Steve Smith Net Worth, Mansion, Wife, Stats & Fun Facts

An iconic Australian batsman if there ever was one. 

The mere mention of Steve Smith’s name is enough to leave any cricket fan nodding with approval. A player known for relishing his spot at the crease perhaps more than any other current Australian player, Smith has experienced a career filled with immense highs and some challenging lows. 

Affectionately nicknamed ‘Smithy’ or ‘Smudge’, the Aussie batsman is one of the most well-celebrated and decorated Australian athletes, let alone cricketers, of all-time. Which is miraculous when one remembers Smith entered the international stage as a leg-spin bowler. 

Since making his debut in 2010 against Pakistan, Smith has developed into one of cricket’s modern greats. His impressive form in front of the stumps has even led him to holding the impressive record of sitting second in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) All-Time Test Batting Rankings behind cricketing legend Sir Donald Bradman. 

With Smith recently turning 34 and currently helping lead Australia to strong performance against England in the 2023 Ashes series, we wanted to break down the life and career of an Australian sporting hero.

Steve Smith Quick Facts

Who Is Steve Smith?

Steven Peter Devereux Smith, commonly known as Steve Smith, is an Australian international cricketer who previously served as captain of the Australian national team between 2014 and 2018. Born in Kogarah, Sydney, to Peter and Gillian Smith, Steve grew up in love with the game of cricket – to the unfortunate detriment of his scholastic results. He has held both Australian and English citizenship since birth due to his father being Australian and his mother hailing from England. 

An immensely talented cricketer in his own right, Smith is widely regarded as the greatest test batsman of the modern era, as well as one of the greatest in the history of the sport, drawing comparisons to the legendary Sir Donald Bradman in the process. As the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Men’s Test Player of the Decade from the period spanning 2011-2020, Smith has undoubtedly proven himself across his trophy-laden 15-year professional career.

In January 2023, Steve attended the yearly cricket award nights with his amiable wife, Dani Williams where he secured his 4th AB Medal. He participated in Holi, the festival of colours towards the end of the month. In this festival, the dress code is white with lots of colour play amongst attendees ranging from red to yellow, green, and so much more. In March of the same year, he attended Morgan Wallen’s concert, a dream becoming reality. 

He changed his cricket team, joined Sussex CCC, and led them on to the WTC final in June of 2023. 

Furthermore, Smith launched 16 digital artworks, replicas of his expressions during victories he made at different tournaments.

Steve Smith’s Cricket Career

Junior Years

Prior to debuting in first-class cricket, Smith played cricket extensively throughout his junior years and brought significant glory to his high school, Menai High School, by leading them to plenty of inter-school tournament victories. Eventually though, Smith dropped out of high school in favour of pursuing a career in professional cricket… and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Debuting for New South Wales against Western Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for the Sheffield Shield competition, Smith would score 33 runs in the sole innings he batted. His performances for NSW – where he amassed 12040 runs at an incredible average of 57.06 – earned him a spot on the Under-19 Australian team as they competed in the 2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia. He would go on to contribute 114 runs and take 7 wickets. 

By the conclusion of the 2009-10 domestic season, Smith had earned a first-class batting average of over 50 and improved his spin bowling under the tutelage of the late great Shane Warne, taking 7 wickets for 64 runs in the second innings of the final match of the season against South Australia.

Becoming A Leading Name In Cricket

Two years after debuting, Smith would don the famous Baggy Green in a Test match against Pakistan at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in 2010 and take three wickets. The future superstar batsman would initially establish his reputation in the Australian setup as that of a solid spin-bowler by finishing the 2010 T20 World Cup as the joint-second highest wicket-taker with 11 wickets in seven outings.

A poor 2010-11 Ashes series led to Smith being dropped from the Australian team and consequently looking to regain his place through good form in domestic cricket. After earning a recall to the Australian Test side in 2013, Smith’s batting talent would begin to eclipse any notion of him being a one-trick pony, with his maiden Test century at The Oval later followed up by centuries at Perth and Sydney during Australia’s 5-0 whitewash in the 2013-14 Ashes.

The 2014-15 series against India would prove to be pivotal for Smith as he stepped in to captain the team in place of an injured Michael Clarke and smashed home centuries in all four Tests across the series. 

Australian Captaincy 

Sensationally, Smith would begin his Australian captaincy by setting a record as the first skipper to begin with three consecutive centuries, surpassing Donald Bradman’s record (715 runs for Australia, 1947) of most runs scored by an individual in a series by notching 769 runs in the series against longtime rivals India. 

Smith would impress as both a Test and ODI batter during his time as captain, reaching No. 1 in the ICC Test batting rankings for the first time in June 2015 and leading Australia to a 2015 World Cup tournament victory where he finished as the top scorer of his side with 402 runs in 8 matches. In the same year, his extraordinary performance earned him the “Australian ODI Player of the Year” award.

