Melbourne, Dec 26 (IANS): Leading Australia batter Steve Smith on Thursday achieved yet another milestone by entering the top 10 of the all-time leading run-scorers for his country in Test cricket.

On the first day of the Boxing Day Test against New Zealand, Smith went past former Test captain Greg Chappell's tally of 7,110 runs with a comfortable single in the 51st over, moving into 10th position on Australia's list of all-time Test run-scorers.

"I would think he'll be in his peak for another three of four years," Chappell told cricket.com.au. "He's the outstanding player of his era, he's playing exceedingly well and he's built up a record which is comparable with the very best.

"The indications are he's going to finish his career in the very top bracket of batsmen through the history of the game," he added.

Smith is currently at the second spot in the ICC Test rankings for batters. He is behind Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Ricky Ponting holds the record for being the leading run-getter for Australia in Test cricket. In 168 matches, Ponting scored 13,378 runs. He is followed by Allan Border (11,174 in 156), Steve Waugh (10,927 in 168), and Michael Clarke (8,643 in 115).

Overall, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for being the leading run-scorer in Test cricket. Tendulkar scored 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches he played for India.