My no.3+4 batsmen - (My favourite playing XI based on current players)...

So now I move onto one of the most important positions in the side.

And in ODI's and in Tests it's both vitally as important, the no.3 batsman.

He can comes in at 2/1 or he can come in at 100/1, he has to judge the position they see themselves in, he might have to act as makeshift opener if the wicket falls early, or he has to build on the partnership if he comes in late in the innings.

The job of the no.3 is vital, and not to be underestimated. It takes a special player to bat here.

With that in mind, I've gone for one of the best players in the modern game.

Rahul Dravid(India, RR)

He is nicknamed the wall. Some might think that makes him some type of defensive blocker, he is certainly not. He is a very high calibre batsman, with all the shots in the game. And what makes him so good, he makes everything look effortless.

He is a player who will answer the call for his country time after time, even when he was asked to make his T20i debut at the young age of 38, even when Ganguly wanted him to be a keeper so it could deepen the batting order, he did it. He even graces the T20 circuit with his finesse. What he has that few modern players have is the mental strength to overcome any pitch and any bowler. Where some might fall or give up on tough conditions, Dravid does not.

The honour board at Lords has many of the world's greats, and on the 23rd of July 2011 he added his name among the greats, with a fine century against England in the recent series.

He is The Wall, he is Rahul Dravid, arguably the finest player to play the game of cricket...


Now we move onto no.4 in the batting order.

It's also a fine and specialist position, and a great batsman is needed for such a position.
With that, I've gone for Ricky Ponting.

Ricky Ponting(Australia)

He is one of he last of the old school remaining Australian batsman left in the Australian team.
Many have called for his head after recent results. Perhaps I'm one of the old romantics who wishes for him to remain in the team, the last link to the great Australian team of old.

His weapon of choice is the pull shot, and it's long been his killer blow to bowlers. I've often thought of him much like Dravid. Someone who can stay at the crease when the going is tough, and then cash in with a big score.

To me, he is what a batsman should be, a tough character, a competitor and gritty. Too many of modern players don't like it when it's hard work out there.

He is undoubtedly the finest player of his generation in Australian cricket. Some might think different. He has been criticised for loses in the recent Ashes series and for losing the Cricket World Cup, but with all due respect to the man as a captain. How does a team suffer the loses in great personnel, and continue to dominate. He is not a miracle worker, he simply must work with what he has, and maybe his captaincy isn't the highest point of his career, but he still remains an excellent batsman in my opinion, and I think it's vital he remains in the Australian order to help educate younger inexperienced batsman.

I for one hope he does, and I hope he can recapture his form that we all love him for and his opponents hate him for.