batter at Lord's

IANS June 11, 2025 237 views

Steve Smith made history by becoming the highest-scoring visiting batter in Tests at Lord’s, surpassing legends like Bradman and Bardsley. His crucial 66-run knock helped Australia recover from early collapse against South Africa. Smith now holds the record for most 50+ scores by a non-English batter in England. Australia aims to retain the WTC title with Smith’s consistent form.

"Smith now has four hundreds and a fifty in his last six Tests for Australia." – Match Report
London, June 11: Australia’s premier batter Steve Smith has established a new record for the most runs scored by a visiting batter in Tests at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground on Day One of the World Test Championship (WTC) final against South Africa.

Key Points

1

Smith overtakes Bradman and Bardsley with 66 runs at Lord’s

2

His 79-run stand with Webster revives Australia from 67/4

3

Now holds most 50+ scores by a non-English batter in England

4

Australia eye WTC title defense against South Africa

During his knock of 66 off 112 balls, laced with ten boundaries, Smith went past fellow Australian Warren Bardsley’s tally of 575 runs in seven innings, coming at an average of 115, to achieve this humungous feat at the venue historically known as the ‘Home of Cricket’.

Smith has also surged past legendary batter Don Bradman, who had amassed 551 runs in his eight innings at Lord’s. Before the 2025 WTC final, Smith, 36, had previously hit three fifties and two centuries at the historic venue, with the highest individual score of 215 coming during the second Ashes Test against England in 2015.

Smith’s knock also helped Australia recover from being reduced to 67/4 at lunch after South African seamers Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen wreaked havoc by picking two wickets each. Smith also stitched an important 79-run partnership for the fifth wicket with all-rounder Beau Webster to revive Australia’s innings, before being caught at slip off part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram’s bowling.

With his knock of 66, Smith now has four hundreds and a fifty in his last six Tests for Australia. That all-important knock also ensured Smith has become the first and only batter to post multiple fifty-plus scores in the WTC finals.

Smith now holds the record for scoring the most fifty scores in Test matches played on English soil by a non-English batter. Smith now has 18 fifty-plus scores to his name in Tests in England and has gone past legendary batter Allan Border and Viv Richards, who had 17 fifty-plus Test scores on English soil.

Australia are hoping to retain the World Test Championship mace they won two years back by beating India in the final.

Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
Smith is truly a modern-day legend! His consistency across conditions is unmatched. As an Indian cricket fan, I wish we had someone with his temperament in our middle order. That 215 at Lord's in 2015 was pure class 👏 #Respect
P
Priya M.
While Smith's records are impressive, I can't help but feel sad remembering how our Indian team collapsed in the last WTC final against Australia. Hope Rohit & co. are taking notes from Smith's technique against swing bowling!
A
Arjun S.
Smith's numbers are insane but let's not forget he got out to a part-timer Markram! Shows even the best have weaknesses. Our Ashwin would have loved bowling to him on this pitch 😉
S
Sanjana T.
The way he rescued Australia from 67/4 shows why he's so valuable. Indian batsmen need to learn this art of rebuilding innings abroad. Too often we see collapses in overseas conditions. #LearningFromTheBest
V
Vikram J.
Surpassing Bradman's records at Lord's is no joke! Though as an Indian, I wonder when will we see an overseas batter dominate like this at our home grounds? Our pitches are becoming too spinner-friendly these days.
N
Neha P.
Amazing achievement but I'm more interested in how South Africa bowled! Rabada and Jansen showed exactly the kind of disciplined bowling we need from our pace attack in overseas Tests. Bumrah can learn from their line and length today.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

Leave a Comment

Your email won't be published


Disclaimer: Comments here reflect the author's views alone. Insulting or using offensive language against individuals, communities, religion, or the nation is illegal.

Tags: