“It’s a good question,” Smith said before a pause. “I think there’s a few people that can certainly tick it off.

“Marnus [Labuschagne] is about halfway there. Travis [Head] potentially. [Sam] Konstas is 19 and he could play for a long, long time potentially.”

It is hard to know whether Smith is being diplomatic or genuinely believes those three players have the time and temperament to churn out 10,000 runs in the most taxing format of the game.

Usman Khawaja has the most runs in this Australian side – 5635 at an average of 44.02 – but at 38, is unlikely to play past next summer’s Ashes.

Labuschagne is 27th on the all-time Australian run-scoring list with 4346 runs in 99 innings.

At the same point in his career, in terms of innings played, Smith had compiled 5234 runs from 99 innings at 61.6.

If Labuschagne maintains his average, he would bring up 10,000 Test runs in approximately 227 innings.

Labuschagne would need to play about 126 Tests in total. If he played until the age of 37, that would be about 10 matches per year.

Head seems more unlikely to get to 10,000, given he is older than Labuschagne (31 years and 31 days) and has accumulated 3621 runs at 43.1 from 90 innings.

However, Smith says there is a major hurdle hindering modern batsmen in Australia; the state of pitches.

The days of plundering huge scores, he says, are much harder on pitches that offer far more assistance to bowlers.

“100 per cent it’s far more difficult to bat on these surfaces with these Kookaburra balls than it was 10 years ago. There’s no doubt in my mind,” Smith said.

“The stats would suggest that all batting averages [in Australia] are coming down and bowling averages are coming down.

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“These wickets we’ve played on probably the last three years have been tough, particularly for top order players. You’ve got to have a lot of luck to score big runs to get 100 in a game and you need some luck.”

Then there is Konstas, the 19-year-old prodigy who burst onto the scene in Melbourne on Test debut.

When Smith was 19, the first Indian Premier League season had just taken place. The T20 landscape is vastly different now, with far more lucrative deals on offer for youngsters like Konstas. T20 franchise leagues are tempting talent that was once solely focused on Test cricket.

A return of 113 runs at 28.25 from two Tests isn’t spectacular but astute judges believe Konstas is a once-in-a-generation talent.

Konstas would need to score 52 runs in each innings he batted to get to 10,000 runs in 194 visits to the crease – one fewer than Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara needed to reach five figures. There is, of course, a long way to go, but it’s a nice compliment from Smith.

“I’ve never seen a bloke just so calm before his first game,” Smith said. “It didn’t look like there were any nerves at all in Melbourne.

“I’ve seen him play a couple of different ways … but he’s also got the ability with this technique to lock in and absorb pressure as well. He’s a good kid. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. I like the confidence that he has. There’s going to be ups and downs and you’ve got to take those in your stride.”

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson (9276 runs at 54.88), India’s Virat Kohli (9230 at 46.85) and Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews (8042 at 44.92) are the closest to reaching 10,000 runs of those still playing Tests.