Cricket is regarded as a gentleman’s game, and with good reason. While the game has three formats, Test cricket is without a doubt the finest because it puts you to the test. Cricket, like most sports, has a large number of records. Some are fantastic, some are one-of-a-kind, and some are ridiculous. Then there are those that are a combination of all of them.
A cricketer’s versatility is regarded as one of the most desirable qualities. A captain’s ideal is to have a player on his team who is willing to do whatever is required of him. This might range from a bowler being asked to bat and vice versa to a batsman being asked to bat in different positions.
1. Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes is most known for his work as a middle-order batsman, however, he also batted at number 11 against Pakistan in Sharjah in 2015. He also batted at number 10 during the same tour. Stokes was bowled out for a duck at number nine in the 2014 Lord’s Test match against India. At number eight, he had two ducks in the same series. Stokes recently hit 78 runs while opening the innings for England against the West Indies. As a result, Stokes has had a lot of success in the last few years of his career.
2. Nasim-ul-Ghani
Nasim-ul-Ghani was a Pakistani all-rounder from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. He made his Test debut when he was 16 years old, making him the youngest cricketer in the world at the time. Ghani was never a particularly good batsman, although he did bat for Pakistan in ten different positions. He played as an opener in two innings, but he was never at the striker’s end, hence he never batted first in the team’s batting order. Nasim-ul-Ghani batted in a variety of positions, but he was most often seen at No. 8, a position he played in 15 of the 50 innings he played.
3. Vinoo Mankad
Mulvantrai Himmatlal Mankad, better known as Vinoo Mankad, was a great cricketer for the Indian national team. The player from Jamnagar is most known for setting a world record opening partnership of 413 runs with Pankaj Roy in 1956; the record remained for 53 years until Neil McKenzie and Graeme Smith of South Africa beat it by two runs. He batted at number ten and eleven once each and started the innings 40 times. Mankad was almost exclusively used as an opening batsman.
4. Wilfred Rhodes
Wilfred Rhodes, a former England all-rounder, is one of cricket’s first few greats. During his playing days, he was not just a competent left-arm spinner, but he was also a reliable batsman. As a batsman, the right-hander represented England in all eleven positions. Rhodes spent most of his career opening the batting for his country, scoring 1469 runs at 1 and 2. Apart from that, he spent most of his time in the lineup at No. 10, where he batted in 15 innings.
5. Syd Gregory
Sydney Edward Gregory, better known as Syd Gregory, was an Australian cricketer who played in 58 Test matches for his country over the course of a 22-year career from 1890 to 1912. Gregory’s 58 Test matches were a world record at the time of his retirement. His most memorable innings for Australia came in a Test match against England at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1894, when he batted at number 6 and produced a brilliant 201. In addition, he became the first player in Test cricket history to bat in all 11 positions.
