Steve Smith has retired from ODI cricket following Australia’s defeat to India in the Champions Trophy semi-finals.

The 35-year-old batsman, who led the team in the absence of regular captain Pat Cummins, will continue to play Tests and T20Is.

Smith told his teammates of his decision to retire immediately after Tuesday’s match, having top-scored with 73 in his side’s 264 all out.

“It has been a great ride and I have loved every minute of it,” Smith said in a Cricket Australia press release.

After making his debut against the West Indies in 2010 as a leg-spinning all-rounder, Smith went on to play 170 ODIs, scoring 5,800 runs at an average of 43.28.

He hit 12 centuries and 35 half-centuries, and was a member of Australia’s 2015 and 2023 World Cup-winning teams.

“There have been so many amazing times and wonderful memories,” Smith said. “Winning two World Cups was a great highlight along with the many fantastic teammates who shared the journey.

“Now is a great opportunity for people to start preparing for the 2027 World Cup so it feels like the right time to make way.

“Test cricket remains a priority and I am really looking forward to the World Test Championship final [against the Proteas in June], the West Indies in the winter and then England at home.

“I feel I still have a lot to contribute on that stage.”

Smith, who also took 28 wickets at 34.67, was the Australian ODI player of the year in 2015 and 2021.

He was also in the ICC ODI team of the year in 2015.

“We fully understand and support Steve’s decision,” said Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey.

“Steve has said on many occasions he is approaching the remainder of his playing career on a series-by-series basis, a position which hasn’t changed and one Cricket Australia supports.

“His record as a batter is exemplary and to leave the format as a two-time World Cup winner cements his legacy as one of the great Australian ODI players.”

Todd Greenberg, Cricket Australia chief executive, stressed that Smith still had a big role to play in red-ball and T20 cricket.

“We’re fortunate Steve still has much to offer in the Test and T20 arenas and I look forward to witnessing the next stage of one of cricket’s great careers,” he said.

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Commanding centuries from Steve Smith and Alex Carey gave Australia a dominating lead at stumps on day two of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Australia, leading by 73 runs at 330-3, were poised to post a mammoth first-innings total, with Smith and Carey stitching together an unbroken 259-run stand for the fourth wicket.

Sri Lanka’s bowlers showed some early flair but the spinners struggled to get the same fizz off the surface once the ball lost its bite, and Smith exploited the gap.

The Australia captain made a scratchy start and his innings could have been cut short on 24, when he was judged lbw to Nishan Peiris. However, a timely review saved him and Smith never looked back.

Smith tightened his grip on the contest with elegant cover drives and precise pull shots.

He took a few calculated risks and, with Sri Lanka lacking a substantial total to defend, the field was soon spread out to cut off boundaries rather than hunt for wickets.

That didn’t deter the Australian captain, who pierced the gaps with ease in dispatching nine fours and a six.

He brought up his 36th Test hundred in style, pulling part-timer Kamindu Mendis to the mid-wicket boundary.

Carey was promoted to No 5 in place of Josh Inglis, who was off the field nursing a sore back, and grabbed his chance, racing to his half-century in 68 deliveries.

His hundred came with a well-timed sweep to the boundary, taking just 118 balls to reach the milestone, and finished with a career-best 139 off 156 balls that included 13 fours and two sixes.

Sri Lanka were earlier bowled out for 257, having resumed on their overnight score of 229-9.

Kusal Mendis played a lone hand with a spectacular 85* but he ran out of partners as the Australian bowlers wrapped up the innings after some late resistance.

The visitors have already put the Warne-Murali Trophy beyond Sri Lanka’s reach, having taken an unassailable 1-0 lead with a crushing victory in the first Test.

The innings and 242-run humiliation stands as Sri Lanka’s worst defeat in Test history.

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Steve Smith’s unbeaten 104 after crossing 10,000 Test runs helped Australia pummel Sri Lanka alongside fellow centurion Usman Khawaja on day one of the opening Test.

Australia reached 330-2 in 81.1 overs when rain stopped play for the day after the tourists elected to bat first in Galle at the start of the two-match series.

Left-handed opener Khawaja (147*) and skipper Smith put on an unbeaten stand of 195 to thwart the opposition attack in two wicketless afternoon sessions.

Milestone man Smith got three runs off spinner Nishan Peiris to reach his third ton in four matches as he took off his baggy green and raised his bat to acknowledge the crowd’s cheers.

