Top 5 No. 4 England batsmen of all time

As everyone knows, the different batsmen batting line up in a Test team has very specific roles and in this regard, it must be said that the role of the number 4 is quite unique.

The number 4 might often have to come in to bat against the new ball, since the loss of two early wickets is entirely within the realms of possibility and hold the innings together.

On the other hand, if the top order batsmen have done well, then he needs to kick on and drive home the advantage. England have had their fair share of superb number 4s ever since they first started playing Test cricket and here is a look at 5 of the best.

5 Nasser Hussain

The former England captain, who is best known for turning the national team's fortunes around at the turn of the millennium, was an excellent batsman in his own right and during his long career, Hussain went on to become one of his nation's best number 4s. H

e played 96 Test matches for England and in 53 of those, he batted at number 4. Hussain was not a particularly good technician and in fact, his tendency to open the face of the bat often landed him in difficulties in the early years of his career.

However, he ironed out those tendencies from his game, and went on to become an dependable batsman. Hussain made 2877 runs at that position in 53 Tests and averaged 37.36. He made 8 centuries and in addition to that, notched up 17 half-centuries as well.

4 David Gower

David Gower

He is arguably the greatest left-handed batsman to have ever played for England and certainly one of the finest to have ever graced the game.

David Gower played 117 Tests for England between 1987 and 1992 and out of those, he batted at number 4 in 57 of those. Even though number 4 was not always his most preferred position, he is still the 3rd highest scorer for England in that position, with a tally of 3223 runs and an average of 38.36.

It must be pointed out that he had personally performed better number 3, where he averaged in excess of 49. As a number 4, Gower made 3 centuries but he also made 20 half-centuries during the course of his stint at the position.

3 Wally Hammond

Wally Hammond

Hammond was regarded as the batsman who was Sir Donald Bradman's rival in the Ashes series that took place in the 1930s and his exploits with the bat were perfectly deserving of that comparison.

He batted at number 4 for England in 44 of the 55 Tests that he played from 1927 to 1947 and the right-hander remained among the world's top batsmen throughout that period.

Hammond had never been coached, but his natural abilities as a batsman made him the player that he became. He had an excellent defensive technique but he was primarily an outstanding stroke-player and that made him one of the most exciting batsmen of his generation. As a number 4, Hammond made 2997 runs in 44 Tests and averaged an excellent 50.79. He made 7 centuries and 15 half-centuries in the position.

2 Denis Compton

Compton Bats

The former England great was one of the nation's greatest cricketing icons and during the course of a remarkably long career spanning 20 years from 1937 to 1957, Denis Compton became one of the nation's best ever batsmen.

Although Compton was technically sound, his first instinct was always to attack the bowler and due to that fact that he possessed almost all the strokes in his repertoire, he made life extremely difficult for the opposition bowlers.

He was equally at ease against pace and spin, which made Compton the ideal number 4. Out of the 78 Tests in his career, he played at number 4 in 57 of them and made 4234 runs at a brilliant average of 53.59. He also made 13 hundreds and as many as 20 fifties as a number 4 batsman for England.

1 Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen

The South African batsman, who went on to become one of England's greatest batsmen played at number 4 for the majority of his career and remains the highest run-scorer in that position.

Kevin Pietersen played 90 Test matches (out of 104 in total) in total at number 4 and remained the match-turning batsman of the team for most of his career. His batting was based on getting on top of the bowlers and more often than not, he succeeded. In addition to that, his vast array of strokes, his timing, his power and quick footwork made it possible for him to dominate the best bowling attacks in the world.

Pietersen scored 6490 runs at an average of 48.43 in those games and was pivotal in many of England's victories in the mid-noughties through to 2011, when the team rose to the top of the world rankings. He scored 19 centuries and 27 half-centuries.