06/09/2019
STEVE SMITH 👑
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After yet another mammoth score overnight, Steve Smith continues to further his case as the greatest test batsman of all time ⌛️
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So much analysis has been based solely on Smith’s unorthodox technique, and while it heavily focuses on the key 🔑 fundamentals of batting - such as body weight 👣 transitions, head 👱♂️ positioning and bat flow - it is still imperfect, and so not the overarching reason for his remarkable 🤯 success, I believe.
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Lots of cricketers worldwide 🌏 tend to be overly concerned with technique rather than mindset 🧠 - attributing negative outcomes to a fault in their technical method - but as Steve Smith proves, and proved most recently overnight, prioritising your mindset over technique can lead to increased success ✅
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After being struck on the neck by 🏴 bowler Jofra Archer in the second test, it is objectively apparent that Smith has returned untroubled by the incident, as terrifying as it would’ve been. This is just one example of his elite 📈 mindset.
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In most cases, after being hit on the head and subsequently diagnosed with concussion, lots of players would instinctively put on a brave front while remaining mentally quite apprehensive 😓 The difference is not that Smith isn’t brave, the difference is that he truly, wholeheartedly believes that he is 😁
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Steve Smith undoubtedly possesses an elite mentality, maybe the best the game has ever seen, exhibited by his: - Successful exceedance of severe hardships - Ability to bat for extreme periods of time ⏰ (319 balls in his last innings) - Ability to change the tempo of his batting, proven by his knack for grinding out draws against tough opposition teams
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It is easy to take a performance like last night for granted as we seem to be treated to them so often recently, but with his second double hundred 💯💯 of the series, Smith registered a range of new records 📊 that can help us to appreciate 👏 the player he is, and learn 👨🎓 from his genius...
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Arriving at the crease with the score at 2/28 - with 🏴 heaping pressure on using the new ball - he stuck around until the score was 8/438. He was at the crease for 418 runs, the majority of his team’s final total.
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In his innings of 2️⃣1️⃣1️⃣ (319 balls, incl. 24 fours, 2 sixes), Smith became the🔝 run scorer in test match cricket for 2019, even though he played his first test in August, giving all other batsman an immense head start totalling 212 days.
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Finally, no Englishman has scored more Ashes centuries 💯 in England than Steve Smith himself, an 🇦🇺 cricketer.
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After each of this series’ centuries, I told myself that Smith is the greatest🏅test batsman of all time, but it wasn’t an opinion I could be sure of until he retired 👨🦳After last night’s knock, I believe I can safely regard him as the greatest 🏆
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