Steve Smith breaks Virat Kohli's, Rahul Dravid's catching record; scripts history

Steve Smith catching a ball Source: @CodeSports/X]

Steve Smith is a gem of a slip fielder. With his acrobatic and athletic skills on display, combined with sharp reflexes to pouch both low and high chances, Smith has etched his name into the record books with some of the legends of the game.

Steve Smith has now gone past India legend Rahul Dravid to become the second-highest catch-taker as a fielder in Test cricket history. Smith currently has 212 catches, while Dravid finished with 210. Only Joe Root stands ahead of Smith on the all-time list with 214 catches to his name.

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Steve Smith second in all-time Test catches as a fielder list

Smith reached the milestone during the fourth Ashes Test between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground from 232 innings as he sits alongside legends like Mahela Jayawardene and Jacques Kallis.

While these legends decorate the Test format, it is also important to note that Steve Smith surpassed Virat Kohli with his 343rd catch across formats as a fielder while trailing Ricky Ponting, Ross Taylor and Jayawardene.

Most Catches as a Fielder Across Formats

• 440 - Mahela Jayawardene (Asia/Sri Lanka)
• 364 - Ricky Ponting (Australia/ICC)
• 354 - Ross Taylor (New Zealand)
• 344 - Steve Smith (Australia)*
• 342 - Virat Kohli (India)

Smith achieved this feat during England’s chase when opener Zak Crawley was bamboozled by Mitchell Starc by an angled delivery on the second ball of the fifth over. Crawley pushed at the ball, edged it, and Smith, stationed at second slip, palmed it comfortably to claim his 211th Test catch.

For the next bout, with Michael Neser bowling his second over, Ben Stokes was at the crease when a 126 kph delivery swinging away outside off tempted him into a drive. The outside edge flew safely into the hands of Smith, again at second slip, giving him his 212th catch in the format.

England in tatters after Australia collapse on Day 1 of 4th Test

While Steve Smith celebrated another display of his athleticism in the field, England were left in disarray on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test. After Australia were bowled out for 152 between the two sessions, England struggled badly in the final session while attempting to overhaul the lead.

The visitors slumped to 77 for seven inside 21 overs, leaving them reeling and still trailing by more than 50 runs in the fourth Test.

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