title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The event was a critical and commercial success. On the day of the event, WWE claimed that the event had drawn $10.9 million in ticket revenue at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans with an attendance figure of 75,167. WWE also claimed it was the fifth consecutive year that WrestleMania broke the host venue's highest-grossing entertainment event record. Within a week of the event, WWE management and New Orleans city officials declared WrestleMania XXX to be a big success, with SMG general manager Alan Freeman declaring that New Orleans "certainly would like to host the event again ... anything after 2018 is probably open at this point". WWE later claimed that WrestleMania XXX had a $142.2 million economic impact on New Orleans, generated $24.3 million in local taxes and that 79% of attendees were from outside of New Orleans. The figures were higher than those of the previous two WrestleManias.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The day after the event, WWE revealed that the initial number of WWE Network subscribers was 667,287, therefore that was the maximum number of people who could have watched the event on the WWE Network. Bandwidth optimizing company Qwilt reported that WrestleMania XXX led to WWE accounting for 6.5% of all online video traffic in North America on that day, ranking third below Netflix and YouTube but above Amazon, Hulu, and HBO. WrestleMania XXX generated 20 times more traffic for the WWE Network than what the Network would have gained on a regular day at the time. On April 15, WWE announced "nearly 400,000 domestic PPV buys" for the event, while the previous year's WrestleMania (before the existence of the WWE Network) had earned 1,039,000 buys. In June 2014, WWE reported 690,000 total buys from both domestic and international sources.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The Associated Press article on WrestleMania XXX focused on Hulk Hogan's hosting of the event, commenting that "the Hulkster showed he can host, 30 years later." Hogan was "overseeing the mayhem for 75,000-plus fans, and countless more watching on TV ... and what a scene it was", referring to Cesaro winning the Andre the Giant battle royal "by heaving the sizeable Big Show over the top rope". Brock Lesnar's win over the Undertaker was simply described as "the night's shocker".


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: "The Times-Picayune" reported on the event, with Daniel Bryan's win of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship win being profiled on the front page with the headline "YES, INDEED!". Gene Guillot of "The Times-Picayune" also reviewed the event; describing it as "spectacular" and that it "delivered three memorable moments, one for each X". Regarding the setup, Guillot wrote that "the set was magnificent, the pyro and lighting impeccable and the pageantry unparalleled". Guillot described the first moment which started the show as "classic" when "the three biggest stars in the history of the business were in the same ring"; Hulk Hogan "the biggest name", Stone Cold Steve Austin "the biggest star" and the Rock, "the most successful". Next, Guillot wrote that "the second indelible moment nearly stopped the show", describing the end of the Undertaker's Streak as "the biggest surprise ending in WrestleMania history—and maybe even wrestling history". Finally, the third moment which closed the show was "Bryan holding and hoisting in unison the two championships that represent the WWE World Heavyweight Championship while on his knees in the ring", which Guillot predicted "will go down among the greatest moments in WrestleMania history".


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: Nolan Howell of "Slam! Wrestling" commented that "WrestleMania XXX brings the beginning and end of eras". His star ratings out of 5 stars (*****) for each match are as follows; *** for the pre-show match, ****1/2 for Bryan-HHH, **1/2 for the Shield's match, **3/4 for the battle royal, **** for Cena-Wyatt, ** for Undertaker-Lesnar, 0.75 stars for the Divas' match and lastly ***3/4 for the main event. Overall, he gave the event 4.5 out of 5 stars.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: Dave Meltzer of the "Wrestling Observer Newsletter" summed up WrestleMania XXX as a "very newsworthy show to say the least". Daniel Bryan's first match was described as a long technical one, and although Meltzer did not consider it "a match of the year or probably even the week", it "was the caliber of a good PPV main event". Triple H's post-match attack on Bryan was said to be a "very basic" storyline "but it's also exactly what they should have done". Bryan's second match in the main event was described as "really great" with many twists and turns, while the match result was "again exactly what they should have done" and "the crowd reacted the way you would expect". Meltzer thought that "the people just weren't into" the Undertaker's match as "nobody bought that Lesnar could win". Meanwhile, he felt that the Undertaker's departure was "certainly teased like a retirement". For the battle royal, Meltzer noted the lack of (surprise) entrants such as Rob Van Dam, Alexander Rusev, Christian, or Wade Barrett. In other notes, Meltzer described the strong fan support for Cesaro and also labeled Cena's win as a "genuine upset".


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: Justin LaBar of the "Pittsburgh Tribune-Review" summed up WrestleMania XXX as "shocking", but "one of the best". LaBar commented that he was "bored" with the Undertaker's match, just waiting for the final stretch as "Undertaker was going to win anyway". When Lesnar won, LaBar said that he had "never been part of a more real and emotionally driven moment". LaBar also commented that "Antonio Cesaro is here to stay" and described WWE as "the ultimate puppet master" because "Daniel Bryan "finally" wins the world title and it still isn't the top story from that event."


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: Benjamin Tucker of the "Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter" attended the event, and he scored the event 8.75 out of 10. He stated, that WrestleMania XXX "served as an event meant to respect the past while looking forward to the future" just like WrestleMania XX, with wrestlers like Bryan and Cesaro "spotlighted as the future of WWE". However, Tucker noted that "saying goodbye to the past proved harder than anyone could imagine" with the end of the Undertaker's Streak. He said this, and not WrestleMania 28, was the true "End of an Era" but Tucker did not "think it could have ended on a worse note" with over 15 minutes of "slow, subpar action". Tucker commented that the lack of hype before the event of the Streak being in jeopardy made it less of a defining moment when Lesnar broke it and more of "an indictment on whoever okay'ed the decision to let this happen". However, "Bryan was there to save the day" with two well-executed matches, making those in "attendance momentarily forget about Taker and root for the underdog who was finally getting his chance to shine". Tucker praised the booking of the match as perfect with its numerous false finishes.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: For the rest of the event, Tucker commented that Wyatt "lost nothing by losing, but Cena certainly lost a lot by winning. The man shows no weakness". Tucker also noted that the segment involving Hogan, Austin and the Rock was "meaningless, surreal and a lot of fun". Tucker concluded by saying that the event was "easily one of the best Manias of the last ten years" and that "the future certainly does look bright. If only we could have said our good-byes properly".


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: Reflecting in March 2016 just before WrestleMania 32, Luke Winkie of "Sports Illustrated" wrote that the WrestleMania XXX resulted in "pure, cathartic, we-have-this-moment forever joy".


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: In 2019, Troy L. Smith of "cleveland.com" released a list of the "50 greatest wrestling pay-per-views of all time" from every professional wrestling promotion in the world, with WrestleMania XXX ranked at number 20.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The Ultimate Warrior's first WrestleMania appearance since WrestleMania XII, headlining the unveiling of the 2014 Hall of Famers, would be his last. On April 8, the day after making his last public appearance on "Raw" to speak to the fans, Warrior suddenly collapsed and died at age 54 in Arizona. WWE paid tribute to Warrior on the April 14 episode of "Raw".


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: WWE held an online charity auction centered around WrestleMania XXX from March 31 to April 8, 2014. It raised over $400,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees's "The Brees Dream Foundation".


