Steve Smith Becomes Australia's Third-Highest Test Run-Scorer Against South Africa

Australian cricketer Steve Smith has made headlines by surpassing Steve Waugh to become the third-highest run-scorer in Test cricket for Australia. This achievement occurred during the opening Test against South Africa, where Smith reached the milestone with a six. With his current tally of 10,945 runs, he is now only behind Ricky Ponting and Allan Border. As the series progresses, Smith has the opportunity to further enhance his record. Discover more about this historic moment and the match's progress in the full article.

By Narendra Chaudhary Oct 10, 2026, 00:09 IST

Historic Achievement for Steve Smith

In Durban, South Africa, on October 9, Australian cricketer Steve Smith achieved a significant milestone by surpassing former captain Steve Waugh to claim the title of Australia's third-highest run-scorer in Test cricket. This accomplishment occurred during the first day of the opening Test match against South Africa at Kingsmead.

Entering the match, Smith needed just eight runs to eclipse Waugh's career total of 10,927 runs. He reached this landmark in the 19th over, hitting a six off South African spinner Keshav Maharaj on the final ball of that over. Ultimately, Smith was dismissed for 25 runs off 53 deliveries.

With this achievement, Smith's Test run tally now stands at 10,945, placing him behind only Ricky Ponting and Allan Border in Australia's all-time rankings.

Smith has accumulated his 10,945 runs over 224 innings in 126 Tests, while Waugh concluded his career with 10,927 runs from 260 innings across 168 Tests.

Ricky Ponting leads the list with 13,378 runs from 168 Tests, followed by Allan Border with 11,174 runs from 156 matches.

Notably, Smith achieved this milestone in 42 fewer Tests than Waugh, further solidifying his legacy in the longest format of the game.

Currently, Smith is just 229 runs away from surpassing Border for the second spot on Australia's Test run-scoring list. With two Tests remaining in the series, he has a chance to narrow this gap during the tour.

On Day 1 of the Test series between South Africa and Australia, the team led by Temba Bavuma managed to restrict Pat Cummins' Australia to 187 runs for 6 wickets in 65.2 overs before bad light brought an early end to the day's play. Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen made early breakthroughs, while Anrich Nortje took two wickets in one over, leaving Australia in a precarious position at 124 for 6.

Marnus Labuschagne contributed 37 runs, and Steve Smith added 25. However, Matt Renshaw (46 not out) and Pat Cummins (33 not out) formed an unbroken partnership of 63 runs for the seventh wicket, helping to stabilize Australia's innings.