Smith eclipses Bradman to rewrite Test history

• Steve Smith hits century in Ashes Test, leading Australia's first innings revival.
• Smith surpasses Border in Ashes runs, exceeds 5000 int'l runs vs England.
• Smith overtakes Bradman, now highest scorer against England in cricket history.

Steve Smith has added another remarkable chapter to his decorated career, leading Australia in the fifth and final Test of the 2025-26 Ashes at the Sydney

Cricket Ground with a commanding century.

Batting at No. 5, the Australian great produced a masterful 138 off 220 deliveries, an innings that not only revived his team's first-innings effort but also saw him rewrite several long-standing records.

Smith's latest hundred - the 37th of his Test career - moved him past a series of historic markers. Early in his knock, he surpassed Allan Border to become the second-highest run-scorer in Ashes history. But the bigger milestone arrived soon after: the 35-year-old crossed 5000 international runs against England across formats, joining an elite club previously populated only by Don Bradman, Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.

In doing so, he became just the second batter ever to reach the 5000-run mark specifically against England.

Once he reached the milestone, Smith went on to overtake Bradman's tally of 5028 runs, becoming the highest run-getter in international cricket history against the Englishmen. Bradman had compiled his runs in 63 innings across 37 Ashes Tests; Smith has now gone past him, sitting at 5094 runs from 122 innings in 90 matches combined across Tests, ODIs and T20Is.

Globally, only Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli have scored more runs against a single opposition. Tendulkar holds the all-time record with 6707 runs against Australia in 110 matches, while Kohli follows with 5551 runs in 126 innings from 106 games versus the same rivals.

Smith's numbers against England reflect his dominance across formats. In Test cricket alone, he has amassed 3691 runs from 73 innings in 41 Ashes Tests. His ODI returns against England stand at 1245 runs from 40 games, and he has added another 158 runs in 9 T20Is. In Test cricket, only Bradman has more runs and more centuries against England - 5028 runs and 19 centuries - compared to Smith's 3691 runs and 13 centuries in the longest format.

Smith's latest feat not only reinforces his standing as one of the modern greats but also cements his influence on one of cricket's oldest and most storied rivalries.