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The Undertaker was reportedly taken away from the Superdome in an ambulance, which WWE later confirmed was due to him suffering a "severe concussion"; he was discharged the next day. In May 2014, Shawn Michaels said that Vince McMahon made the final decision to end the Undertaker's streak about four hours before WrestleMania XXX. McMahon confirmed in December 2014 that it was indeed him who made the final decision and that the Undertaker was initially shocked at the decision. The decision was made due to McMahon believing that it would make a huge deal out of Brock Lesnar to set up the next WrestleMania event. McMahon also said that he did not foresee other viable candidates on the roster to fill Lesnar's role within the near future.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: During the post-WrestleMania "Raw" the next night, Triple H immediately used his authority as WWE COO to grant himself a title match against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan later that night. As Stephanie McMahon tried to persuade Randy Orton, Batista, Kane, and the Shield to help Triple H in his title match, Kane inadvertently revealed that Triple H was the mastermind behind the attack on the Shield on the previous month's "SmackDown". As a result, Bryan was attacked by Orton, Batista, and Kane just before his title match, which began anyway at the order of Triple H. However, the title match ended in a no contest with Bryan retaining the title when the Shield interfered, attacked and chased away Triple H, Orton, Batista, and Kane.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The following week, Triple H, Orton and Batista reformed Evolution to take on the Shield. Meanwhile, Stephanie McMahon enticed Kane to return to his masked self; Kane complied and was granted a future title match against Bryan, and proceeded to carry out attacks against Bryan and his wife, Brie Bella. At the Extreme Rules pay-per-view, the Shield defeated Evolution while Bryan defeated Kane in an Extreme Rules match to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The rivalry between John Cena and Bray Wyatt continued. At Extreme Rules, Wyatt defeated Cena in a steel cage match, after interference from the rest of the Wyatt Family and a demonic child.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: Also on the post-WrestleMania "Raw", Cesaro was endorsed by Hulk Hogan who presented him with the Andre the Giant battle royal trophy. Cesaro went on to reveal that he found a new manager in Paul Heyman, who would replace Zeb Colter. Cesaro was attacked by his former partner, Jack Swagger, who dismantled Cesaro's trophy. Swagger later cost Cesaro his match against Rob Van Dam in the semi-finals of the Intercontinental Championship #1 contender tournament, while Van Dam later lost in the tournament final due to Cesaro's interference. At Extreme Rules, Cesaro defeated Swagger and Van Dam in an elimination match.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: On the post-WrestleMania "Raw", as WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee celebrated her successful title defense at WrestleMania, NXT Women's Champion Paige debuted on the main roster and congratulated Lee on her win. Lee reacted by slapping Paige and challenging her to an impromptu match with the Divas Championship on the line, resulting in Paige pulling out a quick surprise victory to capture the title.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: Daniel Bryan announced on May 12 that due to injuries, he would require neck surgery, which he underwent on May 15. Bryan was stripped off the WWE World Heavyweight Championship by the Authority on June 9 as he was not healthy enough to defend his championship. Due to his injury, Bryan was largely removed from WWE television. John Cena's feud with Bray Wyatt culminated with a Last Man Standing at Payback on June 1, where Cena buried Wyatt under multiple equipment cases to win the match and end the feud. Cena won Bryan's vacated WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank on June 29. Brock Lesnar returned on July 21 and proceeded to decisively defeat Cena at SummerSlam to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: At Payback, the Shield ended their feud with Evolution by defeating them in a six-man No Holds Barred elimination match. On the next "Raw" on June 2, Batista quit WWE in the storyline as Triple H, in wanting to continue the feud with the Shield, refused to grant Batista a one-on-one match for the WWE World Heavyweight title. Later that night, Seth Rollins turned on his Shield teammates and allied himself with Triple H's Authority, eventually winning the Money in the Bank briefcase. The remaining members of the Shield, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, went their separate ways by the end of June. Cesaro ended his association with Paul Heyman in July on the night of Brock Lesnar's return. By that time, Cesaro had failed to win title matches for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Championship and the United States Championship.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: At Night of Champions in September 2014, the Usos' tag title reign ended at the hands of Gold and Stardust. Also at the event, AJ Lee became a three-time Divas Champion by capturing the title from Paige. Paige and AJ had exchanged the Divas Championship several times after WrestleMania, firstly on the June 30 episode of "Raw" and secondly at SummerSlam.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: In January 2015, Daniel Bryan returned to the ring having recovered from his injury. That month at the Royal Rumble event, Brock Lesnar retained his title in a triple threat match against John Cena and Seth Rollins; the New Age Outlaws' return to the ring saw them lose to the Ascension, while Roman Reigns won the Royal Rumble match. The live audience booed Reigns' win and Bryan's early elimination from the match. In February, Reigns defeated Bryan at Fastlane to receive a WrestleMania main event title match against Lesnar, while Cesaro and Tyson Kidd won the Tag Team Championship from the Usos.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: At WrestleMania 31 on March 29, 2015, the main event began as a singles match for champion Brock Lesnar against challenger Roman Reigns. More than ten minutes into the match, Seth Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank contract to make it a triple threat match; Rollins pinned Reigns shortly after to capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. In other matches, Daniel Bryan wrestled in the pay-per-view opener, a seven-man ladder match, and won the Intercontinental Championship from Bad News Barrett. Next, Rollins lost a singles match to Randy Orton. Then, Triple H defeated Sting in another singles match. A tag match followed where AJ Lee teamed with Paige to defeat Nikki Bella and Brie Bella. Next, Cena scored another WrestleMania victory, this time at the expense of Rusev, while Cena captured the United States Championship. In the penultimate match, the Undertaker (in his return to TV) defeated Bray Wyatt. On the pre-show, Cesaro and Tyson Kidd successfully defended the tag titles, while Big Show won the second Andre the Giant memorial battle royal.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: The Undertaker reignited his feud with Brock Lesnar at Battleground by causing a no contest for his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins and then proceeded to controversially defeat Lesnar in a rematch at SummerSlam. The feud ended at the 2015 Hell in a Cell event with Lesnar defeating Undertaker in a Hell in a Cell match.


title: WrestleMania XXX

text: A fictionalised version of WrestleMania XXX was depicted in the film "Fighting with My Family" (2019), a biopic of the wrestler Paige.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans, 112, Total, The LOX, Ma$e, Shyne and Carl Thomas.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: After his climb from a non-paid internship to becoming an A&R executive at Uptown, Sean "Puffy" Combs was fired in 1993 by Andre Harrell and founded his own label, Bad Boy Records, later that year. The label's first release was "Flava in Ya Ear" by Craig Mack, followed quickly by Mack's debut album, "Project Funk da World" in 1994. On the heels of these releases came "Juicy" and "Ready to Die", the lead single and debut album from The Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls), released the same year. While Mack's album went Gold, "Ready to Die" achieved multi-platinum success. Dominating the charts in 1995, B.I.G. became one of the genre's biggest names of the day and Bad Boy's premier star. Also in 1995, the label continued its success with platinum releases by Total and Faith Evans. Bad Boy, meanwhile, staffed a bevy of in-house writer/producers, including: Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson and D Dot—all of whom were instrumental in producing many of Bad Boy's most noted releases during this time.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: The rapid success of The Notorious B.I.G., and Bad Boy as a company, raised some tensions, especially with the Beverly Hills, California-based Death Row Records. For 3 years leading up to 1995, West Coast hip hop, dominated by labels such as Death Row, had been preeminent in mainstream Rap. Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row, held Puff Daddy responsible for the shooting death of his friend Jake Robles, allegedly at the hands of Sean Combs' bodyguard. Tensions were heightened when Death Row signed 2Pac, who alleged that Bad Boy, notably The Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy, had been complicit in the November 1994 shooting of Tupac in the lobby of Quad Studios in Times Square.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: After the June 1996 release of 2Pac's "Hit 'Em Up", smearing Bad Boy, tensions escalated. 2Pac was shot in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 7, 1996, and died September 13. Bad Boy issued a statement of condolences. On March 9, 1997, while Bad Boy were preparing the release of The Notorious B.I.G.'s double album "Life After Death", he was killed in Los Angeles, California. Their deaths left many to speculate if the coastal hostility had been responsible for their deaths. The police investigations were criticized by public and judicial sources. Both cases remain officially unsolved.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: Posthumously, Biggie's "Life After Death" reached number one on the Billboard Top 200. Its first two singles, "Hypnotize" and "Mo Money, Mo Problems" also topped the singles charts. The album eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. alone, and is one of the highest selling rap albums ever in the U.S..


title: Bad Boy Records

text: In 1996, Puff Daddy had begun recording his own solo debut album. The 1st single, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", peaked at No. 1 on the Rap, R&B, and pop charts that spring. In response to Biggie's death, the label rush-released a Puff Daddy tribute song, "I'll Be Missing You", which featured Biggie's widow, Faith Evans, and Bad Boy's R&B singing group 112. The single topped the charts for eleven weeks and became the hasty second single from Combs' album, "No Way Out", which was released in the summer and sold 7 million copies in the U.S.. Mase, Combs' newest protégé, in the meantime was immediately thrust into the void that The Notorious B.I.G. left. His own debut album, "Harlem World", also released the same year, would go Quadruple Platinum. Due to the successive successes of "Life After Death", "No Way Out" and "Harlem World", by the end of 1997, Bad Boy as a label and brand name had hit a commercial peak. During this time, the label began to promote its latest signing The L.O.X., who had been prominently featured on various Bad Boy releases that year. Highly anticipated, their 1998 debut album, "Money, Power & Respect" was certified Platinum by the RIAA. Shortly thereafter, the group departed the label and entered into a long-standing publishing dispute with Combs over the latter receiving 50% of their publishing that would continue until 2005.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: In 1998, Combs decided to expand Bad Boy's roster to genres other than hip-hop and R&B, and subsequently signed Fuzzbubble to the label as its 1st rock act. The group appeared on the rock remix of Puff Daddy's "It's All About the Benjamins", but parted ways with the label before releasing a full-length album.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: In the years to follow, Bad Boy saw a commercial decline. In 1999, Mase became religious and abruptly retired from the business, leaving a serious dent in the company, especially since his 2nd album had just been released. Bad Boy found some success with Shyne, a young rapper from Brooklyn, who garnered generally mixed reviews for his deep voice and slow flow—which many considered to be too reminiscent to, and perhaps a rip-off of The Notorious B.I.G., meanwhile, Combs' later albums failed to generate the same kind of acclaim that his debut had. In an attempt to further market himself, he underwent several name changes; from "Puff Daddy" to "Puffy" to "P. Diddy", to simply just "Diddy" then shortly Diddy- Dirty Money". But with the split of the group he abruptly returned to "Diddy".


