Skipper wants Australia to keep enjoying life at the top

CHRISTCHURCH: Australia have achieved what Steve Smith set out to do when he assumed the captaincy last year by climbing to the top of the Test rankings after beating New Zealand on Wednesday with the batsman admitting the trick now “was to stay there”.

The seven-wicket victory coming just after lunch on the final day at Hagley Oval sealed a 2-0 series win against Brendon McCullum’s side and confirmed Australia’s ascendancy to the pinnacle of Test cricket for the first time since July 2014.

“It’s a good start for us. We want to win every series we play and winning away from home is a big goal of mine and the team’s,” Smith told reporters.

“We came here at the start of the series wanting to win 2-0 and we knew if we did that we would be No 1 in the world.

“I guess the challenge for this group now is to extend that gap and try and play some very good cricket home and away.”

Smith, who first captained the side for three Tests against India in Michael Clarke’s absence at the end of 2014, assumed the role in a full time capacity after his predecessor retired following the Ashes series loss to England last year.

Five others joined Clarke in international retirement as a result of that tour and Smith has inherited a side that is rebuilding, though they have won six of their eight matches since with their top-five batsmen all scoring heavily.