Top 10 New Zealand No.3 batsmen of all-time

New Zealand are perennial underachievers in cricket but there’s no doubt that the country has a strong cricketing history. Several of the world’s finest cricketers have come out of the country, including some brilliant batsmen.

No.3 is arguably the most relied-on batting position in any format of the game. New Zealand have produced some brilliant batsmen over the years.

Some of them have batted at No.3 for most of their careers while some have batted at the position during certain periods of their careers. Let’s take a look at 10 of the greatest No.3 batsmen produced by New Zealand.

#10. Nathan Astle

One of the country's greatest ever batsmen, Nathan Astle has scored most of his international runs as an opener or in the middle order. However, he has played some fine knocks while batting at No.3.

In Tests, Astle batted sporadically at No.3 as he was generally preferred at No.5. He has 131 runs to his name at an average of 50.97, scoring a steady 77-ball 64 against England at Lord's in 2004.

In ODIs, Astle was generally preferred as an opener. However, he did play 22 innings at No.3, scoring 786 runs at an average of 43.66. He scored 2 centuries- a 102 against Zimbabwe at Bloemfontein during the 2003 World Cup and 118 against West Indies at Christchurch in 2006.

Astle also played a T20I innings at No.3 against West Indies at Auckland in 2006. He scored an unbeaten 5.

#9. John Reid

A prominent cricketer during the 80s, John Reid has scored 83% of his international runs while batting at No.3. In Tests, Reid scored 1147 of his 1296 Test runs (88.5%) from 24 innings at an average of 54.61.

These runs include both of his fifties and 5 of his 6 centuries. Reid’s highest Test score of 180 against Sri Lanka in 1984 has also come while batting at No.3. Reid is 6th amongst the most number of Test runs scored by a Kiwi No.3 batsman.

In ODIs, Reid has scored 456 of his 633 runs (72.03%) from 13 innings at an average of 38. These runs include all four of his ODI fifties. His highest ODI score of 88 against Pakistan at Christchurch in 1985 has also come while batting at No.3.

Another notable innings played by Reid while batting at No.3 is his 76-ball 80 against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 1984 which later earned him his first Man of the Match award.

#8. Mathew Sinclair

Mathew Sinclair scored his debut double hundred while batting at No.3

Mathew Sinclair has scored 2939 runs in international cricket and nearly 55% of those have come while batting at No.3. In Tests, Sinclair has scored 1113 of his 1635 runs from 33 innings at an average of 37.10. These runs include all of his three centuries. Sinclair batted at No.3 on his Test debut against West Indies in 1999 and went on to score 214. He is 7th amongst the most number of runs by a New Zealand batsman while batting at No.3.

In ODIs, Sinclair has scored 494 of his 1304 ODI runs from 21 innings at an average of 24.70. These runs include three of his 8 ODI fifties. Sinclair’s highest ODI score while batting at No.3 is a patient 126-ball 78 against India at Napier in 2002.

Sinclair also played a T20I inning while batting at No.3 against Australia at Auckland. However, he was out for a golden duck.

#7. Brendon McCullum

Baz scored the highest individual score at the T20 World Cup while batting at No.3

One of the most entertaining batsmen of all-time, Brendon McCullum takes the 7th spot. Baz has made most of his runs while opening or coming in at No.6 or No.7 but he has played some really brilliant knocks while batting at No.3.

In Tests, the former Kiwi skipper has scored 512 runs from 14 innings at an average of 39.38 including 5 fifties. McCullum highest Test score at No.3 is 96 against England at Lord’s in 2004 when he debuted at the position in Tests.

In ODIs, McCullum has scored only 481 runs from 17 innings at an average of 30.06. He has scored three half-centuries and 87 against Zimbabwe at Harare is his highest score at No.3.

McCullum who is the highest run-scorer in T20Is, has scored 842 runs from 26 innings at an average of 35.08 while batting at No.3. This is the fourth highest number of runs scored by any No.3 batsman in the format. Baz has scored 5 half-centuries and a century while batting at No.3.

His highest T20I score at No.3 is 58-ball 123 against Bangladesh at the 2012 ICC World T20, which is also the highest individual score in the history of the competition.

#6. Geoff Howarth

Howarth scored most of his Test centuries while batting at No.3

The only Kiwi skipper who has a positive win-loss record in Tests and ODIs, Geoff Howarth has scored nearly half his runs in international cricket while batting at No.3. In Tests, Howarth scored 1148 runs (more than 45% of his Test runs) from 33 innings at an average of 35.87. This is the 5th highest for any No.3 batsman from New Zealand.