title: Bad Boy Records

text: As the 2000s emerged, Bad Boy had noticeably floundered. Many of its more noted acts would eventually vacate the label, while those who remained saw their album sales dwindle as time went on. In spite of continually releasing new material, and various attempts at building artists to the status of Bad Boy's The Notorious B.I.G., few proved as successful as the company hoped.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: Southern rap duo 8Ball & MJG released an album called "Living Legends" to some success in 2004, prompting the creation of Bad Boy South—which would eventually house acts such as Yung Joc. In 2002, Combs' participated in MTV's Making The Band 2, which spun off the Bad Boy assembled act, Da Band. Their MTV exposure lead to a Gold selling debut album. At this time, the label also signed a rapper named Aasim, whose Bad Boy debut (as of 2013) still has not been released.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: Bad Boy saw its fortunes improve in 2005, with the success of releases from new signees: Cassie and Yung Joc (both of whom would score top five singles/debut albums). Also in 2006, Bad Boy hit paydirt with Making The Band 3's Danity Kane, whose debut album topped the charts at No. 1 (the label's first chart topping album since the Bad Boys II soundtrack three years prior), and spun off a top five single. Their second album, Welcome to the Dollhouse also debuted at No. 1, and contained the group's second top ten single "Damaged". Diddy also signed Day26 and Donnie Klang to the label.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: However, by 2009, Combs had dissolved Danity Kane, terminating Aubrey O'Day's, D. Woods', Shannon Bex's and Aundrea Fimbres' contracts. Dawn Richard remained signed working as solo artist and songwriter for Bad Boy. In March 2009, it was reported that Richard and Combs were assembling a new girl group but later formed Diddy – Dirty Money, composed of Combs, Richard and a singer-songwriter named Kalenna Harper. In April 2009, Bad Boy also signed Red Cafe.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: In September 2009, it was announced that Combs would be leaving Warner, inking a new deal with Universal's Interscope. Under the terms of the new deal, Combs rebooted the Bad Boy name and trademark, to be operated through Interscope. The previous Bad Boy catalog and roster, however, remains under the control of Warner.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: In 2010, Diddy offered Mase a 1-year release from Bad Boy to settle their differences after the 2009 incident with Mase wanting to be released from Bad Boy. With this Mase decided to retire from rap for good, although he was to be reassigned to Bad Boy after his year break was done. In 2011, under his new deal with Interscope-Geffen-A&M, Diddy stated he was looking for new talent to add to his new Bad Boy roster. Jay Electronica, who had close ties with Diddy, was originally planned to be signed to the label but had signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation imprint instead. Machine Gun Kelly announced that he signed to Bad Boy/Interscope on August 3, 2011. French Montana and Los also were announced as signees to the label in 2012.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: On April 25, 2012, Mase featured alongside Diddy on Wale's "Slight Work" remix, marking the first appearance of the Harlem rapper on record since 2010. Rumors began to start that Mase, as well as singer Omarion, were both signing to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. It was later revealed that Bad Boy artist French Montana was the reason Mase was making his third comeback. According to Montana, Mase is serving as an A&R representative on Montana's forthcoming Bad Boy debut, "Excuse My French", as well as appearing on the remix of Montana's "Everything's a Go". "I'm not sure what kind of decisions he's going to make," Montana says, "[but] I would love to see him in my camp." Mase is currently resigned to Bad Boy Records but has yet to announce whether he is resigned as part of a joint venture deal between Bad Boy and MMG. He later announced he had gotten his release from Bad Boy. In April 2013, Cassie released her first full-length project seven years after her debut album, a mixtape titled "RockaByeBaby", to positive reception. Rapper Los announced his departure from Bad Boy Records on March 19, 2014.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: On October 5, 2015, Combs announced that Bad Boy would be distributed by Epic Records. This will mark the second time that Epic president L.A. Reid oversaw distribution for Bad Boy, having previously overseen distribution for the label 15 years earlier after being appointed president of Arista in 2000. Despite founding the label in 1993, Bad Boy began celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2015 with a 20-minute mega-medley performance at the BET Awards. It stretched into 2016, starting with the label's May reunion sold-out shows at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and originating the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour, starting in North America in the last week of August 2016.


title: Bad Boy Records

text: The Hitmen is the production team for Bad Boy Records. The collective consisted of several notable producers and musicians that either worked solo or alongside Combs in composing tracks for the artists on Bad Boy as well as outside the label.


title: Pear

text: Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus Pyrus , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees.


title: Pear

text: The tree is medium-sized and native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of Europe, North Africa, and Asia. Pear wood is one of the preferred materials in the manufacture of high-quality woodwind instruments and furniture.


title: Pear

text: About 3,000 known varieties of pears are grown worldwide, which vary in both shape and taste. The fruit is consumed fresh, canned, as juice, or dried.


title: Pear

text: The word "pear" is probably from Germanic "pera" as a loanword of Vulgar Latin "pira", the plural of "pirum", akin to Greek "apios" (from Mycenaean "ápisos"), of Semitic origin ("pirâ"), meaning "fruit". The adjective "pyriform" or "piriform" means pear-shaped. The classical Latin word for a pear tree is "pirus"; "pyrus" is an alternate form of this word sometimes used in medieval Latin.


title: Pear

text: The pear is native to coastal and mildly temperate regions of the Old World, from Western Europe and North Africa east across Asia. It is a medium-sized tree, reaching tall, often with a tall, narrow crown; a few species are shrubby.


title: Pear

text: The leaves are alternately arranged, simple, long, glossy green on some species, densely silvery-hairy in some others; leaf shape varies from broad oval to narrow lanceolate. Most pears are deciduous, but one or two species in Southeast Asia are evergreen. Most are cold-hardy, withstanding temperatures as low as in winter, except for the evergreen species, which only tolerate temperatures down to about .


title: Pear

text: The flowers are white, rarely tinted yellow or pink, diameter, and have five petals. Like that of the related apple, the pear fruit is a pome, in most wild species diameter, but in some cultivated forms up to long and broad; the shape varies in most species from oblate or globose, to the classic pyriform "pear shape" of the European pear with an elongated basal portion and a bulbous end.


title: Pear

text: The fruit is composed of the receptacle or upper end of the flower stalk (the so-called calyx tube) greatly dilated. Enclosed within its cellular flesh is the true fruit: five 'cartilaginous' carpels, known colloquially as the "core". From the upper rim of the receptacle are given off the five sepals, the five petals, and the very numerous stamens.


title: Pear

text: Pears and apples cannot always be distinguished by the form of the fruit; some pears look very much like some apples, e.g. the nashi pear. One major difference is that the flesh of pear fruit contains stone cells.


title: Pear

text: Pear cultivation in cool, temperate climates extends to the remotest antiquity, and evidence exists of its use as a food since prehistoric times. Many traces have been found in prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich. Pears were cultivated in China as early as 2000 BC. An article on Pear tree cultivation in Spain is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, "Book on Agriculture".


title: Pear

text: The word "pear", or its equivalent, occurs in all the Celtic languages, while in Slavic and other dialects, differing appellations, still referring to the same thing, are found—a diversity and multiplicity of nomenclature, which led Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle to infer a very ancient cultivation of the tree from the shores of the Caspian to those of the Atlantic.


title: Pear

text: The pear was also cultivated by the Romans, who ate the fruits raw or cooked, just like apples. Pliny's "Natural History" recommended stewing them with honey and noted three dozen varieties. The Roman cookbook "De re coquinaria" has a recipe for a spiced, stewed-pear "patina", or soufflé. Romans also introduced the fruit to Britain.


title: Pear

text: A certain race of pears, with white down on the undersurface of their leaves, is supposed to have originated from "P. nivalis", and their fruit is chiefly used in France in the manufacture of perry (see also cider). Other small-fruited pears, distinguished by their early ripening and apple-like fruit, may be referred to as "P. cordata", a species found wild in western France and southwestern England.


title: Pear

text: The genus is thought to have originated in present-day Western China in the foothills of the Tian Shan, a mountain range of Central Asia, and to have spread to the north and south along mountain chains, evolving into a diverse group of over 20 widely recognized primary species. The enormous number of varieties of the cultivated European pear ("Pyrus communis" subsp. "communis"), are without doubt derived from one or two wild subspecies ("P. c." subsp. "pyraster" and "P. c." subsp. "caucasica"), widely distributed throughout Europe, and sometimes forming part of the natural vegetation of the forests. Court accounts of Henry III of England record pears shipped from La Rochelle-Normande and presented to the king by the sheriffs of the City of London. The French names of pears grown in English medieval gardens suggest that their reputation, at the least, was French; a favoured variety in the accounts was named for Saint Rieul of Senlis, Bishop of Senlis in northern France.


title: Pear

text: Asian species with medium to large edible fruit include "P. pyrifolia", "P. ussuriensis", "P. × bretschneideri", "P. × sinkiangensis", and "P. pashia". Other small-fruited species are frequently used as rootstocks for the cultivated forms.


title: Pear

text: The pear is normally propagated by grafting a selected variety onto a rootstock, which may be of a pear or quince variety. Quince rootstocks produce smaller trees, which is often desirable in commercial orchards or domestic gardens. For new varieties the flowers can be cross-bred to preserve or combine desirable traits. The fruit of the pear is produced on spurs, which appear on shoots more than one year old.


title: Pear

text: Three species account for the vast majority of edible fruit production, the European pear "Pyrus communis" subsp. "communis" cultivated mainly in Europe and North America, the Chinese white pear ("bai li") "Pyrus × bretschneideri", and the Nashi pear "Pyrus pyrifolia" (also known as Asian pear or apple pear), both grown mainly in eastern Asia. There are thousands of cultivars of these three species. A species grown in western China, "P. sinkiangensis", and "P. pashia", grown in southern China and south Asia, are also produced to a lesser degree.


title: Pear

text: Other species are used as rootstocks for European and Asian pears and as ornamental trees. Pear wood is close-grained and at least in the past was used as a specialized timber for fine furniture and making the blocks for woodcuts. The Manchurian or Ussurian Pear, "Pyrus ussuriensis" (which produces unpalatable fruit) has been crossed with "Pyrus communis" to breed hardier pear cultivars. The Bradford pear ("Pyrus calleryana" 'Bradford') in particular has become widespread in North America, and is used only as an ornamental tree, as well as a blight-resistant rootstock for "Pyrus communis" fruit orchards. The Willow-leaved pear ("Pyrus salicifolia") is grown for its attractive, slender, densely silvery-hairy leaves.


title: Pear

text: The purely decorative cultivar "P. salicifolia" ‘Pendula’, with pendulous branches and silvery leaves, has also won the award.


title: Pear

text: Summer and autumn cultivars of "Pyrus communis", being climacteric fruits, are gathered before they are fully ripe, while they are still green, but snap off when lifted. In the case of the 'Passe Crassane', long the favored winter pear in France, the crop is traditionally gathered at three different times: the first a fortnight or more before it is ripe, the second a week or ten days after that, and the third when fully ripe. The first gathering will come into eating last, and thus the season of the fruit may be considerably prolonged.


title: Pear

text: In 2020, world production of pears was 23.1 million tonnes, led by China with 69% of the total (table). About 48% of the Southern Hemisphere's pears are produced in the Patagonian valley of Río Negro in Argentina.


