Steve Smith scripts history, breaks Root's Test record in South Africa Test

On Sunday, Steve Smith etched his name into Test cricket history by overtaking Joe Root as the most successful fielder in the format during the first Test between South Africa and Australia at Kingsmead in Durban. This milestone was reached on Day 3 when Smith caught David Bedingham off Pat Cummins' bowling. Bedingham edged a full pitch towards first slip and Smith dived left to secure the catch, just one run short of his half-century.

This feat pushed Smith's tally to 221 catches in Tests, surpassing Root's previous record of 220 catches. Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, and Jacques Kallis follow in the top five with 210, 205, and 200 catches respectively. Ricky Ponting rounds out the top six with 196 catches. Smith's fielding performance came after a subdued batting display in Australia's first innings, where he scored 25 off 53 balls, including two sixes.

After Australia lost early wickets, Smith's 60 runs with Marnus Labuschagne stabilized the innings. However, Marco Jansen dismissed Smith shortly after lunch on Day 1, sending him back to square the stumps to gully, where Wiaan Mulder took the low catch. Despite Smith's dismissal, Australia recovered to post 390, with Matt Renshaw contributing 190. At the time of this report, South Africa were 162/5 in their innings.