Steve Smith vs Ricky Ponting: ODI Stats Comparison

Probuddha Bhattacharjee

Steve Smith and Ricky Ponting [Source: @DelhiCapitals, @shreeswami123/x.com]Steve Smith and Ricky Ponting [Source: @DelhiCapitals, @shreeswami123/x.com]

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Steve Smith has been one of the biggest names in Australian cricket for the past 15 years. He has been a hero for them in many fabled victories. The Aussie maverick decided to retire from the ODI format of the game after his team lost to India in the semi-final of the Champions Trophy 2025.

As Steve Smith hung up his boots, it reminds us of another Australian legend, Ricky Ponting. The former Australian skipper was one of the best batters in an era when Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara ruled the roster. Both Smith And Ponting have been brilliant for Australia during their respective eras. In this article, we will try and compare the ODI stats of the two Australian legends.

Steve Smith vs Ricky Ponting: Overall ODI Stats

Categories
Steve Smith
Ricky Ponting
Matches170375
Innings154365
Runs5,80013,704
Average43.2842.03
Strike Rate86.9680.39
50s/100s35/1282/30

Conclusion: If we see the career of the two legends after their ODI careers, then we can see hat Steve Smith has played about 200 games less than Ricky Ponting. This points to the fact the Ponting has had more impact as a batter than Smith in ODIs. Even though Smith has a greater average than Ponting, the impact of the former star as per the era seems to be more.

Steve Smith vs Ricky Ponting: Home ODI Stats

Categories
Steve Smith
Ricky Ponting
Matches64 153
Innings60150
Runs2,7825,406
Average56.7739.17
Strike Rate93.2979.35
50s/100s13/932/13

Inference: In home ODIs, Steve Smith has been way ahead of Ricky Ponting when looked at the impact and consistency of the players. Even in case of innings taken to score fifty plus scores, Smith is ahead of Ponting. So, we can say that as fer as home ODIs are concerned, Smith beats Ponting.

Steve Smith vs Ricky Ponting: Away ODI Stats

Categories
Steve Smith
Ricky Ponting
Matches70132
Innings61129
Runs1,9445,090
Average32.9445.04
Strike Rate79.9082.25
50s/100s13/232/10

Inference: In case of away ODIs, the stats of Ponting is ahead of Steve Smith. He has scored runs more consistently and also has been more impactful. So, it shows that away from his home conditions, Ponting has been very effective for his team.

Steve Smith vs Ricky Ponting: In ICC World Cups and Champions Trophies

Categories
Steve Smith
Ricky Ponting
Matches4064
Innings3660
Runs1,3192,336
Average43.9644.07
Strike Rate85.8779.05
50s/100s12/110/6

Inference: When it comes to performance in the ICC events, Ponting has been ahead of Steve Smith. Besides, he has been more impactful as a batter for the team in the tournaments. Everyone remembers the contribution he made in 2003, 2007 and 2011 World Cups. On the other hand, the big match impact of Smith has been less than Ponting in case of these tournaments.

Conclusion

Steve Smith has been a legend of Australian cricket and is one of the greats to have ever graced the game. But Ricky Ponting has been a legend and even being able to be compared with him is a huge thing. Besides cross-era comparison requires more indepth data diving and analysis, which may be beyond the scope of this article.