5 best number three batsmen of all time

The game of cricket might have undergone a sea of changes over the years with the timeless matches giving way to Test cricket before coloured clothing replaced the all-whites with the introduction of ODI cricket and finally, the T20 format.

The three different formats of the game demand their own specific skill set and there are very few players who have been able to shift seamlessly from one form of the game to another, adjusting their game to suit the needs of the format.

While each player has a specific role in the team, the No 3 spot is perhaps the most vital of them all. The batsman coming in at one-down is expected to steady the ship if an early wicket falls and also expected to fire from the word go if the team has got off to a good start.

Good technique is vital as he has to be equipped to counter both pace and spin depending on when he comes out to bat. Statistics prove that a team invariably does well when the No 3 batsman has performed - Virat Kohli and India's chase record in ODIs is a point in case.

Talking of Kohli, the Indian skipper is arguably the greatest batsman in the world at the moment alongside England's Joe Root. Their level of consistency has well and truly established their legendary status in the game.

They do have a long way to go though in their career at the highest level of the game and it would be premature to include either of the above in the list of the 5 best No 3 batsmen of all time.

A Top-10 list maybe, but not quite in the Top 5, especially when you consider the legends they are up against.

#1 Sir Donald Bradman

Sir Donald Bradman is arguably the greatest ever player to have played the game

The Australian legend might have played only one format of the game but the fact that his exploits with the bat are still talked about as to why he is the greatest batsman to have played the sport justifies his inclusion as one among the Top 5 No 3 batsman of all time.

Sir Donald Bradman dominated the game during his era like no other, head and shoulders above his competitors in an age where cricket used to be played on uncovered pitches.

Getting runs on such surfaces was not an easy task, especially considering the fact that Don batted with very little protection as head gear and other protective equipment was unheard of that time - something England tried to exploit with their infamous Bodyline tactics.

The ease with which Bradman milked runs out of the opposition is something which still baffles the statisticians as he ended up with a batting average of 99.94 from his 52 innings in Test cricket.

5078 of his 6996 runs in the longer format of the game came when he batted at the No 3 spot. Don's batting average when he came in one-down was a staggering 103.63, while 20 of his 29 Test centuries also came when he batted at No 3.

He also spent much of the time as skipper of the Australian but did not let the extra responsibility affect his batting, especially during the intense Ashes rivalry of that period.

One can only speculate as to how he would have fared in limited-overs cricket but as someone who scored more than 300 runs in a single day of a Test match, the attacking mode of the Don would have been a sight to behold.

#2 Kumar Sangakkara

Sangakkara is one of the modern-day greats of the game

The Sri Lankan legend is still scoring runs for fun in first-class and T20 cricket despite bidding adieu to international cricket more than 2 years ago.

Sangakkara made the No 3 spot his own for Sri Lanka from an early stage itself and tops the leaderboard for more Test runs at the No 3 spot by far with 11679 runs from 207 innings - that's 1000 more than his nearest competitor.

His record in ODI cricket is not bad either as he is second only to Australia's Ricky Ponting with 9747 runs from 238 innings.

There have been suggestions that Sangakkara's record looks much better because of his exploits against the weaker opposition like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, but statistics prove that those claims are unfounded.

It is also vital to consider that Sangakkara used to double up as a wicketkeeper for much of his career while also captaining the side. Not easy with a packed international calendar to deal with but Sangakkara did just fine as his impeccable numbers suggest.

He has kept getting better with age and Sri Lanka miss his presence badly. He signed off on the best possible note in T20I cricket by guiding Sri Lanka to the 2014 World T20 and he is still on the Top 10 charts for leading run-scorers in T20I cricket.

#3 Rahul Dravid

Dravid was one of the true Gentlemen of the game and someone who rose to the occasion when needed

Nicknamed 'The Wall', very few players did justice to their name the way Rahul Dravid did during his career. He was Mr. Dependable for Team India and someone who rose to the occasion when his team needed him the most.

Think back to the famous comeback victory over Australia at Eden Gardens and the Adelaide Test victory, Dravid left his imprint with his gutsy knocks and earned the respect of his teammates and opponents alike with his humble nature.

There looked a time when Dravid would be forever considered as a Test specialist but he silenced his critics with his determination, cementing a spot in the ODI and even made his mark in T20 cricket with his exploits in the IPL.

He was true epitome of the Gentleman nature of the game as his selfless nature put unlike his contemporaries and still he achieved so much.- a true testament to his abilities as a player, especially at the No 3 spot.

Dravid is the only player apart from Sangakkara to score more than 10000 runs in Test cricket batting at the No 3 spot, while the constant change in his batting position for the sake of the team meant that his ODI run tally from the same spot was restricted to just 4000 runs.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that he is one of the greatest No 3 batsman ever in the history of the game.

#4 Sir Vivian Richards

Vivian Richards was a player well ahead of his times and someone who instilled fear into the opposition

Sir Vivian Richards played in a West Indies side that dominated the sport during his era but this beast of a batsman stood apart from the rest as he was someone way ahead of his times in the manner in which he approached the game.

At a time when players used to patiently wait for the right opportunity, Richards used to take the attack to the opposition - be it Test cricket or ODI cricket - and he did so with much success.

Batting at the No 3 spot, Richards scored 3508 runs from just 59 innings at a stunning average of 61.54 while his ODI numbers are equally impressive with 2418 runs from 51 innings at an average of 57.57 when coming into bat one-down.

In a team of champions, Richards was the one which everyone feared the most and the one upcoming cricketers look up with admiration when they talk of olden day cricket greats.

Richards would have been a treat to watch in T20 cricket no doubt and one can only speculate how many runs he would have ended up with considering the number of matches being played in the modern era.

#5 Ricky Ponting

Ponting is one of the greatest players to have graced the game of cricket

Ricky Ponting is someone who splits opinion with his nature on the field but even his harshest critics would sit and applaud the manner in which he dominated the game during his career.

Succeeding someone of Steve Waugh's stature was never going to be an easy task but Ponting did it with aplomb, not just as skipper of the side but also as the No 3 batsman in the side.

The responsibility on his shoulders was huge, but Ponting was not faced with the prospect and in fact, his batting numbers only improved.

No better example can be quoted than the 2003 World Cup final when he batted India out of the contest for the first of his two World Cup crowns as skipper with his majestic undefeated knock of 140 from just 121 balls.

Batting at the No 3 spot, leads the pack in ODI cricket by a huge margin having scored 12662 runs from 330 innings. He nearly achieved the landmark of 10000 runs from the No 3 spot in Test cricket as well but fell 96 short, owing to the fact that he started out at the No 6 spot.

He was a true leader who left no stone unturned in his effort to unsettle the opposition, often earning brickbats from rival fans. There's no doubt however about his class as a batsman in all formats of the game.