Top 5 No. 3 South African batsmen of all time

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.