He scored four of his 6 Test hundreds while batting at No.3.Howarth’s highest Test score at No.3 is 123 against England at Lord’s in 1978.

In ODIs, Howarth has scored 786 of his 1384 runs (nearly 57%) from 30 innings at an average of 62.77. He has scored 5 of his 6 ODI fifties including his highest ODI score of 76 against Sri Lanka in Bristol at the 1983 World Cup.

#5. Martin Crowe

The former Kiwi skipper scored his highest ODI score while batting at No.3

One of the greatest Kiwi cricketers of all time, Martin Crowe played a few good knocks at No.3. In Tests, Crowe scored only 201 runs from 8 innings at an average of 33.50. His solitary fifty while batting at No.3 came against Pakistan at Lahore in 1984 which was his first time batting at that position. He eventually scored 55.

In ODIs, Crowe has scored 1772 runs from 58 innings while batting at No.3, averaging 31.08. This is the 3rd highest number of runs for any Kiwi No.3 batsman. He has scored more runs only while batting at No.4. Crowe has scored 14 fifties and a hundred while batting at No.3.

Crowe’s only century while batting at No.3 is his highest ODI score of 107 against India at Jamshedpur in 1995.

He passed away in 2016 after a battle with cancer.

#4. Bevan Congdon

Congdon scored most of his Test runs while batting at No.3

Former Kiwi skipper and one of the country’s finest cricketers of his time, Bevan Congdon has scored nearly 70% of his international runs while batting at No.3.

Congdon scored 2414 of his 3448 Test runs (70.01%) while batting at No.3, averaging 43.10. He scored 16 of his 19 fifties and 6 of his 7 Test centuries while batting at No.3 including his 176 against England at Trent Bridge in 1973.

Congdon did not play a lot of ODIs, but scored most of his ODI runs while batting at No.3. He scored 233 runs (68.9% of his ODI runs) from 5 innings at an average of 58.25. He scored his solitary ODI century against England at Wellington while batting at No.3. He scored 101 in that game.

#3. Andrew Jones

Jones scored almost all of his Test runs while batting at No.3

One of the finest Kiwi batsmen during the 1980s, Andrew Jones scored nearly more than 73% of his international runs while batting at No.3. In Tests, Jones scored 2732 of his 2932 runs (93.1%) while batting at No.3, averaging 43.46. Jones scored all of his fifties and all but one of his centuries while batting in that position. His highest Test score of 186 against Sri Lanka in 1991 was also scored when he was batting at No.3.

In ODIs, Jones scored 1476 runs (53% of his ODI runs) while batting at No.3, averaging 34.32. He scored 11 of his 25 ODI fifties including his highest ODI score of 93 against Bangladesh at Sharjah in 1990.

#2. Stephen Fleming

Fleming has scored most of his Test centuries while batting at No.3

New Zealand’s greatest skipper of all-time is No.2 on this list. Fleming has scored nearly a third of his international runs while batting at No.3. In Tests, Fleming scored 2977 runs at No.3, averaging nearly 50. This is the most number of runs by Fleming in any batting position in Tests. Fleming scored 6 of his 9 Test hundreds while batting at No.3, including his career-best 274 against Sri Lanka at Colombo in 2003.

In ODIs, Fleming scored 2118 runs from 66 innings at an average of 34.16. He scored 18 fifties but no hundreds. Fleming’s highest ODI score while batting at No.3 is 96 against Zimbabwe at Dhaka during the 1998 Champions Trophy.

#1. Kane Williamson

The current Kiwi skipper has played most of his finest knocks at No.3

The top spot is taken by the current Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson. One of the finest cricketers today, Kane Williamson has scored nearly 80% of his international runs while batting at No.3 (78.25%). This is the 8th most number of runs by any No.3 batsman in Tests.

In Tests, Williamson scored 4620 of his 5214 Test runs while batting at No.3, averaging 54.35. Williamson has scored 15 of his 17 Test centuries while batting at No.3, including his career-best 242 against Sri Lanka at Wellington in 2015.

In ODIs, Williamson batted at No.3 for his first three ODIs in 2010. Then he did not bat at the position until 2013. He scored 145 against South Africa and has ever since, been batting at the position for most of the games.

Williamson has scored 3964 of his 4716 ODI runs while batting at No.3, averaging 50.17. He has scored 7 of his 9 ODI centuries at the position. In T20s though, Williamson has only scored 105 runs while batting at No.3, averaging 26.25. His highest score was 57 against England at Old Trafford and then he did not bat at the position until the tour of India last month.