Steve Smith Creates History, Overtakes Former Australia Legend To Achieve This Feat

Steve Smith has added another milestone to his remarkable Test career, moving past former Australia captain Steve Waugh to become the country's third-highest run-scorer in the longest format.

The landmark came during Australia's opening Test against South Africa in Durban on October 9, 2026, when Smith scored 25 runs. He crossed Waugh's career tally of 10,927 Test runs, moving into third place on Australia's all-time list.

Also Check: South Africa vs Australia Live Score, 1st Test

Smith Joins Australia's Elite Test Batting Club

The achievement places Smith behind only two Australian legends on the country's all-time Test run-scoring chart: Ricky Ponting, who leads with 13,378 runs, and Allan Border, who accumulated 11,174. Waugh, meanwhile, finished his distinguished career with 10,927 runs in 168 Tests at an average of 51.06.

Smith's latest landmark reflects his consistency across more than a decade of international cricket. Having made his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord's in 2010, he has developed into one of Australia's most dependable batters, combining patience against quality bowling with the ability to accelerate when conditions allow.

Australia Struggle After Winning the Toss

The milestone came on a challenging opening day of the first Test against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban. Australia elected to bat but lost early wickets, with Travis Head dismissed for nine and Marnus Labuschagne contributing 37 before falling.

Smith added 25 runs and shared a 60-run partnership with Labuschagne, helping Australia recover briefly after their early setbacks before Marco Jansen removed him just after the lunch break. At the time of writing this, Australia are struggling at 133/6.