Joe Root vs Steve Smith – Who Will Own The Ashes 2025? | Australia vs England Test
The Ashes 2025 is all set to begin on November 21, 2025, in Perth and again, fans are going to see the clash between two of the greatest batsmen of the modern era - Joe Root and Steve Smith. Among many rivalries, Root vs Smith is one of the highly rated clashes in Test cricket. Both players have been playing exceptional cricket for a decade for their nation.
Ahead of the first Ashes Test between Australia Men’s Cricket Team vs England Men’s Cricket Team, England captain Ben Stokes says Steve Smith and Joe Root as “the greatest batters of this generation”. Both batters have scored around 24,020 test runs and 75 centuries.
However, some of the Indian fans get angry over this remark by Ben Stokes, as he didn’t mention Virat Kohli, who has 82 centuries in International cricket and 30 only in Test cricket. But Joe Root has 39 test centuries, whereas Steve Smith has 36 test centuries.
Joe Root vs Steve Smith - Overall Test Career Stats:
| Players | Matches | Runs | Average | 50s | 100s | HS | Strike rate |
| Joe Root | 158 | 13,543 | 51.3 | 66 | 39 | 262 | 57.5 |
| Steve Smith | 119 | 10,477 | 56.0 | 43 | 36 | 239 | 53.7 |
Joe Root vs Steve Smith - Ashes Test Stats:
| Players | Matches | Runs | Average | 50s | 100s | HS | Strike rate |
| Joe Root | 29 | 2,016 | 38.76 | 16 | 3 | 180 | 54.2 |
| Steve Smith | 37 | 3,417 | 56.01 | 13 | 12 | 239 | 57.5 |
Steve Smith: Australia’s Modern King
Steve Smith has a tremendous record in the Ashes, he has played around 37 test matches and scored 3,417 runs at an impressive average of 56.01. Smith has 12 centuries and 19 fifties in the Ashes.
Ashes home matches: 18 Tests, 1,417 runs, avg 54.50, 5 centuries
Ashes away matches: 19 Tests, 2,000 runs, avg 57.14, 7 centuries
Highest Ashes score: 239 (WACA, Perth, 2017-18)
Steve Smith will be leading the Australian Team in the first test in the absence of Pat Cummins, who is currently recovering from injury. As a Captain, Smith has an average of 68.98 in 40 tests, which is the highest captaincy average ever.
Steve Smith’s Double Hundreds (4):
239 vs England, Perth (2017)
215 vs England, Lord’s (2015)
211 vs England, Manchester (2019)
200* vs West Indies, Perth (2022)
Joe Root: The Backbone of England’s Test team
Root has always been England’s best batter in test cricket, he has played around 29 Ashes test matches and scored 2,016 runs with a decent average of 38.76. Joe Root is known for his calm batting, and he has excellent records against spinners and pacers.
Ashes home matches: 15 Tests, 1,124 runs, avg 41.62, 3 centuries
Ashes away matches: 14 Tests, 892 runs, avg 35.68, 0 centuries
Highest Ashes score: 180 (Lord’s, 2013)
Joe Root’s Double Hundreds (5):
254 vs Pakistan, Manchester (2016)
228 vs Sri Lanka, Galle (2021)
226 vs New Zealand, Hamilton (2019)
2018 vs India, Chennai (2021)
200* vs Sri Lanka, Lord’s (2014)
Joe Root vs Steve Smith - WTC Stats:
{PC: X}
| Players | Matches | Runs | Average | 50s | 100s | HS |
| Joe Root | 34 | 3,140 | 52.337 | 12 | 10 | 211 |
| Steve Smith | 55 | 4,278 | 52.33 | 19 | 13 | 228 |
Joe Root vs Steve Smith: Recent Form Ahead of Ashes 2025
Joe Root: 1 & 31 in Enhland XI vs England Lions warm-up, century in his last Test vs India in August.
Steve Smith: 57 & 56* for NSW vs Victoria, 118 vs Queensland
You May Like This: Australia & England ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 Rankings | ICC WTC Points Table Ahead of AUS vs ENG 1st Test Ashes 2025
