Stats: Steve Smith's record-breaking double ton puts Australia on top 

England v Australia: 2nd Investec Ashes Test - Day Two

Australia ended day three of the third Ashes Test in a commanding position as they lead England by 146 runs (594/4) when the stumps were drawn at the WACA in Perth.

After losing Shaun Marsh early in the day, skipper Steve Smith and Shaun's younger brother Mitchell Marsh pulled things back, batted through the day and put their team in a decent position for a 3-0 lead.

While Mitch, who is returning to international cricket after ten months, scored his maiden Test ton, Smith scored his 22nd Test ton and followed it up with his second double ton in the formats.

Smith remained unbeaten on 229 off 390 balls with 2 fours and one six and Mitch is still batting on a 234-ball 181 with 29 boundaries and looks set to convert his first century in Tests to a double ton.

Let us take a look at some of the interesting numbers from day three of the third Test.

1- Mitchell Marsh scored his maiden Test century in his 22nd Test match.

2- Steven Smith is the second captain after Virat Kohli to score a Test double-century in last 22 months.

2- Marsh family becomes the second set of family (father and sons) to register at least 10 Test hundreds. Amarnaths with 13 (Lala and Surinder 1 each and Mohinder 11) are the only set of family that is ahead of Marshs' 10 (Geoff 3, Shaun 5, Mitch 1).

4- This is the fourth consecutive time Steve Smith has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year. Only Matthew Hayden has done it more times in his career.

3- This is the third time the partnership for the fifth wicket crossed 200 twice in a Test match.

3- Steve Smith (108 innings) becomes the third fastest after Don Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar to score 22 Test centuries. He overtook Sachin Tendulkar's 114 innings to reach the landmark.

4- Steve Smith becomes the fourth batsman after Sir Don Bradman, Wally Hammond and Bob Simpson to score at least two Ashes double hundreds.

5- Steve Smith becomes the fifth Australian captain after Bob Simpson, Don Bradman, Billy Murdoch and Allan Border to score a double century in Ashes.

9- Steven Smith has bettered his career-best Test score for the ninth time. Virat Kohli holds the record with 14 times.

181*- This is Mitchell Marsh's highest score in Tests.

229*- Steve Smith's unbeaten 229 is the highest score by a captain at WACA. He went past Bob Simpson's 176 which he scored against India in 1977.

229*- This is Steve Smith's highest score in Tests.

Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️

Quick Links