Comparing Joe Root and Steve Smith's stats after 99 Tests

Australian ace batter Steve Smith will be the latest candidate to hit the 100-Test mark when he takes the field during the third 2023 Ashes Test at Headingley, Leeds.

The former Aussie skipper recently became the second-fastest batter to cross the 9000-run threshold in the format and has certainly stamped himself as a modern-day great, if not of all-time.

Smith's credentials are often compared with his peers who have gone through a journey similar to his. Being one of the most talented premier middle-order batters in the game, the likes of Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root have been involved in a neck-to-neck race over the years.

Smith becomes the third name out of the so-called 'Fab Four', to hit the three-figure mark in Tests in terms of appearances. Root, a mainstay for England, was the first to reach the landmark figure among his peers back in 2021 itself during the team's tour of India.

While Kohli played his 100th Test during the home series against Sri Lanka in 2022, Williamson is inching towards the mark and is only six appearances away.

With Joe Root and Steve Smith currently embroiled in the ongoing Ashes as well as trading places on a weekly basis in the ICC rankings for Test batters, let us take a look at how their numbers read after 99 appearances.

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#1 Runs

Ahead of his highly-anticipated 100th Test, Steve Smith's run column rests at an impressive tally of 9113 runs. The breakdown of it in terms of runs scored at home and away is also quite even, with 4387 runs coming from 48 Tests at home. The remainder of the 4726 runs have come away from home across 51 appearances over the course of his career.

The bulk of Smith's runs have come at his trademark No. 4 position, with 5565 runs at an average of 64.71. He has also played at the No. 3 and No. 5 positions for a brief while. Surprisingly, he also has three appearances at No. 7 and below in the batting order.

2015 was Smith's most prolific year as he scored 1474 runs at an average of 73.70. He has breached the 1000-run mark for a year, a total of four times, with all of them coming consecutively from 2014 to 2017.

Joe Root, on the other hand, had scored 8249 runs after 99 Tests. The former England skipper, however, has been on a whole other level since. He marked his 100th Test appearance with a double century and has gone on to score 2676 runs in 32 Tests and is on the brink of touching the 12,00 run-mark in the format.

2021 proved to be Root's most prolific year after having scored 1708 runs in 15 matches. Much like his Australian counterpart, he has also scored over 1000 runs a year, across four different occasions.

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#2 Average

Steve Smith holds an average of 59.56 at the 99 Test mark, having played 175 innings. At the same part of his career, Root held an average of 49.40 after 179 Test innings.

Root has maintained his Test average following his brilliant run-scoring spree across the second cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC). The England batter's current career average reads 50.43 after 132 appearances.

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#3 Fifties and Hundreds

Both Smith and Root are renowned for their run-scoring ability across all terrains. Much like their consistency, their temperament for milestones knows no bounds and the ace batters are not far off when it comes to landmark figures.

Following 99 Test appearances, former Australian skipper Smith has amassed 32 hundreds and 37 fifties, which shows a brilliant conversion rate. He is 11th on the list of batters with the most Test hundreds and will move level with England legend Sir Alastair Cook with one more three-figure knock in the future.

Joe Root, on the other hand, has 30 hundreds and 58 half-centuries. He could overtake former Aussie opener Matthew Hayden with his next ton and try to keep up with Smith, who is only marginally ahead.

Who among Steve Smith and Joe Root will end their career as the better batter? Let us know what you think.