title: Pear

text: Pears may be stored at room temperature until ripe. Pears are ripe when the flesh around the stem gives to gentle pressure. Ripe pears are optimally stored refrigerated, uncovered in a single layer, where they have a shelf life of 2 to 3 days.


title: Pear

text: Pears ripen at room temperature. Ripening is accelerated by the gas ethylene. If pears are placed next to bananas in a fruit bowl, the ethylene emitted by the banana causes the pears to ripen. Refrigeration will slow further ripening. According to Pear Bureau Northwest, most varieties show little color change as they ripen (though the skin on Bartlett pears changes from green to yellow as they ripen).


title: Pear

text: Pears are consumed fresh, canned, as juice, and dried. The juice can also be used in jellies and jams, usually in combination with other fruits, including berries. Fermented pear juice is called perry or pear cider and is made in a way that is similar to how cider is made from apples. Perry can be distilled to produce an "eau de vie de poire", a colorless, unsweetened fruit brandy.


title: Pear

text: The culinary or cooking pear is green but dry and hard, and only edible after several hours of cooking. Two Dutch cultivars are "" (a sweet variety) and "" (slightly sour).


title: Pear

text: Pear wood is one of the preferred materials in the manufacture of high-quality woodwind instruments and furniture, and was used for making the carved blocks for woodcuts. It is also used for wood carving, and as a firewood to produce aromatic smoke for smoking meat or tobacco. Pear wood is valued for kitchen spoons, scoops and stirrers, as it does not contaminate food with color, flavor or smell, and resists warping and splintering despite repeated soaking and drying cycles. Lincoln describes it as "a fairly tough, very stable wood... (used for) carving... brushbacks, umbrella handles, measuring instruments such as set squares and T-squares... recorders... violin and guitar fingerboards and piano keys... decorative veneering." Pearwood is the favored wood for architect's rulers because it does not warp. It is similar to the wood of its relative, the apple tree ("Malus domestica") and used for many of the same purposes.


title: Pear

text: Raw pear is 84% water, 15% carbohydrates and contains negligible protein and fat (table). In a reference amount, raw pear supplies of food energy, a moderate amount of dietary fiber, and no other essential nutrients in significant amounts (table).


title: Pear

text: Preliminary research is investigating whether there is a correlation between apple/pear consumption and improved cardiovascular health.


title: Pear

text: Pears grow in the sublime orchard of Alcinous, in "Odyssey" vii: "Therein grow trees, tall and luxuriant, pears and pomegranates and apple-trees with their bright fruit, and sweet figs, and luxuriant olives. Of these the fruit perishes not nor fails in winter or in summer, but lasts throughout the year."


title: Pear

text: The pear tree was an object of particular veneration (as was the walnut) in the tree worship of the Nakh peoples of the North Caucasus – see Vainakh mythology and see also Ingushetia – the best-known of the Vainakh peoples today being the Chechens of Chechnya. Pear and walnut trees were held to be the sacred abodes of beneficent spirits in pre-Islamic Chechen religion and, for this reason, it was forbidden to fell them.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: The Mummy is an action adventure horror film media franchise based on films by Universal Pictures about a mummified ancient Egyptian priest who is accidentally resurrected, bringing with him a powerful curse, and the ensuing efforts of heroic archaeologists to stop him. The franchise was created by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: The original series of films consisted of six installments, which starred iconic horror actors such as Boris Karloff (only in the original one, as Imhotep); Tom Tyler and Lon Chaney Jr. as Kharis; and lastly Eddie Parker, who played Klaris, a cousin of Kharis. The series of films is part of the larger Universal Classic Monsters series.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: When archaeologists awaken the tomb of the mummy Imhotep, he sets out to find the reincarnation of his long-lost love.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Steve Banning and his assistant Babe Jenson, who are being watched by spies, decide to fund an expedition. A magician and his beautiful daughter join the expedition, but when they awaken the tomb of the mummy Kharis, they don’t know whether they’re going to survive the expedition.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: The mummy Kharis is back after he was lit on fire 30 years ago. After 30 years, Steve Banning has now become a famous archaeologist and is living in the peaceful town of Mapleton, Massachusetts. However the town becomes less peaceful when Steve is murdered by an unknown assailant. His son John tries to crack the case with some help from Babe Hanson, Steve’s friend who helped defeat Kharis 30 years ago.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: After Kharis is defeated by the Banning family, we go to a new character, Tom Harvey and his girlfriend Amina, who is the reincarnation of Princess Ananka, Kharis’s long-lost love who Kharis grows more closer to and wants to turn immortal, will Tom and the police put a stop to this?


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: 25 years later after "The Mummy's Ghost", an irrigation project in the bayous of Louisiana unearths The mummy Kharis from his sleep and he is resurrected once again, meanwhile Kharis's lost love, Ananka also forms from a swamp, causing the monster to embrace his 3,000 year old love after many years.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Freddie Franklin and his best friend Peter Patterson just want to go back to the states, but get caught up in the mummy's tale when dr. Zoomer is murdered and they find a medallion, causing the police, a thief and her henchmen, a high priest and his henchmen and the mummy Klaris to go after them.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: In 1959, the franchise was rebooted, starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Though the title suggests Universal Pictures' 1932 film of the same title, the film actually derives its plot and characters entirely from two 1940s Universal films, "The Mummy's Hand" and "The Mummy's Tomb", with the climax borrowed directly from "The Mummy's Ghost". The character name Joseph Whemple, the use of a sacred scroll, and a few minor plot elements are the only connections with the 1932 version.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: After archaeologists unearth the tomb of the mummy Kharis, 3 years later he gets revenge and the body count rises, but the wife of one of the archaeologists resembles princess Ananka, his long-lost love, causing Kharis to abduct her to an unknown fate.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Another group of archaeologists unearth the mummy of Prince Ra, who has to get revenge on the same archaeologists and soon the body count rises again, with some unexpected twists and turns.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Another group of archaeologists unearth the tomb, this time of Prince Kah-To-Bey who was buried as a child and soon there is betrayal, greed, stealing, insanity and murder, all into the mix were the archaeologists get violent deaths and some very shady characters appear to do something deceiving.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Queen Tera one night is killed by some high priests, who are also killed because of her magical power. Then some archaeologists unearth her tomb but find nothing except her ring. At the same time young Margaret is born and then a few years later she looks exactly like the queen and soon the power of queen Tera overcomes her to the point where she has Tera's powers and kills people with it. Her father attempts to stop this carnage.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Originally a proposed remake of "The Mummy" would have been directed by horror filmmaker/writer Clive Barker. Barker's vision for the film was violent, with the story revolving around the head of a contemporary art museum who turns out to be a cultist trying to reanimate mummies. Barker's take was "dark, sexual and filled with mysticism", and that, "it would have been a great low-budget movie".


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: In 1999, Stephen Sommers wrote and directed a remake of "The Mummy", loosely based on the original film of 1932. This film switches genres from the emphasis on horror to action, concentrating more on adventure sequences, special effects, comedy, and a higher element of Egyptian lore. The film became a box office success spawning two sequels, several video games, a spin-off series, and an animated television series. The first two films received mixed to positive reviews, while the third one received mostly negative reviews.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: It is the year 1923 and Rick O'Connell, an American explorer, has discovered Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. Three years later, he meets with a beautiful librarian, Evelyn "Evy" Carnahan and her brother, Jonathan. When Evy accidentally revives the mummified corpse of an Egyptian priest, Imhotep, the pair must find a way to kill him before he rises back into power and destroys the world.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: In 1933, Rick O'Connell and Evelyn Carnahan are married with an 8-year-old son, Alex. When Alex triggers a curse and Imhotep is resurrected, Rick and Evy must once again try to save the world and fight both the mummy and the Scorpion King.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Set in 1946, the film continues the adventures of Rick O'Connell, his wife Evy, and his son Alex against a different mummy, the Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) of China.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: After "Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" was released, actress Maria Bello stated that another "Mummy" film will "absolutely" be made, and that she had already signed on. Actor Luke Ford was signed on for three films as well. In 2012, Universal Pictures cancelled the film and later developed a reboot of the series.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: This spin-off series follows the adventures of Mathayus of Akkad, who would later be known as the Scorpion King and, eventually, become a foe in "The Mummy Returns". The films are as follows:


