Why No 3s have spiralled south, slipped in averages and are struggling across Test nations

In between all the major matches of the month that saw the close of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle and the commencement of a new edition, a specific conundrum plagued the top 4 Test teams in the running.

- GNS News Agency

Australia, South Africa, England, and India have all contemplated and attempted to address this persistent post-COVID predicament in their most recent outings.When Australia forced a struggling Marnus Labuschagne out to open in the WTC final against South Africa at Lord’s, they were only conforming to the developing pattern of troubles for Test cricket's No. 3 this decade. After shuffling between 11 players at the position in the last four years, the Proteas drafted seam all-rounder Wiaan Mulder up to the spot in their three recent matches, including the WTC final, with minimal success. After the slump of Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill’s wavering run at 3 until his captaincy takeover, India ushered in Sai Sudharsan as the latest tryout against England at Headingley. The left-hander became the first of 18 Indian batters to have recorded a duck on Test debut at No. 3. Resisting most to the temptation were England, sticking to their 35-averaging Ollie Pope over a precocious Jacob Bethell offering, and Pope turned up with his ninth Test ton at Leeds. The hallowed stable of the legendary Don Bradman, Ricky Ponting, Rahul Dravid and Kumar Sangakkara has witnessed marked degeneration with each passing decade this century. The collective batting average of Test cricket's No. 3s has plummeted below 35 in 190 Tests in the last four years, a staggering dip from the 44.77 average across the first 461 Tests this century (between 2001-10).