Smith took the crease in the first session with 9,999 runs and calmly nudged his very first delivery to mid-on for a single off Prabath Jayasuriya.

He became the 15th batsman to 10,000 Test runs and only the fourth Australian to achieve the feat after Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

Smith survived an early reprieve in his knock when Jayasuriya grassed a sharp return catch in the same over, a chance Sri Lanka would come to rue.

He made the hosts pay dearly, crafting a sublime 35th Test century to reaffirm his stature as one of Australia’s rock in the middle-order.

Khawaja reached his 16th Test hundred – his maiden ton on Sri Lankan soil – after a 17-match drought since his Ashes century in June 2023.

The ton came with a flick off fast bowler Asitha Fernando to the fine-leg boundary, a stroke brimming with elegance and relief.

The 38-year-old had a few heart-in-mouth moments when a couple of edges fell just short of fielders and a reprieve on 74 when he nicked Jayasuriya to the keeper, but Sri Lanka chose not to review the on-field decision.

Another opportunity slipped through Sri Lanka’s fingers with Smith on 90 as Kusal Mendis, slow to react behind the stumps, spilled a bat-pad chance.

Earlier, Travis Head smashed 57 off 40 balls including 10 fours and one six to put Sri Lanka on the back foot right away.

Head, who replaced 19-year-old Sam Konstas as an opener for the Test, put on 92 runs with fellow left-hander Khawaja.

The hosts finally found a breakthrough when Head misfired an ambitious charge against Jayasuriya only to find the long-on fielder.

Jeffrey Vandersay had Marnus Labuschagne caught at first slip for 20 with his left-arm spin.

With three specialist spinners in the Australian XI, the tourists hold all the aces, especially with the pitch expected to deteriorate as the game progresses.

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Australian batting great Steve Smith begins the series in Sri Lanka just one run short of entering the elite club of 10,000 Test runs ahead of Wednesday’s opening match in Galle.

Smith, who will captain the team for the two-match series in the absence of Pat Cummins, has amassed 9,999 runs in 114 matches at an average of more than 55.

The 35-year-old is all but assured of becoming the 15th batsman in the world – and fourth Australian after Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Steve Waugh – to achieve the milestone.

Smith said the landmark would not be on his mind when he walks out at the picturesque Galle stadium overlooking the Indian Ocean.

“Honestly, I’m trying not to think about it too much,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

Smith suggested it had played on his mind “a bit too much” during Australia’s fifth and final Test against India in Sydney this month, where his 33 and four left him agonisingly short.

“Now it’s just about focusing on the job at hand,” he said.

Travis Head will open the batting in place of 19-year-old Sam Konstas on a pitch that is expected to favour spinners and at a venue where Sri Lanka have won 27 of the 46 Tests played.

“Travis will bat at the top, but we’ll finalise the XI after another look at the pitch tomorrow morning,” Smith said. “The wicket has changed a bit since yesterday, so we’ll weigh our options.”

Australia, who have already set up a World Test Championship (WTC) final with South Africa at Lord’s in June, will be looking to stamp their authority as the No 1 Test team.

Smith was coy on whether wicketkeeper Josh Inglis (29) was in line for his Test debut.

“He has solid defence, plays spin well, and scores all around the wicket,” Smith said. “If he gets his chance, I’m confident he’ll grab it with both hands.”

Sri Lanka, led by Dhananjaya de Silva, will be looking to reclaim the Warne-Murali Trophy, named after late Australia hero Shane Warne and Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan.

Sri Lanka hammered the visiting Australians 3-0 in 2016 but the last series in 2022 ended 1-1, with both matches played in Galle.

“The last time we won the Warne-Murali Trophy was in 2016, which was also my debut series. A lot of players from that campaign are still in the mix and we believe we have what it takes to repeat history,” De Silva told reporters.

“Another incentive for us is the chance to finish third in the WTC standings if we win 2-0. That would be a tremendous achievement.”

The hosts have injury worries, with opener Pathum Nissanka out due to a groin injury and De Silva struggling with a side strain.

“Pathum is a key player and we’re hopeful he’ll be fit for the second Test. Whoever steps in will have a golden opportunity to make a mark,” De Silva said.

Oshada Fernando, a seasoned campaigner with a knack for piling up runs in domestic cricket, is the frontrunner to replace Nissanka.

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