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: In 2012, Universal Studios announced a reboot of the series with writer Jon Spaihts, and with Sean Daniel returning as producer. Universal also signed a two-year deal to produce the film with K/O Paper Products. Len Wiseman was hired to direct the film. "The Hunger Games'" writer Billy Ray was hired to write a competing draft against Spaihts written script. Wiseman later left the film project the following year due to schedule conflicts. "Mama"'s director Andrés Muschietti was in talks to direct the film.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: The screenwriter Roberto Orci hinted at the time that both "The Mummy" and "Van Helsing" reboots would have a shared universe. Universal set the film to release on April 22, 2016. Director Muschetti left the film due to creative differences. Universal tapped Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan in 2014 to develop all classic movie monsters which include Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Invisible Man, Bride of Frankenstein, and The Mummy. The first film they developed together was "The Mummy", for which they had begun the meetings. Kurtzman was later set to direct the film. The film's release date was pushed back to March 27, 2017, when Universal announced the April 22 for its new film "The Huntsman". The film's plot is set in Iraq and follows a Navy SEAL and his team that battle mummies led by Ashurbanipal.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Kurtzman and Spaihts had two scripts with a male and a female mummy villain. Tom Cruise was in talks to star in the film, while Sofia Boutella was in talks for the female Mummy role in the reboot. Both were ultimately confirmed to star in the reboot with a June 9, 2017, release date. Annabelle Wallis and Jake Johnson were in talks for a role of an archaeologist and a member of the military respectively. The film began production on April 3, 2016 in Oxford, England.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: The film became a critical and commercial failure, causing all the future planned films in the Dark Universe to be cancelled.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Two video game adaptations of "The Mummy" (1999) were developed by Rebellion Developments and published by Konami in 2000: an action adventure game for the PlayStation and PC as well as a Game Boy Color puzzle game. Dreamcast version was announced but later cancelled in the late 2000. "The Mummy Returns" was released in late 2001 for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Blitz Games and the Game Boy Color version was developed by GameBrains; both versions were published by Universal Interactive. "" was released in 2008, developed by Eurocom for the PlayStation 2 and the Wii, the Nintendo DS released was developed by A2M, all versions were published by Sierra Entertainment. In March 2012, a massive multiplayer online game known as "The Mummy Online" was released. In 2017 was released "The Mummy Demastered" based on the film of the same year.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: In May 2001, Chaos! Comics released the first of a three-issue series inspired by the film, titled "The Mummy: Valley of the Gods". The plot was supposed to take place between the first film and "The Mummy Returns". Rick and Evelyn are on their honeymoon in Egypt and end up embarking on yet another adventure where they must unravel the mysteries of the Orb of Destiny and discover the location of the Valley of the Gods hidden beneath the sands. However, the second and third issues were never published.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: This was most likely due to Chaos later filing bankruptcy in 2002 and selling the rights to all their titles at that time.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: Years later in 2008, another Mummy comic series was released by IDW Publishing, spanning four issues. This series was titled "The Mummy: The Rise and Fall of Xango's Ax". Unlike the preceding comic series, all of the planned issues were published.


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: From 2001 until 2003, an animated series simply titled "The Mummy" was made by Universal Animation Studios where it was based on the Stephen Sommers series of films. The series was later renamed in the second season as "The Mummy: Secrets of the Medjai".


title: The Mummy (franchise)

