Saluting Smith: Five classic captain's knocks

In the spirit of Steve Smith's superb 109 against India in Pune, we've looked back at five other great captain's knocks from Australia's recent past.

Michael Clarke 161no, Cape Town 2014

Cricket.com.au's Andrew Ramsey was on hand for this Michael Clarke epic at the spectacular setting of Newlands in Cape Town and summed it up succinctly at the time: "In light of the lean run of form that preceded it, the quality of the opposition it was achieved against, the importance of the match that will effectively decide which team is the world's best and the brutal pummelling he sustained in the process, there have certainly been few (Clarke hundreds) of higher value." 

With the world No.1 ranking on the line, an out-of-form Clarke was greeted in the middle by Morne Morkel, who proceeded to bombard him with a barrage of short-pitched bowling aimed squarely at his ribs and throat. Clarke batted, battled, and eventually rediscovered the sort of batting brilliance that had stamped his decade at the top. But not before – it later emerged – he'd sustained a fracture in his left shoulder, the damage done during the fearsome Morkel spell that repeatedly saw Clarke wear the ball on his battered body. The seven-hour classic took Australia to a first-innings total of 494, a position of dominance that was never relinquished as they claimed victory late on the fifth day to regain the title of world's best.

Ricky Ponting 196, Brisbane 2006

Retribution burned fiercely for Ricky Ponting and his Australian side following a shock defeat in the 2005 Ashes, and the first opportunity came some 14 months after that classic series when the two sides renewed their battle for the cherished little urn at the Gabba. In between, Australia had played 12 Tests for 11 wins and a draw, but the Ashes was the prize that truly mattered to a champion group that felt their pride needed restoring. On day one in Brisbane, Ponting led spectacularly from the front, stamping his mark on the series immediately with a blistering 136-ball century that sparked some of the more animated celebrations of his career. After a masterclass of driving off both front foot and back, a few classic Ponting pull shots and a statement that would ring loud throughout the summer, his near eight-hour innings ended on 196. He followed it up with 60no in the second innings and 142 in the next Test in Adelaide, just to ram home the point that the captain was tolerating nothing less than the most emphatic revenge imaginable.

Adam Gilchrist 104, Bangalore 2004

Image Id: 3B0F9CA23D5749ACB6FFF86936808444 Image Caption: Gilchrist made a serious impact in his first Test innings as captain in India // Getty

Australia were Ponting-less and Waugh-less for one of the biggest challenges in world cricket but they were far from rudderless thanks to their remarkable wicketkeeper-batsman, Adam Gilchrist. The most destructive No.7 in Test history added the captaincy to his responsibilities with a minimum of fuss owing to a finger injury to regular skipper Ponting, and duly made a hundred to remember at first opportunity. While Michael Clarke stole the plaudits for a wonderful 151 on debut, Gilchrist's 104 from just 109 balls was every bit as damaging. The left-hander was 35no at stumps on day one and set the tone early on day two, carting Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh for sixes from their first overs and then picking ones and twos among a spread field to great effect. The stand-in skipper also played a key role in guiding a nervous Clarke to three figures, with the young Blue flourishing thereafter as the pair's 167-run stand for the sixth wicket put Australia in command of a Test match they went on to win by 217 runs, paving the way for a 2-1 series success.  

Steve Waugh 110, Kolkata 2001

Image Id: A25AB610C9A6430BA618A27CB58525E4 Image Caption: Steve Waugh's century in Kolkata was a typical show of skill and resilience // Getty

It says something of the character of Steve Waugh that plenty of his most momentous knocks as captain came in a losing cause. There was his masterful 199 in Barbados in '99, when the Aussies were beaten almost single-handedly by the brilliance of Brian Lara. And there was this act of defiance, played out amidst the backdrop of a boisterous Eden Park crowd and either side of an historic Harbhajan Singh hat-trick. Australia, confident after a first Test victory in Mumbai had stretched their world record winning streak to 16, were 3-214 on day one when Waugh entered the action. By stumps, they had slipped to 8-291, with Waugh not out 29. For three hours across day two, the Australia captain refused to bow to the wiles of Harbhajan, expertly managing the tail, soaking up the heat and the pressure to post his first (and only) Test hundred in India and taking his team to a first-innings total of 445. It would have been enough, too, if not for the Laxman-Dravid show that followed, leaving Waugh's wondrous captain's knock one of the more unsung of his glittering career. 

Mark Taylor 169no, Adelaide 1998

This match will forever be remembered for Mark Waugh's hit-wicket controversy during a match-saving hundred on day five (watch his recollections below), but none of that would have been possible if not for the earlier heroics of Mark Taylor. With Australia leading the series against the Proteas 1-0 heading into the third Test and the rivalry as bitter as it has been at any time in the post-Apartheid era, South Africa sensed a series-levelling victory when they posted 517 in the first innings in Adelaide. And the only thing standing between Australia and complete first-innings disaster was the Aussie captain, who withstood everything the Proteas could muster for 524 minutes in compiling 169 not out – more than half of the hosts' 350. Mark Waugh was next-best scorer with 63 as Taylor became just the ninth Australian to carry his bat in a Test match, batting with the tail to rule out any chance of a follow-on and keep his side in the contest. Just six months on from a drought that had threatened to end his tenure, Taylor produced one of his finest hands, keeping Australia afloat in a match they ultimately hung on to draw, claiming the series in the process.

Test Squads

India (for first two Tests): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 17-19, Tour match v India A, Mumbai

Feb 23-27, First Test: Australia won by 333 runs, Pune

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala