The Ashes 2023: Joe Root & Steve Smith set for summer showdown

Steve Smith has the most Test centuries of active batters, while Joe Root has the most runs

Two of the best Test batters of their generation are about to face each other again in the Ashes.

England have Joe Root, with the most Test runs among active batters, on a sparkling run of form.

Australia have Steve Smith, the supreme Test century-maker of the era, looking back to his best.

Who will go down as the greater Test batter? And if you have to pick one to bat at number four, who are you going for?

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Ashes records

If you are picking a player for an Ashes series, Smith is the clear winner.

Only Australia legend Don Bradman (19) and England great Jack Hobbs (12) have more Ashes centuries than Smith's 11.

He is fifth on the all-time Ashes runs list with 3,044 - 592 behind Hobbs in second - so will likely end his career as the most prolific Ashes run-scorer since Bradman (5,028). He could get there by the end of this series.

Root averages 38.76 against Australia, compared to 53.82 against all other teams.

All three of his Ashes centuries have come at home, and he has not made one since 2015.

Smith's Ashes average in England (65.08) is better than in Australia (54.50) and his performance in 2019 - 774 runs at an average of 110.57 despite missing a Test because of concussion - was one of the greatest ever series by a batter.

Root said Smith's 2019 Ashes showing was a "phenomenal achievement", especially given the scrutiny he was under returning from a year-long ban for his part in Australia's 2018 ball-tampering scandal.

"It showed how good a player he is, how strong a character he is and clearly how much this contest means to him," Root told BBC Sport.

Style and substance

Perhaps it comes down to which statistics you value most.

Root, 32, is on course to end his career with significantly more Test runs and likely more centuries than Smith, 34, whose totals are impacted by his ban.

With 11,004 runs already, Root even has a chance of surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's world record of 15,921 - provided he remains healthy, hungry and prolific.

Some will point to England playing more Tests than other teams, but Root's ability to remain fit and focused despite the demands of a busy schedule deserves credit.

As Smith told BBC Sport, Root has "set the standard for English cricket in particular but also cricket all around the world" over the past decade.

Smith has the sixth-best Test average of all time (60.04), has converted 45.6% of his fifties into hundreds and scored a century in 18.1% of his innings.

Root averages 50.24, has a conversion rate of 33.3% and has hit a century in 12.2% of his innings.

We are only talking Tests here - but open it out to all formats and Root has superior records to Smith in one-day and T20 international cricket.

It is not all about stats, though. Who do you want to watch bat?

Root is more aesthetically pleasing, his trademark poise and elegance now supplemented by flourishes such as the ramp shot - having been given more license to excite under Ben Stokes, his successor as England captain.

Smith's fidgety rituals and exaggerated leaves may draw groans from some viewers, but he is a batter of rare touch and timing too, seemingly incapable of being dismissed at his best.

A summer showdown awaits?

Joe Root has only outscored Steve Smith in one Ashes they have both played in - the 2021-22 series in Australia

Smith and Root have faced each other in six previous Ashes series, but only in 2015 were they both their team's top runscorers.

Root was named player of the series as England won 3-2, but it did not feel like his rivalry with Smith was the most pivotal factor in the outcome.

There are plenty of reasons to hope this summer will provide a series-defining showdown between the pair.

Root will be confident he can improve his Ashes record after a stellar run.

Since the start of 2021, Root has hit 3,181 runs and 12 centuries - no other Test batter has passed 2,000 runs or made more than seven tons in that time.

He is no longer burdened by the captaincy and has thrived under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.

After a relatively modest spell, Smith looked ominous in the World Test Championship final win over India as he compiled his 31st Test century - the most of any active batter.

This also could be Smith's last chance to win an Ashes series in England after two defeats and one draw.

So, who are you picking?

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