Top 10 Test match run-scorers of the decade

#4 Steve Smith (Australia)- 7,164 runs

Smith has been in sensational form since his return from a one-year ban

Very much like Warner, questions have been asked about Smith’s on-field behaviour. Last year’s controversy in South Africa saw him stripped of the Australia captaincy, as well as being banned from cricket for a year. Many believed that he had been at least partly responsible for a number of misdemeanours committed by the Australian Test sides in the years leading up to that.

However, he marked his return this year with an extraordinary level of success, particularly in the Ashes in England. He scored a quite remarkable 774 runs in just four Test matches, having missed the third Test at Headingley due to concussion. He is certainly not one for the purists though. His technique is not attractive, neither is something young players would look to reproduce, but he has had incredible success from it. Between 2010 and 2019, he has averaged just over 62, more than any other player in Test cricket this decade.