Steve Smith Admits Pressure Of 10,000 Runs Milestone Affected His Sleep Before Sydney Test
The Australian star batter Steve Smith is just a run away from the mark of 10,000 runs in Test Cricket. In the last Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), he was about to complete the milestone but got dismissed by Prasidh Krishna in both innings, leaving the achievement incomplete.
Smith needed just 38 more runs in both innings to become the fourth Australian to reach this milestone, joining the list of Ricky Ponting, Allan Border, and Steve Waugh. He scored 33 and 4 in two innings at the SCG, falling short of a run in achieving this milestone.
The 35-year-old revealed the pressure of reaching the 10,000 runs landmark felt like a heavy milestone on him during the Sydney Test against India. Smith also said that this even affected his sleep at night.
"I don't read too much into stats and stuff, but 10,000 is a bit of a different beast. It probably was (on my mind), to be honest. Normally I sort of don't buy into any of that stuff, but pre-game, I was doing lots of media because I was approaching that mark."
"I knew I needed 38, and all I could actually picture trying to sleep at night was the back of Josh Hazelwood's shirt because he's number 38 (laughs). It's strange like that, isn't it?
Smith also said that it didn't matter as they were able to win the game in the end.
"It was probably playing one mind more than any other game that I've played, to be honest. But, it is what it is; fortunately, we were able to win that game in the end, so it didn't really matter."
Smith now has another chance of completing his 10,000 runs mark in Test during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, which will start on January 29. He said,
"It's pretty special. I'd love to tick it off on the first day in Galle. It would have been great to have been able to do it in Sydney in front of all my friends and family because you're joining a pretty elite group there, I suppose, but it wasn't to be."
Further, he also revealed that as a kid he had never dreamt of that, but playing for Australia and having a career and reaching this mark has been a dream come true.
"As a kid, I never would have dreamt of that. I dreamt of playing cricket for Australia and having a career playing for Australia, but to have been able to get this mark, it's a dream come true in a way."