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Top 5 number 4 South African batsmen of all time

South Africa v India 1st Test - Day 2

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 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. 

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