text: The film also inspired a roller coaster ride named Revenge of the Mummy in Universal Studios Theme Parks, Florida. Similar rides can also be found in Hollywood and Singapore.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Steven Peter Devereux Smith (born 2 June 1989) is an Australian international cricketer and former captain of the Australian national team. Smith has drawn comparisons to Don Bradman, universally acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time, due to his distinctively high Test batting average.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Although he was initially selected for Australia as a right-arm leg spinner, Smith later played primarily as a batsman. After playing five matches from 2010 to 2011, he was recalled to the Australian team in 2013, and took over the captaincy from Michael Clarke in late 2015, after which he predominantly batted at number 3 or 4.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Awards he has won include the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) in 2015; ICC Test Player of the Year in 2015 and 2017; ICC Men's Test Player of the Decade for 2011–2020; the Allan Border Medal for the best player in Australian Cricket in 2015, 2018 and 2021; Australian Test Player of the Year in 2015 and 2018, and Australian One Day International Player of the Year in 2015 and 2021. He was named by "Wisden" as one of their Cricketers of the Year in the 2016 Wisden Almanack.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In 2014, New Zealand batsman Martin Crowe described Smith as one of the young "Fab Four" of Test cricket along with Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli. On 30 December 2017, he reached a Test batting rating of 947, the second-highest of all time, only behind Don Bradman's 961.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In March 2018, Smith was widely criticised for overseeing ball tampering in the third Test against South Africa, during which he stood down from the team captaincy and was replaced by Tim Paine. Following an investigation by Cricket Australia, Smith was banned from all international and domestic cricket in Australia for one year starting from 29 March 2018, and from consideration for any leadership role for an additional year.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Steve Smith was born on 2 June 1989 in Kogarah, Sydney to an Australian father, Peter, who has a degree in chemistry, and an English mother, Gillian. Smith attended Menai High School, and left at age 17 to play cricket in England where he played club cricket for Sevenoaks Vine in the Kent Cricket League. He did so well for Sevenoaks that he was picked to play for Surrey's second XI.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Because his mother was born in London, Smith has dual British and Australian citizenship. In 2011, Smith started dating Dani Willis, a commerce and law student at Macquarie University. In June 2017, the couple announced their engagement while on holiday in New York. The couple married at Berrima, New South Wales on 15 September 2018.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith was a member of the Australian team at the 2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia. In the tournament he scored 114 runs and took seven wickets in four matches.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith made his first-class debut for New South Wales against Western Australia at the SCG on 25 January 2008. He scored 33 in his only innings as New South Wales defeated Western Australia outright. He was part of the New South Wales team that won the 2009 Twenty20 Champions League. In the final against Trinidad and Tobago at Hyderabad, Smith made 33 with the bat and took two wickets.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: By the end of the 2009–10 domestic season, Smith had a first-class batting average of over 50 after 13 first-class matches. While his first-class bowling average in the high forties was not as impressive, his bowling appeared to be steadily improving following some well-publicised mentoring and praise from Shane Warne. In the final match of the season he took 7 for 64 in the second innings against South Australia.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith made his Twenty20 cricket debut for New South Wales in a match against South Australia at Adelaide on 1 January 2008 during the six team KFC Big Bash competition. Smith was the leading wicket taker at the 2008 Big Bash tournament. He took 4/15 against Queensland and finished with 9 wickets overall. He was also named the second-best player of the tournament. In 2011–12, the Australian T20 competition became the city-based Big Bash League featuring eight teams. Smith joined the Sydney Sixers and filled in as captain when Brad Haddin could not play due to Test duties, subsequently leading the team to victory in the inaugural season. As an all-rounder, he scored 166 runs with the bat from nine matches with a strike rate of 130.71, including one half century. With the ball, he took 6 wickets at an economy rate of 8.06 per over. He also took nine catches throughout the tournament. In the final match, the Sixers beat Perth Scorchers by 7 wickets while chasing down the target of 157 within 18.5 overs after the Scorchers made 5/156 in 20 overs. Smith's good form during the Big Bash League, attracted the attention of former India Captain Sourav Ganguly, and was recruited to play for the Pune Warriors India team captained by Sourav Ganguly in the 2012 Indian Premier League. Smith had also been made captain of the team in one match, when Ganguly was rested, despite Australian captain Michael Clarke being the vice-captain. He continued to play for the same franchise in 2013, under the captaincy of Angelo Mathews.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith was first bought by Royal Challengers Bangalore for the 2010 Indian Premier League as a replacement for Jesse Ryder. During the 2011 IPL player auction, he was bought by Kochi Tuskers Kerala for $200,000, but he had to have an ankle operation and was not available to play for them that season.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: The next season, Kochi Tuskers were dropped from the IPL and Smith was put up for auction. He went unsold at the 2012 IPL Players Auction, but was later bought as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh by the Pune Warriors India. In his first match for his new team, he scored 39 runs off 32 balls to lead his team to victory against the Mumbai Indians. He received the Man of the Match award for this effort.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the auction for IPL 2014, Smith was bought by Rajasthan Royals for $600,000. Smith was given the captaincy of the Royals in the latter half of the 2015 season and led the team to significant victories, thus ensuring a berth for his team in the play-off part of the tournament.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: During the 2016 IPL Auction, Smith was bought by new franchise, the Rising Pune Supergiants for the same price as in the previous auction ($600,000), and struggled early for form. Smith finally broke a run of low scores against Sunrisers Hyderabad, scoring 46*. His form continued as he registered his maiden T20 century against the Gujarat Lions, scoring 101 off 54 balls. He then went on to score a further 45 against the Mumbai Indians, before being ruled out of the remainder of the tournament with a wrist injury.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: The Supergiant management axed MS Dhoni as captain and named Smith as captain for the 2017 season. In RPS's first game against Mumbai Indians, Smith led his team to victory in style, scoring 84* and was rewarded with the Man of The Match award. Three consecutive losses, however, left his team in last position on the points table. A run of 8 wins in 10 matches helped Supergiant finish in the second position, and thus qualify for the playoffs, with Smith receiving praise for his captaincy from renowned cricketers and experts like Sunil Gavaskar and Kevin Pietersen. He led his team to the final with a 20-run victory over Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1. In the final Smith's men faced Mumbai yet again. He scored 51 off 50 balls but could not lead RPS to victory. Pune lost the match by one run. Smith was RPS's highest run scorer in the tournament, scoring 472 runs at an average of 39.33, including three fifties.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In February 2018, he was named as captain of Rajasthan Royals for the IPL 2018. However, following his admission of involvement in the Australian test side's ball tampering controversy in the Third Test in South Africa in March 2018, it was announced by the team that Smith has stood down from that role and Ajinkya Rahane took charge as the new captain for Rajasthan Royals team.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: On 28 March 2018, after being banned by Cricket Australia for his involvement in a ball tampering incident, Smith's player contract with the Royals was terminated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India as Steve Smith and fellow Australian batsman David Warner were banned from playing for their respective teams for the upcoming 2018 IPL edition.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In November 2018, Smith was retained by Rajasthan Royals for the 2019 Indian Premier League. After losing six out of first eight matches of the season, Smith was appointed as the captain of the Rajasthan Royals by replacing Ajinkya Rahane. In the tournament, he scored 319 runs at an average of 39.87, including three fifties.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In May 2018, Smith was named as one of the ten marquee players for the first edition of the Global T20 Canada cricket tournament. On 3 June 2018, he was selected to play for the Toronto Nationals in the players' draft for the inaugural edition of the tournament. In his first representative match since his conviction for ball-tampering, Smith scored 61 runs from 41 balls alongside Anton Devcich as the Toronto Nationals won by six wickets against the Vancouver Knights. In the tournament he scored 167 runs in six matches at an average of 33.40, including two fifties.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In July 2018, Smith was named in Barbados Tridents's squad in the sixth edition of Caribbean Premier League.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In September 2018, Smith returned to Australian club cricket by scoring 85 off 91 balls for Sutherland in a one-day match against Mosman. In October 2018, he was named as one of the fourteen Platinum category players for the fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In December 2018, Smith was named in Comilla Victorians's squad in the sixth edition of Bangladesh Premier League. He played only two matches of the tournament before returning to Australia for elbow surgery.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Steve Smith made his international cricket debut in a Twenty20 International match playing as a leg spinner against Pakistan at Melbourne in February 2010. The same month, he made his One Day International debut against the West Indies also at Melbourne, playing in the fifth match of the series.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 competition held in the West Indies, Australia finished runners up to England. Smith took 11 wickets in seven matches at an average of 14.81 to finish as the equal-second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith made his Test debut at Lord's in July 2010, playing both Tests against Pakistan in the 2010 Test series played in England. He was selected mainly for his bowling, and batted down the order, although his bowling was not required in the first innings. In the second innings, he took 3 wickets for 51 as Australia won by 150 runs. In the second Test he was called to bowl only ten overs and took no wickets, although he played an impressive role with the bat in the second innings. Batting with the tail, he scored 77 including nine fours and two sixes off successive balls, helping Australia to set a competitive target after having been bowled out for 88 in the first innings.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith's fielding attracted attention during the 2009–10 season with some spectacular catches in the outfield.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the 2010–11 Australian summer, Smith played three Tests in the 2010–11 Ashes series, this time playing more as a batsman, taking the number six spot in the order. His performances were solid during the series, getting a number of starts and scoring two half centuries. Following the 2010–11 Ashes, Smith did not play another Test for two years, his next Test series coming against India in March 2013.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith's return to the test team came during the 2013 tour of India. In the previous two Sheffield seasons his form had been middling, averaging 37, but he was chosen for the 17-man squad, primarily as a backup batsman, rather than an allrounder as he had been in the Test team previously. Smith was selected for the third test in Mohali, his first in over two years, when four players were dropped for "not doing their homework", in a scandal known as Homeworkgate.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In his first match innings in India he scored 92 before being stumped by Dhoni from a delivery by Pragyan Ojha, and in the second innings he managed 5 runs. In the final Test match at Delhi, Smith made 46 and 18 runs, respectively, but Australia was unable to win the Test match as India secured a 4–0 series win.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Following the defeat to India, Australia's next series was against England in the British Isles in July. Although the squad for the 2013 Ashes was finalised in April, Smith was the vice-captain of Australia's A team and was later called into the main squad after showing some promise in the Australia's A tour to the United Kingdom in June where he made 133 runs against Ireland in Belfast but also as a backup batsman due to Michael Clarke's fitness concerns. He played his first-class tour match with the main squad on 2 July 2013 in Worcester making 111 runs in both innings combined. In the first Test match at Trent Bridge he made a half century in his first innings but fell cheaply in the second innings getting out lbw to Graeme Swann. While making little impact at Lord's, Smith produced a century at Hove against Sussex on 27 July.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the third Test being 2–0 down to England, Australia moved up north to Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester needing to win or draw to save the series. Smith made 89 and 19 runs, respectively, but the third Test match stirred controversy about the on-field umpire's decisions and DRS (Decision Review System) causing Smith to survive on two occasions and his teammate Usman Khawaja to be dismissed. In the final Test, Smith scored his maiden Test century, which came in the first innings of the last Test of the series at The Oval, reaching the total in style by hitting a six off the bowling of Jonathan Trott. He remained unbeaten on 138. Smith became only the sixth Australian to reach his maiden Test 100 with a six. At the end of the series, the urn was retained by England after winning the series 3–0. Smith played in all five Tests, scoring 345 runs at an average of 38.33.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith remained in the team for the first Test of 2013–14 Ashes series in Brisbane. Despite starting slowly in the first two Tests, Smith produced his first Test century on home soil in the third Test at Perth, scoring 111 from 208 balls, helping Australia display a total of 6–326 at stumps on the second day to later win the Test match and be awarded man of the match. It was during this innings at the WACA which he decided to take a "prelim movement back and across" to counter short-pitched bowling and has even exaggerated it, according to Smith, "I was probably batting on middle and leg and going to middle at that point ... I've sort of moved things a little bit across to leg stump and now I'm going just outside off stump". Smith remarked "Everything sort of just clicked into place and it felt really good so I've continued doing it". Despite his success in the first innings, he mistimed a pull shot in the second innings, the ball caught in the deep by substitute fielder Bairstow off Ben Stokes' bowling, being dismissed for 15 from 50 deliveries.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the fourth Test at the MCG he was dismissed on 19 by Stuart Broad, but made another century with 115 runs from 154 deliveries in the first innings of the fifth and final Test at the SCG. His 128-run partnership with Brad Haddin helped Australia come back from 5–97 to 326 all out in the first innings and eventually went on to win the Test match by 281 runs. The victory in Sydney marked a 5–0 victory towards Australia after a dismal 3–0 loss during the winter period of 2013. Smith made two centuries with a total of 327 runs at an average of 36. Smith played just one ODI match during England's tour during 2013–14, in the 4th ODI at Perth where he made 19 runs.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Following a 5–0 victory against England in the Ashes, Australia were scheduled three Test matches and three T20 matches in South Africa. In the first Test at Centurion, Johannesburg, Smith made his fourth century and first in South Africa, where he and Shaun Marsh made a 233 run partnership from 4–98. Smith was not required in the second innings and Australia won the Test by 281 runs. The second Test in Port Elizabeth saw a slower pitch as Smith made 49 and a duck and South Africa levelled the series 1–1. In the deciding Test match in Cape Town, Smith made 89 runs in the first innings and finished 36 not out in the second innings as Australia won the series 2–1. Steve Smith produced 269 runs at an average of 67.25, the third-best in the series and the second-best by an Australian, second to David Warner.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: The five-month break from cricket activity saw a surprise pick of Smith called up for the 2014 Zimbabwe Tri-Series on the August 2014. Smith prior to the tour had two ODI matches in the last two years. In his first match against Zimbabwe, he was run out by Sikandar Raza. He made scores in his thirties in his participating matches but only made 10 runs in the final against South Africa on 6 September, where South Africa went on to win the Tri-Series.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: The squad later travelled to the UAE to face Pakistan in a T20 Match, three ODIs and two Tests. In the first and only T20 match, Pakistan won the toss and made 96 runs in their allotment of 20 overs, setting Australia a target of 97 runs to win. Smith made three runs before being dismissed. Despite this, Australia won by six wickets.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Following the T20 came the 3-match ODI series. In the first ODI at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Smith made his first ODI century scoring 101 runs off 118 balls to push the visitors to a 1–0 lead in the series. In the second ODI he made 12 runs and in the third and final ODI he made 77 runs off 105 balls to win the ODI match by 1 run. However, during the match, Steve Smith's catch on Fawad Alam questioned whether his catch was within the ICC laws. The incident occurred when in the 18th over of Pakistan's chase of 231 where Xavier Doherty delivered the ball and before Fawad made contact with his paddle sweep, Smith had moved from first slip towards leg slip to intercept the shot. The legality of the catch continued to be the main talking point after the ODI Series and afterwards ICC made a press statement stating that: "As long as the movement of a close catching fielder is in response to the striker's actions (the shot he/she is about to play or shaping to play), then movement is permitted before the ball reaches the striker. On the day, if umpires believe any form of significant movement is unfair (in an attempt to deceive the batsman), then the Law still applies." The win saw Australia rise back to number one in the ICC ODI Rankings and Steve Smith was made man of the series for his batting performances.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Transitioning into the Test series saw Australia's continued failure against reverse swing and spin in the subcontinent. In the warm-up match against Pakistan A in Sharjah, Australia lost by 153 runs where Smith made 58 but retired out. In the first Test in Dubai, Smith made 22 runs in the first innings and 55 runs in the second innings but collectively lost the Test match by 221 runs. In the second Test, Smith made a duck and 97 runs but Australia's woes against spin continued as Australia lost by 356 runs. In the series he made 174 runs at an average of 43.5 runs.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Arriving back from the subcontinent following their 2–0 Test defeat against Pakistan. Smith played in the series against South Africa where Australia defeated South Africa 4–1 in the ODI Series. He missed the first match due to selectors picking Shane Watson over Smith but later joined the remainder of the games due to Michael Clarke's hamstring injury. In his first match in Perth he registered 10 runs but in the following games he made 73*, 104 and 67 runs. His hundred in the 4th ODI at the MCG was Smith's first on Australian soil. Smith scored 254 runs at an average of 84.66, the highest Australian total in the series and consequently receiving the man of the series award.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: India arrived in Australia to play the Border-Gavaskar Test match series and a tri-series ODI competition with England. The first Test was scheduled to begin on 4 December in Brisbane, but was later postponed because of the death of Phillip Hughes. The first Test was later rescheduled to the Adelaide Oval on 9 December and Brisbane would be hosting the second Test on 17 December. In the first Test match in Adelaide, the Australian players wore Hughes' Test cap number 408 on their playing shirts for the match as well as black armbands in honour of their former teammate. In the first Test match in Adelaide, Smith scored 162* from 298 balls in the first and made 52* in the second innings, defeating India by 48 runs into day five. This also marked Steve Smith's first Test century against India and at the Adelaide Oval.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: On 15 December, Smith was named Australia's new vice-captain and following an injury to Michael Clarke, he was appointed stand-in skipper against India with Brad Haddin as his deputy. He made his captaincy debut for Australia in the Second Test match against India at the Gabba.