5 reasons why Steve Smith is the best Test batsman amongst the 'Fab Four'

It was in 2014 when the legendary Martin Crowe had coined the term 'Fab Four' highlighting the ascendancy of four young talented batsmen who he thought had the potential to become world beaters of their generation, and boy, have they delivered!

This elite group of Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith were earmarked for greatness and though they've challenged each other to the greatest extent, it's been the Australian Captain Smith who has been batting on a different level altogether, especially in the longest format of the game, which has made him the best of his era.

We look at 5 reasons why he's the best batsman of his generation.

#5 A bizarre start to the career

Ever since Shane Warne decided to call it quits after the England series in 2007, Australia had been on the lookout for an able replacement. The search seemed to have finally ended when a certain Steven Smith rose through the ranks quickly and made a name for himself in the domestic circuit.

With a boyish charm and a run-up to the crease which resembled that of Warne, the comparisons were inevitable. Warne took him under his wings and was quite impressed with the young lad from New South Wales.

"I think he's got an X-factor about him. I think he could become a pretty special player" was what Warne wrote in a newspaper in 2010. Smith made his debut against Pakistan that year, primarily as a leg-spinner who could bat a bit as well when the situation demanded. Prior to the series, Mohammad Yousuf was asked as to how they'd negate the leg spin threat of Steve Smith.

"Steve Smith? Is he an Australian?" came the reply

After a mediocre performance in his debut series, he was brandished by legends and experts alike for his inability to take wickets in less helpful conditions, and his ungainly technique while batting. His average performances continued in the Ashes series of 2010, and he was subsequently dropped from the squad. Pundits were of the opinion that his batting seemed to be more adept at the Test level than his friendly dibbly-dobblies.

Greg Chappel remarkably announced,"Steve Smith is the best batting talent we've got in Australia" and this proved to be the rebirth of Smudge, as he is fondly called amongst his peers, the quintessential batsman. While his contemporaries took to the longest format like a fish to water, Smith had to work his way up to the ladder in a battle-hardened manner which makes his achievements all the more remarkable.

#4 Overcame a poor technique

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you see Kane Williamson bat? His copybook technique along with a watertight defence to make bowlers toil for hours. Virat's stroke play was always the hallmark of his batting, though he has struggled against the swinging deliveries outside the off stump, with his tendency to poke at those deliveries, thus leading to his downfall.

Joe Root has had that flair in his batting which made purists crave for more. Smith, on the other hand, was always a walking wicket for the opposition due to his exaggerated shuffle across the stumps which made him vulnerable to deliveries in the channel as well as made him a potent LBW candidate.

However, after Greg's words of encouragement, he started working on his technique. He cut out some of the tics and twitches which were making him unbalanced at the crease. Now, he stands outside the leg stump rather than on the middle stump and then shuffles across, and resultantly, his backdoor covers the off stump by the time he completes his shuffle. This has also helped him in leaving deliveries at around fifth stump as he is more aware as to where his off stump is.

No matter how much he moves about in the crease in order to work the ball into the gaps on the leg side, at the precise instant that the ball strikes the bat, his head is in line with it. While Root's head still falls across while playing on the leg side, thus making him prone to pacy inswinging deliveries, Smith has managed to make sure that his head remains still at the time of making contact. That he has scored more than 6000 test runs at an alarming pace with a robust technique is a testimony to his undying will to succeed.

#3 Scores against every opposition

The Fab Four of this generation have been in rollicking form over the last 4-5 years as far as the longest form of the game is concerned, with each one enjoying a purple patch at various stages of their careers. All four have an average of over 50, with an almost identical number of matches played. However, the most consistent among the lot has been Steve Smith, as is testified by his average of 63.41, which is the best among all. After a minimum number of 20 Tests, Steve has the highest average ever; only after Don Bradman's 99.94.

Another striking feature of his batting has been the ability to score runs, opponent notwithstanding. He's among the only few to have an average of more than 40 against every nation played. As compared to the other three, Kohli has historically struggled against England as his average of 13 suggests. Also, his critics will always point that, even though he got a staggering six double centuries within two years from 2015-17, three of them came against a pedestrian bowling attack of Sri Lanka and one against Bangladesh.

Root has quite surprisingly struggled against New Zealand even though the conditions there are similar to those in England. Williamson quite often has faced critics' wrath as the one making 'cheap runs', with his averages of 36,37, and 38 against Pakistan, England, and India respectively, thus doing no good to counter that school of thought.

