101 vs Pakistan, Sharjah, 2014
This is probably not an innings that will leap into the memory of many, but it was a very significant moment in Steven Smith's career. It was his first ODI hundred (and, in fact, in List A cricket as well) having not passed fifty in 27 innings to this point as he was shuffled around the middle order. Smith had moved to No. 3 a few weeks previously in Zimbabwe when Michael Clarke had suffered a hamstring injury and in this innings came in to bat in just the second ball of the match. He went on to bat through 44 overs, compiling 101 off 118 balls with just 36 of them coming in boundaries. "An important phase in the life and times of Steven Smith began on this balmy evening in Sharjah," Wisden noted.
65 vs Pakistan, Adelaide, 2015
The World Cup quarter-final was remembered for Shane Watson vs Wahab Riaz, but at the other end it was as though Smith was playing a different game. "In terms of fluency, watching Smith and Watson batting together was like seeing Winston Churchill trying to converse with Manuel from Fawlty Towers," was how ESPNcricinfo reported the partnership of 89 which put Australia on course for victory. Somewhat surprisingly it was Smith who fell, lbw to Ehsan Adil, for 65 off 69 balls.
105 vs India, Sydney, 2015
The best players perform when it really matters, and following the Pakistan encounter, Smith was without doubt the central figure in propelling Australia into the final with a masterful 105 off 93 balls, capping a season where he had tormented India across Tests and ODIs. His footwork stood out while 77 of his 105 runs came through the leg side. A few days later he would hit the winning runs at the MCG.
164 vs New Zealand, Sydney, 2016
This would remain the highest score of Smith's ODI career as he dominated New Zealand with 164 off 157 balls. There was a steady progression to his landmarks: a half-century from 70 balls, another 50 to reach the century and then just 28 to bring up 150. The innings came in a year that brought him 1154 ODI runs at 50.17. He had been given a life on 13 when BJ Watling dropped a tough chance down the leg side and would turn an uncertain 92 for 4 into an imposing 324 for 8. To cap Smith's day, he took an astonishing catch to remove Watling - one he would recall as the best of his career.
105 and 104 vs India, Sydney, 2020
We are coupling these innings together given they came in the space of three days and, remarkably, both off 62 deliveries as India's attack were put through the sword early in the Covid summer of 2020-21. Smith had been searching for his hands, and found them in no uncertain terms. However, in the first of the centuries he was saved by millimeters on 15 when an lbw against Ravindra Jadeja was overturned. A few overs later, he took three boundaries in four balls off Jadeja to supercharge his innings. Across the two knocks, Smith flayed 209 off 130 balls as Australia amassed 374 for 6 and 389 for 4. To add to the astonishing nature of the back-to-back hundreds, Smith had been in doubt for the second match just hours before it started with a bout of vertigo.