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: He continued his batting form and made 133 runs in the first innings before being run-out in the second innings with a score of 28. Smith was awarded man of the match as Australia defeated India by 4 wickets. Australia were then up 2–0 in the series. In the third Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Smith made his third consecutive century in the first innings of the Test match scoring 192 runs in 433 balls. He also scored his 1,000th run in the 2014 calendar year, and became the eighth-fastest Australian to reach 2000 Test runs, beating previous Australian captains such as Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: The final Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground saw Smith in his fourth consecutive century against India. The achievement saw Smith join Don Bradman (6), Neil Harvey, Jack Fingleton and Matthew Hayden (4 each) as Australian centurions in four or more consecutive Tests, a streak Smith started during the 1st Test at Adelaide. Smith also became the first Australian skipper to open their captaincy with three consecutive centuries, and the second batsman since Jacques Kallis against West Indies to score a century in every match of a Test series. The Test match ended in a draw as Australia defeated India 2–0 in the series, thus returning the Border–Gavaskar Trophy to Australia. The conclusion of the Test series saw Smith be given the man of the series award, scoring 769 runs at an average of 128.16, the highest aggregate score in a four-test match series in Australia and also marked the highest number of runs scored against India by an Australian, surpassing Donald Bradman.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Following the Test series, an ODI tri-series with India and England was confirmed in preparation for the upcoming Cricket World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In his first ODI match against England in Sydney, he was dismissed at 37 runs by Moeen Ali but continued to provide runs in the following matches leading to the final against England. En route to the tri-series final, Smith was handed his first ODI match on 20 January as the skipper after George Bailey was suspended for a slow-over rate earlier in the series. Three days later, Smith scored his first ODI century against England producing 102 runs in 95 balls; the win saw Australia qualify for the final and later defeating England to win the Carlton Mid Triangular Series in Australia 2014–15.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the World Cup, Smith played a vital role as versatile batsman as he played in numerous batting positions from number three down to as a middle-order batsman. In Australia's opening match of the World Cup, against England, he was dismissed early on 5 but later improved as the tournament progressed. After making half centuries against Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, he later steered Australia into the final after making a century against India in the semi-finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground. In the final, Australia drew against fellow neighbours New Zealand after defeating South Africa. Australia's target to chase 183 runs after a New Zealand collapse saw Steve Smith score 58 not out alongside the skipper, Michael Clarke as Australia won by 7 wickets with 101 balls remaining. Smith was Australia's highest run scorer in the tournament, scoring 402 runs at an average of 67, including a century and four fifties. He was named in the team of the tournament for the 2015 World Cup by the ICC. He was also named in the team of the tournament by ESPNcricinfo and Cricbuzz.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: After winning the World Cup in March, Australia's winter schedule was later released with the Test team returned from their short break towards their two Test series against the West Indies in the Caribbean. Due to IPL commitments, Smith missed out on Australia's maiden warm up match against the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI on 27 May. He later joined the Test squad in the first Test match in Windsor Park, and scored 25 and 5 runs, respectively. In the second Test match in Sabina Park, Smith steered Australia to a first innings score of 399, where he made 199 and became the eighth man in Test history to be dismissed on 199. Australia later won the match in positive fashion, beating the West Indies by 277 runs within four days and retained the Frank Worrell Trophy. After his man of the match effort against the West Indies in the second Test, Smith became the second-youngest player ever to reach the number 1 ICC Test batsmen ranking and just the eighth Australian to do so.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: The 2–0 victory against the West Indies gave Australia some momentum into the long awaited Ashes series in the British Isles. While Australia's last Ashes tour was in 2013, the emergence of England's Joe Root and Australia's Steve Smith saw an awaited clash to determine the better batsman in the upcoming series. With the Australians in good form and England drawing to New Zealand and West Indies gave Australia some confidence to the countdown to the first Test in Cardiff. Steve started positively in his first-class match with a century against Kent in Canterbury. He was rested for the second first-class match and in the first Test match in Cardiff, Smith made 33 in both innings as England took a 1–0 lead in the series. In the second Test in Lord's, Smith produced 215 runs in his first innings, his highest Test score and became the first Australian to score a double-ton at Lord's since the Second World War. His double century also made Smith pass 3000 Test runs, the third-youngest Australia to reach the feat. In his second innings he made 58 runs before Australia levelled the series in a 405 run rout.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the third Test in Edgbaston, Smith made 7 and 8 runs, respectively, both dismissed by Steven Finn, but Smith's low scores saw England take a 2–1 lead into the series. In the fourth Test in Trent Bridge, Australia needed a win to draw the series. With overcast conditions and a green top, Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to field. In the first innings, Smith was dismissed again cheaply by Stuart Broad with a score of 6, as Australia capitulated in the first session of a total 60 runs from 18.3 overs—is the quickest—in terms of balls faced—a team has been bowled out in the first innings of a Test match. In the second innings, Smith was again caught by Ben Stokes in the slips from Stuart Broad with a meagre score of 5. England within three days regained the Ashes and took an unassailable 3–1 lead and critics began to question Smith's performances in seaming conditions. Into the fifth and final Test match back at The Oval, Smith made his second century in the series registering 143 runs off 252 balls before being bowled by Finn. Australia later defeated England by an innings and 46 runs. However, England regained the Ashes 3–2 after winning in Nottingham in early August and later saw the Test retirements of Australia's senior players: Michael Clarke, Chris Rogers and later Shane Watson, Ryan Harris and Brad Haddin. Overall, Smith made 508 runs at an average of 56.44, the most runs scored in the series.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: The retirement of Michael Clarke following Australia's 3–2 defeat in the 2015 Ashes series saw Smith appointed as the full-time captain of the Australian Test team. Fellow New South Welshman David Warner was appointed as his vice-captain.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Next followed a three Test home series against New Zealand. Smith's output in the first Test in Brisbane was modest, scoring 48 and 1, as the team romped home for a win in a high scoring game. During the second Test, Smith scored 27 in the first innings before breaking the shackles with 138 in the second innings. This was Smith's first-ever second innings century; all previous centuries having been scored in the first innings of a Test match. Australia went on to draw the second Test.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the third Test, significant for being the first-ever day-night Test held at the Adelaide Oval, Smith defied difficult batting conditions to register 53 in the first innings, before falling for 14 in the second innings. Australia won the match in a tight contest.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Shortly after the series against New Zealand, a three Test series was to be held against the West Indies. During the first innings of the first Test, Smith was caught behind on 10, and did not bat again, due to Australia's dominance. The second Test was successful for the captain, scoring 134* and 70* in each respective innings, as Australia went on to seal a series victory. Due to poor weather conditions, the third Test was a wash out, with very little play able to be held.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In 2015 Smith was awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy (ICC Cricketer of the Year) and ICC Test Player of the Year award and named in ICC Test Team of the Year and ICC ODI Team of the Year by the ICC. In the same year, he also received the Allan Border Medal, Australian Test Player of the Year and Australian One Day International Player of the Year award. He was also named in the Test XI of the year 2015 by ESPNcricinfo.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: A two Test return tour against New Zealand took place in February 2016. Smith looked to be in fine touch, registering 71, 138, and 53* in the three innings in which he batted, as the Australian team won 2–0.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: During the T20 World Cup 2016, held in India, Smith struggled with form early, before registering 61 against Pakistan in a must-win pool match for Australia.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith went on to score only 2 against India, as Australia were knocked out of the tournament. It was believed that Smith was incorrectly given out, having clean missed a ball the umpires deemed to have been edged.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith then led the Australian Cricket Team on their tour of Sri Lanka. The three Test series was a disaster for the Aussies, losing 3–0. Smith was Australia's highest run scorer in the series, scoring 247 runs at an average of 41, including one century and one fifty. Throughout the following ODI series, Smith averaged in excess of 40 across the first two matches, before leaving early for a rest.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Australia's disappointing run of form continued into their ODI tour of South Africa. They lost the first 3 matches, largely attesting to their young bowling attack's inability to contain a strong South African batting line-up. Smith was disappointing in output across the first two ODIs, before scoring 108 off 107 balls in the 3rd match, as he and David Warner helped Australia to 371. Despite the large total, it was chased down by South Africa in the 50th over. Australia lost the 5-match series 5–0.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Following the 5–0 ODI defeat in South Africa, the Australian team returned home for a 3 Test series against South Africa. In the first Test Smith made a duck and 34 runs, and Australia lost the Test match. In the second Test at Hobart, Smith made 48 not out in the first innings but the team capitulated, only making a total score of 85 runs and ending up losing the Test. Following the defeat, criticism of Smith's captaincy and the team's performance emerged which saw the influx of young players such as Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddison for the last Test. After losing five consecutive Tests, Smith made 59 and 40, respectively, with the addition of his team performances to win the day-night Test match in Adelaide. The win in Adelaide avoided a 3–0 whitewash at home, as the 2–1 defeat marked Smith's first series defeat at home.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: After the Test series against South Africa, New Zealand played 3 ODIs in between the two Test series against South Africa and Pakistan. In the first ODI, Steve Smith registered 164 runs at the SCG, marking the highest ODI score at the ground, beating the previous score of 162 set by AB De Villiers during the 2015 World Cup. He was awarded "man of the match". In the second ODI he made 72 runs and in Melbourne of the final ODI he was dismissed for a duck. The Australian team won the contested Chappell-Hadlee Trophy 3–0 and returned the trophy to Australia.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Pakistan was scheduled to have three Test series and 5 ODIs. In the first Test in Brisbane, Smith made 130 and 63 runs. His century in Brisbane marked his 16th Test century and his first against Pakistan. Despite Pakistan being bowled out for a low score of 142 in the first innings, Smith's captaincy tactics sparked a mixed response from critics when the on-field umpires made the decision to increase the fourth day evening session for another thirty minutes, believing a result would be determined. Pakistan made a 4th innings total of 450, as Australia won by 39 runs. The second Test match was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Smith later placed his seventeenth century, the fourth-fastest to do so and also reaching 1000 runs in the calendar year—his third consecutive achievement of this since 2014. Despite intermittent rain, Australia managed an unlikely victory into the last session of day five, resulting in a 2–0 win for Australia. The final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground marked Steve Smith's 50th Test match, as Australia whitewashed Pakistan 3–0 . Following the victory, he was awarded "Man of the Series" after making a total of 441 runs—the most in the series from both sides.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith was once again featured in ICC's 2016 Cricket Awards as a 12th man for the ICC Test team of the year. In the ODI Series against Pakistan, Smith experienced mixed results but played a vital role, with Australia later ending up routing Pakistan 4–1. On 19 January 2017, Steve Smith produced his 8th ODI century against Pakistan at the WACA Ground—becoming the quickest Australian to reach 3000 ODI runs within 79 innings. Following the home series, Smith was scheduled to tour three ODI matches against New Zealand for the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy but later sustained a mild sprain to the medial ligament in his left ankle, so he headed to Dubai in preparation for the upcoming four Test tour of India.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Following the training at ICC's Cricket Academy Centre in Dubai, Smith began the tour of India with a century in their maiden warm-up match in Mumbai. He replicated his ton in the first Test in Pune where he produced his first century in the Indian Subcontinent, accompanied by the support of his bowlers to win their first Test match in India since 2004 and breaking India's 19 match undefeated streak, stretching back from 2012. Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle and other Indian Media rated Smith's third innings hundred at Pune as one of the best ever by a visiting player in India. The Wisden described Smith's ton as an impossible hundred on a "minefield" of a pitch at Pune where all other batsman from both sides struggled to get a decent score.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the 3rd Test match in Ranchi, which is the first-ever Test match hosted at this venue, Steve Smith scored yet another century, 178 not out. This is the third-highest score by an Australian cricketer in Test matches played in India and the highest by an Australian Captain. In the fourth Test in Dharmasala, Smith scored 111 in the first innings which helped Australia to a first innings score of 300. In the second innings, Smith played a ball onto his stumps after scoring a rapid and threatening 17 runs off 15 balls. Smith was the highest run scorer in the series, scoring 499 runs at an average of 71.29, including three centuries.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the first Test at Brisbane, Smith scored the first century of the series, 141*, which was his 21st Test century in his 105th innings—making him the third-quickest to score 21 Test centuries behind Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: On 16 December 2017, Smith scored 239 in the final Ashes match at the WACA Ground. He was quick to score his 22nd century at the WACA, his century coming from 138 balls, including sixteen fours and a six, before he converted that into a career-best 239. It was his second double-hundred and his first as captain.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the fourth Ashes test at Melbourne, Smith continued his prodigious form when he scored 76 in the first innings before he was bowled by England debutant Tom Curran, providing him with his first wicket in test cricket. A series best 244* by England's Alastair Cook then placed Australia in a tense situation that saw them trail by 164 at the start of the fourth day. Coming in at 2/65 before lunch on a rain affected day four, Smith batted until the closure of play on day five and scored yet another century, finishing with a defiant 102* from 275 deliveries to guide Australia to a draw and denying England of its first victory in Australia since 2011.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith concluded the 2017 calendar year with six centuries and three fifties, along with an average of 76.76 and a total of 1,305 runs, the highest of any player that year. During the final Ashes match in Sydney, Smith reached the milestone of 6,000 Test runs in 111 innings, becoming the equal second-fastest player and also the youngest Australian, ever to do so.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith garnered praise from opponent captain Joe Root for leading the team from the front, and in Root's opinion Smith was the difference between the two teams during 2017–18 Ashes series. Smith was the highest run scorer in the series, scoring 687 runs at an average of 137.40, including three centuries and two fifties.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In 2017 Smith was awarded the ICC Test Player of the Year award and named in the ICC Test Team of the Year by the ICC. In February 2018 he received the Allan Border Medal and Australian Test Player of the Year award.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith was rested for the T20 series against New Zealand and England so he could prepare for the South African Test series. The series was marred by controversial incidents on and off field. Australia won the first Test by 118 runs with Smith making scores of 56 and 38 runs. The result was overshadowed by a stairwell confrontation between Australian vice captain David Warner and South African wicket-keeper Quinton de Kock. Footage emerged showing Warner having to be physically restrained after words were spoken between the two. This led to Smith and opposing captain Faf du Plessis being called to a meeting with umpires and match officials, where they were reminded of their responsibility to control their teams. South Africa won the second Test by 6 wickets, with Smith's contributions being only 25 and 11 runs. Smith's diminishing returns with the bat and lower than average strike rate suggested that he may have been struggling somewhat. During the match South African fast bowler and player of the match Kagiso Rabada was suspended for the following Test after he made physical contact with Smith after he dismissed him. Rabada successfully appealed the ban; a decision that annoyed Smith.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Australia lost by 322 runs in the third Test, with Smith barely contributing to the score. However, the match result was overshadowed by illegal ball tampering that occurred on the third day. Cameron Bancroft, the second-youngest and most inexperienced member of the team, was captured by television cameras surreptitiously using sandpaper to rough up the cricket ball. He then hid the sandpaper in his underwear before being confronted by the on-field umpires. When attending the press conference at the conclusion of the third day's play with Bancroft, Smith admitted that the "leadership group" of the team discussed tampering with the ball to influence the result of the match during the lunch break. He admitted that he was part of the "leadership group" but did not identify the other members. Smith and vice-captain David Warner stood down from the team leadership the morning after the incident, but still played on, and wicketkeeper Tim Paine took over as interim captain for the rest of the Test match. Subsequently, match referee Andy Pycroft for the ICC banned Smith for one Test match and fined him 100% of his match fee. He handed Bancroft three demerit points and fined him 75% of his match fee.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Cricket Australia launched an independent investigation, charging Smith with bringing the game into disrepute. He was suspended and sent home from the tour. The report stated that, while he did not develop the plan, Smith was found to have misled match officials and others, and as captain did not act to prevent it. He was therefore banned from all international and domestic cricket for 12 months starting from 29 March 2018. He was also debarred from consideration for any team leadership role for an additional 12 months. Warner and Bancroft also received bans. Smith also had his contract with the Rajasthan Royals IPL team for the 2018 season terminated by the Board of Control for Cricket in India as a consequence of the sanctions.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith arrived in Sydney on 29 March. In a press conference at Sydney Airport, a tearful Smith started by saying that he had nothing to add to Cricket Australia's report. He said that as captain of the Australian cricket team, he took full responsibility (even though he did not devise the plan to change the condition of the ball or actually perform the act), and that he had made a serious error in judgement: ""It was a failure of leadership, my leadership"." As well as apologising to his ""teammates, to fans of cricket all over the world and to all Australians who are disappointed and angry"", he specifically referred to the effect that the incident had had on his parents and implored others faced with questionable decisions to consider their parents. He added, ""I know I will regret this for the rest of my life. I'm absolutely gutted. I hope in time I can earn back respect and forgiveness"."


