Top 5 number 4 South African batsmen of all time

Throughout the course of their cricketing history, South Africa has produced some of the world's finest cricketers and it continues to do so to this day.

Many of those cricketers have been top-class middle-order batsmen and have been particularly good at the number 4 position for South Africa in Test cricket.

Many of them have gone on to become the backbone of the batting line-up at different points in history and have generally been considered among the finest batsmen that have been produced by the country.

Here is a look at 5 of South Africa's finest number 4 batsmen.

#5 Arthur Nourse

Arthur 'Dave' Nourse was one of South Africa's finest all-rounders in the early years of their existence as a Test team and from 1902 to 1924, he turned out for the national team on 45 occasions. Nourse batted at number 4 position in 27 Test matches and the left-handed batsman is the 5th highest run-scorer in the position for South Africa.

Nourse was not one of the most gifted batsmen on the side but what he lacked in natural gifts, he made up for it through an obdurate refusal to give away his wicket. In those 27 Test matches, Nourse scored 1346 runs at a modest average of 27.46.

However, it needs to be remembered that South African cricket was in its infancy when he first started off. He scored no centuries at number 4 but made nine half-centuries.

#4 Daryll Cullinan

He was one of South Africa's finest top order batsmen in the early years following their readmission to international cricket in the early 1990s and remains one of the finest number 4 batsmen to have ever represented the country in Test cricket.

Daryll Cullinan was famed for his superb technique, ability to play strokes all around the wicket, the gumption to face up to the fastest bowlers in the world and last but not the least, the gift of playing the marathon Test innings.

The right-hander was famously troubled by Shane Warne throughout his career but it must be stated that he was not particularly poor against spin bowling and in fact, scored a century in Sri Lanka.

In the 63 Tests that he played at number 4, Cullinan made 4060 runs at an excellent average of 46.13 and hit 14 centuries, in addition to 15 half-centuries.

#3 Dudley Nourse

He was Arthur 'Dave' Nourse's son and according to many, he was well placed to comfortably beat the records of his father. However, Dudley Nourse's career was impeded by World War II and that ensured that even though his career spanned 16 years (1935-1951), he could only play 34 Test matches.

That being said, he did actually beat his father's record as a number 4 batsman for South Africa and that is no mean achievement. Nourse is regarded as one of South Africa's finest ever batsman and was particularly well known for the ability to adjust his game according to the situation.

He could be difficult to dismiss when the situation demanded it but on the other hand, he could be as attacking as the best batsmen of his time when he so wished.

The right-hander played 31 Test matches as South Africa's number 4 and made a total of 2400 runs at an excellent average of exactly 50. He made 7 hundreds and 13 fifties.

#2 Graeme Pollock

A golden generation of South African cricketers' careers never reached the heights that they deserved due to the cricketing boycott that was placed on the nation and one of the most unfortunate cases was that of left-handed genius Graeme Pollock.

Sir Donald Bradman described him as being equal to Sir Garry Sobers and he is widely acknowledged as being one of the best left-handed batsmen to have ever played Test cricket. As a number 4, he was peerless.

Pollock could play a vast array of strokes and had the gift of timing the ball perfectly, that often left the opposition dumbstruck.

However, he could play only 23 Tests. Even in that handful of games, he showed his class and slammed 7 centuries and 11 half-centuries at a staggering average of 60.97. He made 2256 in total in 23 Tests.

#1 Jacques Kallis

He is often regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders to have ever played Test cricket, but Jacques Kallis is also one of the best batsmen to have played international cricket and certainly South Africa's greatest.

In the early years of his career he played at number 3 but eventually, it was at number 4 that he played for the majority of his career. Out of the 166 Test matches in his career, he played at number 4 in 111 of them.

Kallis was technically superb, had the ability to handle both pace and spin with aplomb and lastly, he had the patience to grind the opposition once he was well set.

The right-hander was a prodigious run-scorer for South Africa at number 4 and made 9033 runs at an astounding average of 61.86 in 111 Test matches. He made 35 centuries and 36 half-centuries.