Smith struck 774 runs against England, a decisive factor in Australia retaining the historic Ashes.

Such was his impact in 2019 that there were many comparisons with Sir Donald Bradman, considered the greatest Test batsman of all time .

It was 90 years ago that "The Don" burst upon international cricketing consciousness. In an era of no intercontinental flights, the players boarded the liner Orford at the end of March 1930 for a long sea voyage to England.

His competitive spirit was even in evidence on board. He won the "ball tennis" competition and retained the certificate into his final years.

The team landed in England in mid-April and were soon practising at Lord's. They also visited Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Huddersfield Town. "The King took his seat in the box five yards from us," recalled Bradman.

Before the Test series began, there were preliminary matches against county and university opposition. These were usually of three days duration, the better to acclimatise.

The tour opened at Worcester, a picturesque ground on the banks of the River Severn. "I felt well after getting a start and my new bat was excellent," wrote Bradman after hitting 236.

No one had yet heard of a "selfie", but the Sydney Sun newspaper reported how "the crowd swarmed the pavilion to secure photos of Bradman".

Throughout the first month, he continued to score heavily. "This young man goes from strength to strength," was the admiring verdict of former Australian captain Monty Noble. "He determinedly concentrated on discovering just where the differences lay between Australian and English conditions."

By the end of May, Bradman had left his mark with 1,000 runs on tour, a rare accomplishment.

"His first month has been the most sensational ever," claimed veteran Australian journalist Clarence Moody.

"He's a champion, there's no doubt about it," said Hugh Massie, a member of the Australian team of 1882.

Percy Fender, the former Surrey and England player described Bradman's batting as "one of the most curious mixtures of good and bad batting I have ever seen". This served as a red rag to a bull and Bradman scored a double hundred in his next innings.

Bradman scored a century as a notice of intent in the First Test but Australia lost, despite his efforts.

In those days there was a 10-day interval between each Test match, yet Bradman was a busy man in the build up to the second Test at Lord's. He wrote in his diary that HMV's phonograph record factory was the "best organised and  equipped place I've yet seen".

Later in the tour, Australian newspapers published a picture of Bradman playing the piano "almost as facile with the ivories as he is with the willow", as he made a recording. He was becoming a celebrity and his activities outside the sport brought him into conflict with the Australian Cricket Board.

There was also a luncheon with Florence, Lady Darnley. In 1882 she had been one of the ladies who presented an urn to her future husband, England captain Ivo Bligh, to begin the tradition of the "Ashes". Bligh died in 1927 and decreed that the urn be presented to the Marylebone Cricket Club where it remains to this day.

Gossip columns reported how the menu was "bristling with cricket". There was "Supreme de Valasille a la test" followed by "Pomme noisette de Lords" and "Delicatesses Dame Darnley" in honour of the hostess. 

The gathering included singer Dame Nellie Melba, who "chatted amiably to everyone".

That day, Bradman also had a round of golf "played in the rain". The following day, the eve of the Test match, there was a visit to the Houses of Parliament, a lunch, then Wimbledon where the tennis was in full flow.

"Centre court a wonderful sight with 14,000 people. [Bill] Tilden and Helen Wills played magnificently," wrote Bradman in his diary. An evening at the theatre completed the day.

The following morning, England batted first. They were all out early on the second day, but Bradman had to wait another two hours and 52 minutes before he had his chance to bat in front of a huge and expectant crowd.

He was 155 not out by the end of the day and went on to  score 254, a record by an overseas player at Lord's which lasted until 2003. "The batting of Bradman will assuredly live long in the minds of those who saw it," wrote the respected Wisden Cricketers Almanack.

Australia's colossal 729 for six declared remains the highest total on the ground and helped them win the match to square the series.

In the third Test at Leeds, Bradman had already scored a century by the time lunch came on the first day.

By the close, he was still undefeated with a personal score of 309.

The 33,000 spectators were said to be "on the verge of hysteria," Wilfred Rhodes, a distinguished England bowler, later wrote. "I have always said since I first saw this young man, that he is the hardest to keep quiet I have ever bowled to."

When he was finally dismissed for a world record 334, the newspapers did not feel the need to mention his name. They simply proclaimed, "He's Out!"

One newspaper described him as "the boy batting robot".

A telegram soon arrived from Arthur Whitelow, an Australian living in London. He asked Bradman to accept £1,000 pounds as "a mark of my admiration for his wonderful performance".

Rain meant the match was ultimately drawn. Bad weather also prevented a result at Manchester, so everything depended on the final Test match at The Oval in South London to be played to a finish. England had started well, totalling 405, but Bradman once again eclipsed their efforts. He put on 243 for the fourth wicket with another young star batsman called Archie Jackson.

Bradman was eventually dismissed after making 232 in only 413 balls.

It laid the foundation for another huge total of 695 to help Australia win the match by an innings and regain the Ashes.

Pelham Warner, the former England captain turned editor of the Cricketer magazine, insisted Bradman's performances were "unique in the annals of cricket". And rather more poetically described efforts to dismiss him as "like throwing stones at Gibraltar!"

Moody now wrote enthusiastically of "Our Miracle. Don Bradman is the miracle, confirming in the most striking fashion my contention that the country which possesses a super champion batsman will invariably win a rubber."

A heavy programme of civic receptions was arranged for his return to Australia. His arrival in Melbourne alone attracted a crowd of 10,000.

Bradman's diary for November 5 records how he left his home town of Bowral and "...raced to Sydney. Did 82mph at one stage of the trip!" he wrote.

Popular satirical magazine Punch published a cartoon which portrayed him as Gulliver in Lilliput. It would not have been out of place in 2019.

Bradman was to average 99.94 in a Test career which continued to 1948. He played on uncovered wickets which could often become treacherous for batting. Yet he never played Test matches in India, West Indies or South Africa.

Unlike Smith, Bradman did not have to contend with A list or T20 white-ball formats in 1930. Even so, he was on the road, or the high seas from March to November.

In 2019, Smith's exploits were remarkable because they came after a 12-month ban for his part in the infamous "Sandpaper" ball tampering scandal which also saw him stripped of the captaincy of his country.

Before the 2019 ICC World Cup, he had just a handful of warm-up games, before the intensity of tournament play, to say nothing of the scrutiny of newspapers, television and often partisan social media.

Whereas Bradman was surrounded by other strong performers with the bat, Smith shouldered the burden of a weak batting line-up.

Australia were struggling desperately in the first Ashes Test before a Smith hundred in each innings set up victory. In the second, at Lord's, he again seemed "well set" when he was struck a fearsome blow from England's new fast bowler Jofra Archer. Concussion protocols meant he did not bat in the second innings and missed the third match altogether. 

It took mental toughness, as well as cricket skill, to return with a towering 211 and 82 as Australia retained the Ashes. Another 80 followed in the final Test. His lowest score in seven completed innings was 24 and his batting average for the series was 110.57.

In the same number of innings back in 1930, Bradman had scored 974 runs at an average of 139.14 without hitting a single six.

Bradman might have been away from home for longer, but the pressure on Smith this summer was far more intense and concentrated.

He is now closing in on Bradman’s run-scoring tally in Test cricket and, at only 30, there seems no reason why he could not rewrite the record books.

At Lord's, a portrait of Sir Donald Bradman hangs at the entrance to the Long Room as testimony to his accomplishments.         

A similar tribute to Smith may not be long in coming.