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In April 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. After missing the 2018–19 season, Smith was awarded a national contract by Cricket Australia for the 2019–20 season. On 1 June 2019, Smith played in Australia's opening match of the Cricket World Cup, against Afghanistan, at the County Ground in Bristol. On 11 July 2019, in the semi-final match against England Smith scored 85 runs, becoming the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to score four 50+ scores in Cricket World Cup knockouts. In the tournament, he scored 379 runs at an average of 37.90, including four fifties.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In July 2019, he was named in Australia's squad for the 2019 Ashes series in England. In the first Test at Edgbaston, Smith scored centuries in both innings, his ninth and tenth Ashes centuries and his 24th and 25th overall. Smith's first innings hundred was hailed as one of his finest ever by British Media as he was returning from a year-long suspension and was batting with the tail for a large part of his innings under tricky conditions. His 25th came in his 119th innings, second only to Don Bradman (who took 69 innings). Smith also rated his first innings hundred at Edgbaston as his best ever.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the first innings of the second Test, his innings was interrupted on 80, when he was hit by a 148.7 km/h ball on the left side of his neck, under the ear from Jofra Archer. He later returned to complete his innings after passing the concussion tests and was out, lbw, for 92. On 18 August 2019, the final day of the Test, Smith was replaced by Marnus Labuschagne, after further tests showed he had actually suffered concussion due to the blow the previous day. Therefore, Labuschagne became the first player to become a concussion substitute in a Test match following a change in the International Cricket Council's (ICC) rules. The concussion then ruled him out of the third Test, though this did not stop him reclaiming the number one position in the Test batting rankings on 3 September 2019.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: In the first innings of the fourth Test at Old Trafford Smith scored his third double-century in Test matches and third century in the series and became the first batsman to score 500 or more runs in three successive Ashes series.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: Smith registered his tenth consecutive Ashes fifty-plus score in the first innings of the fifth Test, breaking Inzamam Ul Haq's record for the most consecutive Test 50+ scores against a single opposition. He finished the series with 774 runs at an average of 110.57, by far the most on either side. Smith made 3 hundreds and 3 fifties. He was awarded his second consecutive Compton–Miller Medal as the man of the series.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: British Media along with former cricketers rated his dominating batting in the series as one of the greatest batting displays in a test series.


title: Steve Smith (cricketer)

text: After retaining the Ashes in England, the Australian team returned home for two back to back T20I series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. In the first T20I against Sri Lanka, Smith did not bat, but made 53 not out and 13 in the second and third matches respectively. Australia went on to win the three match series 3–0. Although Smith was not required to bat in the first and third T20Is against Pakistan, his valuable contribution of 80 not out in the second match helped Australia win the match by seven wickets, and go on to win the T20I series 2–0.