England always seem to have rather more problems with their No3 slot than Australia. There is a reason for that. Australia generally stick their best player at three. England do not.
For Australia it is almost a badge of honour to bat at three. This privilege has to be earned by amassing runs down the order at the start of one’s career. Don Bradman batted at three for 40 of his 52 Tests, Ricky Ponting in 113 out of 168, Ian Chappell 54 out of 75 and Neil Harvey 52 out of 79.
The precocious Steve Smith has recently graduated to the role. To bat at three was/is the equivalent of topping the bill at the London Palladium, the ultimate goal of aspiring young Australian batsmen.
But the English have taken a cagier, more cautious view over the years. This position has not so much been a badge of honour as a pitfall to avoid. The Australians, playing in bright sunshine, sense the opportunity to dictate from three; the English, conscious of a swinging ball in dank conditions, have often been more concerned with self-preservation.
The best players, whether it has been Kevin Pietersen, Colin Cowdrey or Peter May, have been happier a little further down the order when the ball has lost a little of its shine and hardness and when the sun has finally deigned to appear. For England batting at three has too often been an ordeal to survive rather than a chance to thrive.
So who has occupied this position more often than any other for England? Jonathan Trott in 46 of his 52 Tests. Who is next?
Mark Butcher in 45 out of 71. The greats dipped their toes there – Wally Hammond 37 out of 85, May 28 out of 66, Cowdrey 25 out of 114, Gower 35 out of 117 and Ted Dexter 38 out of 62, who at least gave the impression that he actively wanted this responsibility.
Trott and Butcher, doughty cricketers both, batted at three partly because there were no other volunteers, partly because the hierarchy was keen to protect the more exalted players from exposure to that new ball. They would deal with the muck and bullets.
Gary Ballance, England’s No3, is unusual since he has played all but one of his 15 Tests there. Not for him the gentle introduction to Test cricket at No6 that was accorded Ponting and Bradman. Ballance had never batted at three for Yorkshire, where Joe Root had always been situated above him, but he was willing, flattered even, and he undertook the job.
One could almost sense his puzzlement, which may have stemmed from the fact that he had not been brought up in England, that no one else seemed desperate for the task. He would do his level best to protect the fancy dans down the order.
Statistically Ballance has done an excellent job. Even with his difficulties this summer against Australia and New Zealand he averages 47 in Test cricket. But currently the eyes tell a different story from the figures. He has been exposed to some of the world’s finest new-ball bowlers, Trent Boult, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood and, despite his 61 at Cardiff, he has never inspired confidence and he has never suggested anything other than a grim determination to survive. There has been no hint of fluency; the bowlers have retained the initiative. He has not been able to dictate.
His difficulties appear technical rather than temperamental. He rarely looks flustered but back he lurches deep into his crease and he plays just about every ball from there. The timing of those movements may not be perfect at present. Once he is back, there seldom seems time to move again. Of course, Starc and Johnson do not provide much time for that. There will now be some agonising about Ballance’s place.
However, England’s Sunday afternoon in St John’s Wood was so traumatic that the No3 slot becomes only one of many issues to address before the teams reunite in Birmingham. Who is Alastair Cook’s best partner? What of Ian Bell? Can Ben Stokes sharpen up his running between the wickets? Will England now dare to take on Johnson and Starc on a livelier surface?
Out in the shires Jonny Bairstow is the form batsman. He hit another century on Sunday against Worcestershire, though Jack Shantry, for all his cunning, is not quite such a threatening left-armer as Johnson or Starc; he is about 20mph slower. A summons to Bairstow would prompt a reshuffle.
Perhaps Bell might go to three (he has batted there in 22 of his 112 Tests, averaging 39) even though he does not inspire great confidence at the moment. And if England require a fresh partner for Cook, a most demanding job against this Australia attack, well Ballance is the usual fall guy.
