One of the more remarkable modern-day stats is over after star Australian batsman Steve Smith was dismissed for 16 against New Zealand on Saturday.
Smith entered the Australian summer having never gone three consecutive Tests without scoring a half-century during his entire career.
No other batsman in the game’s history who has averaged above 50 and has played 20 or more Tests has achieved such a feat.
Even the great Sir Donald Bradman went three straight Tests without a half-century in the 1934 Ashes – the only time in his career.
He responded by cracking 304 and 244 in his next two innings.
Smith was starved of opportunities in the 2-0 series win over Pakistan, scoring four and 36 in his only two digs.
It meant the pressure was on Smith to get back to his run-scoring ways in the day-night Test against NZ at Optus Stadium.
Smith scored a painstaking 43 off 164 balls in the first innings before falling to a leg trap trying to pull Neil Wagner.
And the 71-Test veteran was out for just 16 in the second dig when he pulled Wagner to square leg.
The run of three straight Tests without a half-century is a far cry from his Ashes heroics, when he plundered 774 runs at an average of 110.6.
Smith is still viewed as the best batsman in the world despite his recent lean run, but all eyes will be on him during the Boxing Day Test to see if he can end his drought of half-centuries.
Steve Smith’s scores this summer
4 v Pakistan in the first Test in Brisbane
36 v Pakistan in the second Test in Adelaide
43 & 16 v NZ in the first Test in Perth
McBumbler
Guest
Steve has looked rather disinterested this summer so far. The hunger and passion are sitting with Marnus at the moment; all the shots smith has got out to have been T20 "quality" and not his usual calibre he will bounce back but maybe not this summer; the boxing day runway pitch might be a chance for all to socre big. hopfully burns get his tonne; wade may be running out of chances too fingers crossed neser replaces hoff
Big Daddy
Guest
Still more than Warner had in 5 tests against England. And he's score nearly 900 runs this year in 7 tests. Hardly reason enough to drop him as some people are suggesting.
Simoc
Guest
You don' know much Ben. Cricket is professional now. All people can do is quote statistics. You can't bat like Bradman did now, in fact for the last 30 years. Bradman was ahead of his time and was great. The stuff about being better than todays guys is pure nonsense. The bowlers were so weak then.
Doesn't mean you have to fall for the bait and give those hundreds of articles clicks/comments, it's pointless. It's just sensationalist journalism crap
The Late News
Roar Rookie
But still they try!
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Fully agree. Drop him!
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
No but a couple of journos with a less than 50% standard grey matter (not this article) spun it to make out this showed he more or less was.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Cream rises to the top. Isn't it good ro see contributions by most of the batsmen lately?
Tanmoy Kar
Roar Rookie
99 runs in 3 Test matches ( 4 innings ) is quite poor showing by a class batsman like Steven Smith, hope he will be able to make up this in the next two Test matches.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
It seems obvious but averages are exactly that. Purple patches counteracted by lean patches. Sometimes though purple patches mask weakspots. Smith's is his short ball technique. Ironically Warners was shown up again too.
No one with half a brain is actually suggesting Smith is as good as Bradman was.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
“No other batsman in the game’s history who has averaged above 50 and has played 20 or more Tests has achieved such a feat.” No, HAD is the correct word, he has no longer achieved it! Great accomplishment though it was, I’m kind of glad it’s over, because a couple of other click bait articles were promoting this almost as though it showed Smith was as good as or greater than Bradman. Talk about misleading statistics! Only twice in Bradman’s career did he go two Tests in a row without a 50. Smith’s done it SEVEN times. Bradman’s scores after that 3-Test fifties drought in 1934: 304, 244 and 77. Bradman made 50 42 times in 80 bats. Bradman’s worst series average: 57, 2nd worst 68. Smith averaged under 50 in a series 11 times! 5 times under 40, 3 under 30.