Steve Smith surpasses Steve Waugh to become Australia's third-highest Test run-scorer

Steve Smith etched his name further into Australian cricket history on October 9, 2026, surpassing Steve Waugh's career aggregate of 10,927 Test runs to become his country's third-highest run-scorer in the format. The milestone arrived during the opening day of the SA vs AUS first Test at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban, cementing Smith's standing among the all-time greats of Australian batting.

Smith contributed 25 runs in Australia's first innings before Marco Jansen dismissed him just after the lunch break on Day 1. Those 25 runs were sufficient to carry him past Waugh's long-standing mark, which had occupied third place on Australia's all-time Test run-scoring list for more than two decades.

The player Smith overtook, Steve Waugh, retired from Test cricket having scored 10,927 runs across 168 matches at an average of 51.06, a record that reflects the sustained excellence Smith has now moved beyond.

How did Smith's innings unfold on the day he reached the milestone?

Smith's knock of 25 was part of a challenging batting effort for Australia on Day 1 at Kingsmead. His most productive alliance of the innings came alongside Marnus Labuschagne, with the pair putting on 60 runs together before Labuschagne departed for 37. The stand offered Australia their steadiest period of resistance during the first innings.

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Jansen ended Smith's stay at the crease shortly after lunch, sending him back for 25. The dismissal came during a difficult session for the touring side, though Smith had already done enough to secure his place in the record books before leaving the field.

Where does Smith now sit in Australia's all-time Test run-scoring list?

With Waugh's mark behind him, Smith now occupies third position on Australia's all-time Test run-scoring chart. Allan Border sits second on the list with 11,174 runs, while Ricky Ponting remains at the summit with 13,378 runs, a total that stands as the benchmark for every Australian batter who follows.

Smith's Test career began when he represented Australia against Pakistan at Lord's in July 2010, and he has accumulated his runs across a span of more than 15 years in the format. The gap between his current tally and Border's second-placed total, as well as the distance to Ponting's record, sets out the targets that lie ahead for Smith as his career continues.

The milestone underlines how consistently Smith has performed at Test level over an extended period, placing him in a group of only three Australians to have crossed 10,927 runs in the format.