Top 5 No. 3 South African batsmen of all time

The number 3 position is perhaps the most important batting slot for any Test team and more often than not, one of the best batsmen in a side bats in that position.

The number 3 needs to have the technical skill to be able to play against the new ball since a wicket might fall quite early and on the other hand, he must also have the wherewithal to drive home the advantage at the back of a substantial opening partnership. South Africa has produced some of the world's leading batsmen in its cricketing history and among them, many have gone on to become excellent number 3 batsmen.

Due to their absence in the game for a period, some of them might not have played a huge number of times at number 3, but still, make the cut for being among the nation's finest. Here is a look at 5 of the best South African number 3s.

5 Hansie Cronje

Former South African captain Hansie Cronje might have left the game in disgrace in 2000 but from 1992 to 1996, he was the team's number 3 and is still posthumously considered one of the best players to have played in that position for South Africa. Cronje wasn't the most gifted batsman around but he was gritty and had the determination necessary to survive at the position.

In addition to that, he was good against fast bowling and one of the best players of spin in the South African side. Cronje batted at number 3 for 21 Test matches and scored 3 centuries along with 3 half-centuries.

In fact, he reeled off his best score of 135 (at number 3) when he batted at the position for the first time against India at Port Elizabeth in 1992. Another superb innings of 122 came against Australia at Johannesburg against Australia. Cronje averaged 37.10 at number 3 and gave up the position in 1996.

4 Gary Kirsten

Gary Kirsten

The former South African batsman played most of his career as an opening batsman and did an excellent job at that position. However, towards the end of his career, he batted at the number 3 for South Africa due to the emergence of Graeme Smith and Kirsten did an excellent job at his new position. Kirsten's technical excellence, temperament and the ability to pace his innings made him an excellent candidate for the position.

In total, he batted at number 3 in 10 Tests in 2002 and 2003. During the course of those games, Kirsten scored 922 runs at an outstanding average of 70.92 and notched up 4 centuries, in addition to 4 half-centuries.

His highest score of 160 came against Bangladesh. In addition, he scored two centuries against England during the 2003 tour and also scored a 90 against the same opponents at The Oval during the same series. Kirsten may not have played at the position for too long, but he was certainly one of the best.

3 Jacques Rudolph

Jacques Rudolph

Former left-handed batsman Jacques Rudolph might be a forgotten man in South African cricket but his record at number 3 is quite remarkable, and he batted at the position in 23 out of the 48 Test matches that he played for his country.

Rudolph started off his Test career with a superb 222 not out against Bangladesh at Chittagong back in 2003 and over the next few years, he became a rock for the South African top order.

Rudolph's graceful stroke-making, defensive technique and patience made him the ideal number 3. Centuries followed in New Zealand and Sri Lanka, as he established himself in the team. Rudolph scored 1428 runs in 23 Tests at number 3 and averaged 46.06. He notched up 4 centuries and 5 centuries during his stint at number 3. However, after a string of failures, he was omitted from the side in 2006 and soon after, he took a Kolpak deal to play for Yorkshire in the County Championships. That being said, his claim to being one of South Africa's best ever number 3s is not under dispute.

2 Jacques Kallis

Jacques Kallis

Although Jacques Kallis is arguably South Africa's greatest ever batsman, he batted at number 3 in only 49 of the 166 Test matches he played in his illustrious career. Kallis was perhaps the most technically sound batsman in the South African side and in addition to this, he had a defensive technique that could often make the bowlers wonder how they were ever going to get his wicket. However, that was only one side of his game. Kallis could also punish bowlers with scintillating strokeplay when he felt like and he had all the strokes in his repertoire.

Later in his career, he also added the leg side steer with a roll of the wrists over the ball and that opened up another scoring avenue for him.

In the 49 Tests that he batted at number 3, Kallis scored a total of 3335 runs at an average of 49.77 and hit 9 centuries, in addition to 16 half-centuries. His highest score of 189 not out came against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo back in 1999 and other centuries were scored against Australia, England, New Zealand and the West Indies. If he had batted at number 3 for a longer period, then Kallis would probably have had a better shot at being number 1.

1 Hashim Amla

Hashim Amla

He is one of the greatest batsmen in the history of South African cricket and out of the 109 Test matches that he has played, he has batted at number 3 in 93 of those.

That naturally makes Hashim Amla the greatest number 3 in the history of South African cricket and he has the numbers to back it up as well.

Amla has been the rock of the South African top order for around a decade now and his average of 53.59 at number 3 speaks volumes about his abilities as a batsman. He has scored a total of 7450 runs at number 3 so far. Amla's temperament, his ability to soak up pressure in tough conditions and the gift of playing a long innings with patience, have made him one of the leading batsmen in the world.

He has scored 25 centuries at number 3 and in addition to that, he has also scored 33 half-centuries. Perhaps his best innings is the 311 not out that he scored against England at the Oval back in 2012 but in addition to that, he has scored 6 more double hundreds at number 3 and a 198. He is definitely South Africa's all-time greatest number 3 and perhaps among the greatest number 3s in cricket history.