<p>England's Ben Stokes has said his Australian rival and IPL teammate Steve Smith is a "genius" as well as "strange" as he hailed the number one Test batsman.</p>.<p>"He's still strange to play against and he's still strange to play with. And the best thing about it is that he admits it," Stokes said in a podcast broadcast by their Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.</p>.<p>"But I feel to be a genius you have to be a bit strange and you know he's certainly both," Stokes said from Britain.</p>.<p>"Personally, I could not think about cricket in the way that he does when it comes to batting. I could never be like that. Obviously, he's on all the time but that's why he averages 60-plus in Test cricket."</p>.<p>The 30-year-old Smith averages over 62 in 73 Tests and improves to 65.11 when playing against arch-rivals England.</p>.<p>Smith was the leading scorer in the 2019 Ashes in England, retained by Australia after the series finished 2-2, with a whopping 774 runs in four matches.</p>.<p>"Even though he plays for Australia, biggest rivals England and Australia, you've just got to hold your hands up sometimes to players like that and go 'yeah you're on a different level when it comes to batting,'" said Stokes, who scored 441 runs in five matches during the series.</p>.<p>"You have to be on a different level with something to be like those guys when it comes to batting."</p>.<p>The flamboyant all-rounder also threw his backing behind Test cricket, saying the five-day format is the "pinnacle" for him and there is no room to tinker with it.</p>.<p>The International Cricket Council has floated the idea of four-day Tests to deal with the cluttered cricket calendar, but the plan met with intense criticism from many within the game.</p>
<p>England's Ben Stokes has said his Australian rival and IPL teammate Steve Smith is a "genius" as well as "strange" as he hailed the number one Test batsman.</p>.<p>"He's still strange to play against and he's still strange to play with. And the best thing about it is that he admits it," Stokes said in a podcast broadcast by their Indian Premier League side Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.</p>.<p>"But I feel to be a genius you have to be a bit strange and you know he's certainly both," Stokes said from Britain.</p>.<p>"Personally, I could not think about cricket in the way that he does when it comes to batting. I could never be like that. Obviously, he's on all the time but that's why he averages 60-plus in Test cricket."</p>.<p>The 30-year-old Smith averages over 62 in 73 Tests and improves to 65.11 when playing against arch-rivals England.</p>.<p>Smith was the leading scorer in the 2019 Ashes in England, retained by Australia after the series finished 2-2, with a whopping 774 runs in four matches.</p>.<p>"Even though he plays for Australia, biggest rivals England and Australia, you've just got to hold your hands up sometimes to players like that and go 'yeah you're on a different level when it comes to batting,'" said Stokes, who scored 441 runs in five matches during the series.</p>.<p>"You have to be on a different level with something to be like those guys when it comes to batting."</p>.<p>The flamboyant all-rounder also threw his backing behind Test cricket, saying the five-day format is the "pinnacle" for him and there is no room to tinker with it.</p>.<p>The International Cricket Council has floated the idea of four-day Tests to deal with the cluttered cricket calendar, but the plan met with intense criticism from many within the game.</p>