In 2017, Smith’s form would take the leap from excellent to outstanding, beginning with three Test tons on tour against India and three more in the triumphant Ashes series the following summer, improving his Test batting average until it stood second only to Sir Donald Bradman.

However, Smith’s period as captain was not always smooth sailing. Take for example an infamous 2016 incident in a tense Test series versus India where Smith was given out by LBW and looked to his teammates to get an indication of whether to ask for a Decision Review System (DRS) review to be used. Smith’s obvious agenda spurred India’s Virat Kohli to show concern over the matter and encourage the umpire to warn Smith for his actions, however it ended with no DRS review being used and Smith facing criticism from fans and players. 

In the 2017-18 season, Smith publicly criticised Glenn Maxwell’s training regimen following his being dropped from the Australian ODI squad. Moreover, Smith had to previously laugh off suggestions of him being a moody leader in the vein of legendary captain Allan Border, who has been labelled “Captain Grumpy” by the media in the past. 

In his 3 years of captaincy (2015-2018), Smith won 47 matches in 93 with a win percentage of 50.53.

The South Africa Ball-Tampering Scandal

The fallout from the 2018 South Africa ball-tampering scandal – or ‘Sandpapergate’ as it’s known – saw Steve Smith endure the toughest period of his career yet. The incident rocked Australian cricket to its core and exploded Smith’s name into global headlines for all the wrong reasons. 

The situation saw Cameron Bancroft, the second-youngest player in the Australian team at the time, captured by television cameras covertly using sandpaper to rough up the cricket ball before on-field  umpires moved to confront him. A press conference after the day’s cricket facilitated Smith affirming that conversations had taken place with members of Australia’s “leadership group” about resorting to ball-tampering, a form of cheating, but did not identify the other members involved. 

With Smith and vice-captain David Warner stripped of their leadership roles and Smith banned from playing for 12 months, Smith fronted the media upon his return to Sydney at an emotional press conference. The former captain would admit his culpability in the matter and take full responsibility for his actions and the effect they would have on his family and Australian cricket, saying:

“It was a failure of leadership, my leadership,”

“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.”

Late Career

Smith’s path to redemption began at the opening match of the 2019 Ashes series where he scored a stunning 144 in the first innings and an even more important 142 in the second innings at Edgbaston to spark Australia’s victory and their retaining of the Ashes. Over the next few years Smith would win over fans by showing he hadn’t lost his finesse at the crease, and would earn the vice-captaincy role and at-times serve as the team’s captain in lieu of Pat Cummins.

Steve Smith, 2023 Ashes

In the 2023 Ashes Series, Smith displayed relentless skill and composure to assist in his side’s dominance over England at Lord’s. Furthermore, Smith has set his sights on ticking off the “bucket-list” worthy moment of winning the 2023 Ashes in what will be his 100th Test series for Australia. His batting form of late, in addition to Australia’s 2-0 lead in the series, means Smith will likely see his wish fulfilled at this rate.

Cricket Club

In the latter part of the year, Steve had his 100th test, which he was grateful for. As the face of New Balance, he advertised the new sneakers collection and cricket bat he used in playing. For the love of cricket, Smith co-owned a cricket club known as Bondlife. As the curtains of 2023 drew close, Smith reflected on the beautiful moments he had shared with his wife while thanking her for being supportive and a positive factor in his growth.

New Team

Sussex claimed a slice of the world by seizing a spot as the world cricket champions in 2023 at the official Men’s Cricket World Cup with Smith on the team. Smith played a little golf as leisure. In 2024’s award night, he clutched his 4th world title. He had a tennis match freestyle with the renowned Djkornoic, who was left marvelled by Steve’s skills at tennis as he returned a serve with strength and pace.

Steve Smith Career Stats

Steve Smith’s cricketing career has seen him stack up a tonne of runs (28795) and earn plenty of accolades along the way to becoming the 2nd best batsman in history according to the International Cricket Council (ICC). His career trajectory is all the more astonishing when one remembers he began life as a spin-bowler and lower order batsman, and has therefore had to balance the dogged resolve and refined talent needed to reach the top of world cricket in a shorter amount of time than his fellow famous batsmen. 

Currently, Smith holds the record for the second-most Test centuries (behind Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting) to his name. In addition, Smith was the 2nd quickest batsman to hit 25 test centuries, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to achieve the feat. By 2019, the player nicknamed Smudge would break the record set by English batsman Walter Hammond for the fastest to reach 7000 runs in Test matches. 

Having been recognised in the ICC Team of the Decade side and given the honour of being named the ICC Test Player of the Decade for the years 2011-2020, Smith has excelled at the sport he’s loved dearly since he was a youngster. To cap it all off, Smith’s consistent batting execution in international cricket has enabled him to win the prestigious Allan Border Medal in 2015, 2018, and 2021. 

Is Steve Smith Retiring?

At this stage, Australian cricketer Steve Smith will not be retiring, despite speculation suggesting otherwise since the recent retirement announcement of former vice-captain David Warner. Warner, an iconic Australian batter in his own right, will see out the 2023 Ashes and WTC final before stepping down from Test cricket. 

