Joe Root and Kane Williamson are nowhere close to Steve Smith: Ricky Ponting

Australian skipper Steve Smith has crossed the landmark of 1000 runs in a calendar year on four consecutive occasions. He achieved the feat on the third day of the third Test against England at the WACA in Perth. He scored a scintillating double hundred and became the first Aussie skipper to score a double ton in the Ashes since 1993, when Allan Border scored a double century.

He also broke a 50-year old record of scoring the most number of runs after 108 innings. Windies great Sir Garfield Sobers earlier held the record. Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has praised Smith in his recent chat with the popular Cricket Australia website.

“You look at the other better players in the world; Virat Kohli is on a pretty high pedestal but then you look at Joe Root and Kane Williamson, as far as I’m concerned those guys are nowhere near as good as Steven Smith and I’ve said that for a long time,” Ponting told cricket.com.au.

Ponting on Mitch Marsh

Ponting also said that Mitch Marsh’s inclusion has been justified. “There has been a lot of ‘noise’ about Mitchell Marsh and his selection back in the team again.Have the selectors made the wrong or the right call? I think it’s been proven again they’ve made the right call… There wouldn’t be a person in Australia that’s not happy seeing Mitchell Marsh doing what he’s doing at the moment,” he said.

“Some of the striking and how clean and pure the striking has been today, this could be the start of a really long and successful international career now. It seems like he’s unlocked something within himself and he can go and play with a bit of freedom and he now knows he’s got the game to succeed at Test level, which is really important,” he said.