Who had a better Peak? Ponting or Steve Smith.

[Saket1209]

Both Steve and Ponting had an excellent peak in test cricket. Ponting averaged 72.25 from 2002-2006 in 57 test matches with 24 centuries and 21 half-centuries. Smith averaged somewhere around 76 from 2014-2017 in 44 tests with 21 centuries and 17 half-centuries. Smith had a better average but Ponting played more tests.

 

[Saket1209]

I am just going with smith because he had a terrific series in India in 2017 which Ponting never had even in Prime.

 

[Spark]

Smith. 2017 India and 2019 Ashes are unparalleled as achievements by Australian batsmen in my lifetime. Ponting was utterly magnificent at his peak, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't have those marquee series away performances to match.

 

[ankitj]

Steve ****ing Smith

Greatest batting peak of a non fictitious cricketer

 

[sledger]

Ponting gets points for a lifetime of looking like a schoolboy. Smith loses points for a lifetime of looking like someone has just slapped him. Oh and for ball-tampering.

 

[Shady Slim]

Steve ****ing Smith

Greatest batting peak of a non fictitious cricketer

 

[andruid]

View attachment 36305

Ifunny meme?

 

[Kenneth Viljoen]

Steven Smith cause unlike Ponting he wasn't really respected for his batting ability by the opposition before his peak , his detractors couldn't believe the transformation he underwent from legspinner to premier batsmen..The whole cricketing world was obsessed with his technique, the haters tried everything to discredit him ..Ugly batter , can't play against swing , home track bully , purple patch won't last forever , yet Smith just scored so heavily Test after test that left his critics clutching at straws ..Then Sandpapergate happened and that's really the only stick people can beat Smith with now ..

 

[number11]

I still think Ponting had an aura Smith doesn't. Opposition psychologically felt RP's presence more than they do SS.

 

[GIMH]

Smith in 2019 was ridiculous, genuinely felt like we could bowl grenades at him and he’d just pat them away.

Personally think Ponting had the ability to take a team out of a game like no other batsman I’ve ever seen live though. Hard to really put into words what i mean; I guess the best way i can put it is I felt like he put bowlers to the sword so much when on song that the guy at the other end suddenly grew a foot. Not sure I've ever felt quite like that about Smith. But as a run scoring machine in isolation its probably the ball tampering whingebag.

 

[Spark]

Smith in 2019 was ridiculous, genuinely felt like we could bowl grenades at him and he’d just pat them away.

Personally think Ponting had the ability to take a team out of a game like no other batsman I’ve ever seen live though. Hard to really put into words what i mean; I guess the best way i can put it is I felt like he put bowlers to the sword so much when on song that the guy at the other end suddenly grew a foot. Not sure I've ever felt quite like that about Smith. But as a run scoring machine in isolation its probably the ball tampering whingebag.

You saw him at Headingley in 09 right? My memory of that game is that he strode out to the middle on a surface where everyone had struggled to deal with the swing and seam and made it look like park cricket for about two hours.

 

[Prince EWS]

I think Smith's home record is actually rather unimpressive compared to his reputation when you take into account the pitches he played on through it. He was more rounded than Ponting in his ability to be a serious factor in India but I think Ponting had the better peak.

 

[GIMH]

You saw him at Headingley in 09 right? My memory of that game is that he strode out to the middle on a surface where everyone had struggled to deal with the swing and seam and made it look like park cricket for about two hours.

Yeah. Think he got 70-odd but it was easily the best batting I’ve ever seen live. Probably gets unfair weighting given it was only one innings after all, but it was ridiculous.