Having been a critical part of the 2023 Ashes series, Smith (aged 34) will possibly be making his last appearance at Lord’s if speculation is to be believed. Smith recently faced questions about his future and responded with a typically forthright and simple “No” when asked about his plans down the lime. Significantly though, Smith’s worries for the future of Test cricket in the face of the rising popularity of franchise T20 competitions may provide some indication to his preferences for the next stage of his career. 

“I am a little concerned,” he stated to the press. 

“Hopefully Test cricket continues to thrive. When it comes to recent games, which have been quite great, I believe it is in a terrific spot right now. 

“As a traditionalist and a fan of Test cricket, I sincerely hope it continues to be on all the boards’ thoughts and endures for some time to come.”

What type of player is Steve Smith?

Steve Smith is a right-handed, top-order batsman who possesses a unique batting technique that many admire for its unorthodoxy. A frequent mover around the crease, Smith is known for controlling the bat with his bottom hand and his confidence in playing unconventional shots like the reverse sweep. And although Smith doesn’t label his whole style as unorthodox, he admits his preliminary movement in the lead-in to facing balls is a rare sight in top-level cricket and understands why he’s labelled in such a way. 

Smith’s spectacular hand-eye coordination and exemplary footwork set him apart as a naturally-gifted batsman, with his almost cosmically-timed reactions and batting decisions being standout features of his game. Much of the credit for Smith’s success has also been attributed to his batting coach Trent Woodhill, who mentored Smith as a junior and helped to hone his clear abundance of talent.

Steve Smith’s Strange Superstitions

Although he’s known for his cool, calm, and collected demeanour on and off the field, Steve Smith’s fascinating career has been made all the more unique by the many quirks and superstitions attached to his name. However strange they are though, these superstitions have steered Smith toward becoming the iconic batsman fans know and love. 

At the crease, Smith will typically check himself and his protective gear several times throughout a match. In addition, he will carry over 18 bats in his bag for each and every match he is set to play in. Speaking to GQ in 2015, Smith identified one key superstition, saying: “I really only have one which is to put the left of everything on first, left sock, shoe, pad, glove and so on.”

Since then though, a greater number of Smith’s unique superstitions have come to the forefront in light of his unorthodox batting style. In an interview with Sky Sports Cricket in 2020, Smith confirmed that he wears football socks whilst playing and that he tapes his shoelaces to his socks so as to prevent them impeding his protective gear or his stepping.

But Smith’s pre-match rituals aren’t just completed on game day, the night before Smith is already envisioning the day to come, as he explained to former cricketer Kevin Pietersen on Sky Sports ahead of the 2023 Ashes. 

“Before the first innings, I really struggle to sleep. I visualize all the bowlers coming at me, what they are going to do, and how I am going to try and score. It is not ideal, but yeah, got a bit of sleep last night.”

Steve Smith Personal Life

Steve Smith Relationship History

Steve Smith and his current wife, Dani Willis, began their relationship in 2011 after first crossing paths at a bar during the inaugural ceremony of Australia’s T20 Big Bash League. After 6 years together, the two took their relationship to the next level by announcing their engagement in 2017 before marrying in September 2018, with their wedding taking place at the picturesque Bendooley Estate in Berrima, NSW.

Smith and Willis’ love story has seen them support one another’s professional sporting careers and entrepreneurial ventures, with Willis previously representing Australia in trampoline gymnastics at the World Championships before retiring and working as a marketing executive for a tech company. Like many people, the two had to endure plenty of time apart during the COVID-19 pandemic, and spent a total of 121 days apart during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 cricket season, though it only further solidified their close bond. 

Steve Smith, Entrepreneur 

Whilst cricket undoubtedly takes up most of Steve Smith’s time, he has also sought out and invested in lucrative business opportunities to expand his portfolio beyond just batting and bowling at a crease. 

As first reported by the Australian Financial Review, Smith’s first major financial upturn arrived after he saw potential in Aussie mattress and furniture start-up Koala when it was just springing up and bought a 10% stake in the company. Since then, Koala has excelled through viral marketing success stories and has exploded in popularity, and Smith’s initial 10% stake is now said to be worth $40 million.

Alongside his investment in Koala, Smith owns several investment properties in Sydney and has invested in photographer marketplace Snappr whilst being directly involved in an alternative milk start-up called Oat Milk Goodness.

Steve Smith Net Worth

There’s no denying Steve Smith would be one of the best-paid cricketers out of Australia. His big money contracts in domestic cricket – specifically in the cash-heavy Indian Premier League (IPL) – alongside his reported $2 million salary from representing Australia take a back seat to the immense wealth Smith has secured from investing in local companies like Koala, Snappr, and Oat Milk Goodness. Add to this his endorsement deal with New Balance reportedly worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, and his large amount of Sydney property investments, and Steve Smith’s net worth is believed to be anywhere between $30 and $40 million.