Smith does exceedingly well against every opposition, which has contributed to his batting rating shooting up to 945, the second best in test cricket ever. 2017 became the fourth consecutive year in which Smith scored more than 1000 Test runs which shows his unparalleled consistency. Judging by his current form, he looks set to match Hayden's record of scoring more than 1000 runs for five years at a stretch. One would require a brave heart to bet against him beating Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record of six.

Smith's centuries against South Africa, India, and England have been a treat to watch and once he gets his eye in, it becomes too difficult to see his back, doesn't matter if you're a Dale Steyn or Ravi Ashwin or Jimmy Anderson.

#2 Batting record as a captain

After Michael Clarke's recurring injuries forced him to hang up his boots, there was a nervousness in the Australian camp as to who'd be their next leader. Eyebrows were raised at the selector's choice to elevate Smith to the hot seat. The choice seemed more so appalling given that he had just begun to find his feet in the international arena, and an important series against India was on the horizon.

After MS Dhoni retired midway through the series, India had a new captain in Virat Kohli. He won plaudits both home and down under for his brave captaincy and his will to win at all costs. On the other hand, Smith quietly went at his job registering a series win in his first assignment.

While Kohli scored three centuries in his first three innings as captain, Steve scored three in his first five. Virat finished the series with 682 runs at an average of 86.50 which paled in comparison with Smith's 769 at an average of 128. People were still apprehensive about his appointment as captain as they felt it would be too much on such young shoulders, and they felt that he would suffer a dip in form, a la Sachin Tendulkar or Brian Lara. However, Smith had those leadership qualities in him since a young age.

Having gone on to score 2971 runs as the Test captain at a staggering average of more than 72 inclusive of thirteen centuries and three double centuries, Smith has been on the top of ICC batting rankings continuously for more than two years now.

Since Joe Root and Kane Williamson have quite recently gotten a taste of captaincy among the four, his battle to gain supremacy has been against Kohli. Although Virat has a better captaincy record than Smudge with 21 wins in 35 matches suffering 8 losses, Smith has enjoyed success in 17 out of the 32 tests played.

It can be argued that out of the 12 series India have played under Virat, 6 of them have been against the likes of Sri Lanka, Windies and Bangladesh, while out of the 13 played by Australia under Smith, only 3 have come against the relative minnows. The borderline being that Virat still manages to have a thin edge over Smith if captaincy record is the parameter, however, Steve still has the upper hand if batting records are compared.

Australian Cricket Team Ashes Portrait Session

#1 Has runs everywhere across the world.

A genuine yardstick which is used to measure a batsman's quality is his ability to score runs both at home and overseas. How quickly one adapts to alien conditions and an unfavourable atmosphere determines a batsman's calibre.

Out of the Fab Four, Williamson has the poorest record while batting away from home as his averages of 21, 30, and 35 in South Africa, England, and India exemplifies. For all of Root's flair and languid body language, he remains a poor traveller as well, averaging a meagre 17 in New Zealand, and a paltry 38 in Australia.

One highlight of his test career has been his inability to convert his fifties into daddy hundreds which Virat and Smith have done with aplomb. He has 37 half centuries, the most among all, but has managed to touch triple figures just 13 times, with his conversion rate being the poorest.

In terms of pure run making only, Virat has consistently been around Smith's mark, thanks to his ability to grind out tough innings, and his immense fitness which helps him to stay at the crease for long periods of time. However, a minor blemish in an otherwise wonderful record is his average of 13 in England where he was sucked into the corridor trap by the English bowlers. It remains to be seen whether he can correct that record when India tour England later in the year for a four-match test series.

Despite having a strong technique against the spinners, he has struggled in Sri Lanka as well, with his average dropping to 40 in the island nation, again quite low by his standards.

Try comparing these figures with that of Smith's, and you get a clear picture. Averages of 131, 61, 60, and141 in New Zealand, South Africa, India, and West Indies respectively, show his unflinching skill. During the series against India in 2017, he displayed an unparalleled sense of grit, patience, and understanding of conditions to score tough runs and finish the series as the highest run-getter.

His 178 on a treacherous pitch at Ranchi against the world's two best Test bowlers deserves a special mention. England witnessed one such gem of a knock when he plundered a sparkling 215 at Lords against arguably the best bowling attack during that time. His ton at Centurion against South Africa showed the world that he could score with his team's back to the walls with a rearguard effort.

Simply put in a nutshell, Steve Smith is not only competing against his rivals at this point in his career, but he has set his eyes on dismantling the record books and rewrite them. Who knows, he might just score another truckload of runs and we might start discussing his name in the league of Len Hutton, Herbert Stutcliffe, Kenny Barrington, and finally the Don himself.