The No. 3 batter in One Day International (ODI) cricket has a highly crucial and demanding role. This player occupies a pivotal position in the batting lineup and should have the ability to hold one end together. They have the responsibility to stabilise the innings and then build partnerships, ensuring that the team doesn’t lose quick wickets.
They should have the ability to play the new ball and the versatility to play according to the needs of the game. They should look to play time and take the innings deep to lay a solid foundation for the batters to follow.
There are several legendary players in ODI cricket who have made a name for themselves by showing all these traits and succeeding at the international level. As mentioned, No. 3 is somewhere a batsman has a chance to make huge scores more often, and we will see which 10 batters have accumulated the most in their career.
Here are the top ten batsmen with the most ODI runs at the No. 3 batting position.
Most ODI Runs at No. 3
Player | Innings | Runs | High Score | Average |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 330 | 12662 | 164 | 42.48 |
Virat Kohli (IND) | 230 | 11842 | 183 | 60.72 |
Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 237 | 9747 | 169 | 44.71 |
Jacques Kallis (SA) | 200 | 7774 | 139 | 45.72 |
Kane Williamson (NZ) | 133 | 6283 | 148 | 52.79 |
Babar Azam (PAK) | 104 | 5416 | 158 | 60.17 |
Dean Jones (AUS) | 131 | 5100 | 145 | 43.58 |
Brian Lara (WI) | 106 | 4447 | 169 | 45.84 |
Joe Root (ENG) | 102 | 4374 | 133* | 49.70 |
Steven Smith (AUS) | 92 | 4272 | 164 | 52.09 |
Key insights from the above stats
2: Only one country has more than one player on this list of top run-getters at the No. 3 position, and it is Australia, which has 2 representations. One is legendary batter Ricky Ponting, and the other is the great Dean Jones.
9: Batters from 9 different ODI-playing countries populate this list. This excludes the full member nations: Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Ireland, and Zimbabwe.
12662: Runs scored by former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting at the coveted No. 3 position in ODI cricket. He remains the top run scorer in this slot, and it has come in 330 innings at a glorious average of 42.48 with 29 centuries to his name. His highest score of 164 came in the famous game in Johannesburg where Australia posted that epic 434.
Also Read | The Highest Ten ODI Totals in Losing Cause
5100: The other Australian batter to have found a place in this list is Dean Jones, who in his era was considered the best at this slot, and his stats speak for themselves. In 131 innings, Jones scored 7 centuries at No. 3 at an average of 43.56, striking at just over 72. This made him one of the more dangerous players back then.
11600: Though Ricky Ponting leads the pack at No. 3, Virat Kohli is arguably the best ever to bat at that position with over 11600 runs. He holds most of the records in this batting position, ranging from the most ODI centuries by a number 3 batter to the best average — all this despite scoring a truckload of runs.
9747: Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lankan skipper, ended his career just a few runs shy of crossing the 10000 mark at the No. 3 position but made sure to create a memorable career out of it. This is the most runs scored by a keeper-batter at this batting position in ODIs. The Lankar keeper-batsman made 18 centuries at the No. 3 slot in 237 innings at an impeccable average of just under 45. Additionally, he donned the role of keeper behind the stumps, showing his versatility.