Joe Root's Old Trafford heroics against Pakistan led England coach Trevor Bayliss to compare the Yorkshireman to his former star man with Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara.
Root made 254 and 71 not out in England's series-levelling 330-run win and Bayliss labelled him "as good as any of those" other number threes he has worked with.
Sangakkara was Bayliss' previous staple at first drop in Tests and batted in that position in 207 of his 233 Test innings.
It brought him his best Test score, 319 against Bangladesh in 2014, and saw him average 60.82 compared to his career mark of 57.40. He made just one hundred and two fifties elsewhere in the order.
Root, by contrast, has just 12 innings to date at number three - Bayliss acknowledged: "Thankfully for England's sake, he's pretty much at the start of his career."
Old Trafford brought his first hundred and second fifty at three - his 325 runs for one dismissal were in stark contrast to 258 in 10 previous innings, lifting his average in the position from 28.67 to 58.30.
Sangakkara aside, the only man to make 10,000 Test runs at number three is India's Rahul Dravid, with 10,524 at 52.88 (including 23 for an ICC World XI).
Ricky Ponting is the only other batsman to come close, with 9,904 - but of course, when it comes to averages, another great Australian takes the prize.
Discounting those with only a couple of innings at three, Don Bradman is clear of the pack - and, while he famously ended his Test career averaging 99.94, at three he broke through the magic three-figure barrier.
Brian Lara made his Test-record 400no at first drop, against England in 2004, while fellow West Indian Viv Richards averaged 11 runs higher at three than he did overall.
Or, being facetious, perhaps former Australia paceman Jason Gillespie is history's greatest number three: one innings, 201 not out - albeit as nightwatchman against Bangladesh.
JOE ROOT (England)
Overall: 44 matches, 80 innings, 3,875 runs at 56.15, 10 hundreds, 21 fifties, top score 254
At 3: 7 matches, 12 innings, 583 runs at 58.30, 1 hundred, 2 fifties, top score 254
KUMAR SANGAKKARA (Sri Lanka)
Overall: 134 matches, 233 innings, 12,400 runs at 57.40, 38 hundreds, 52 fifties, top score 319
At 3: 125 matches, 207 innings, 11,679 runs at 60.82, 37 hundreds, 50 fifties, top score 319
RAHUL DRAVID (India)
Overall: 164 matches, 286 innings, 13,288 runs at 52.31, 36 hundreds, 63 fifties, top score 270
At 3: 136 matches, 219 innings, 10,524 runs at 52.88, 28 hundreds, 50 fifties, top score 270
SIR DONALD BRADMAN (Australia)
Overall: 52 matches, 80 innings, 6,996 runs at 99.94, 29 hundreds, 13 fifties, top score 334
At 3: 40 matches, 56 innings, 5,078 runs at 103.63, 20 hundreds, 10 fifties, top score 334
RICKY PONTING (Australia)
Overall: 168 matches, 287 innings, 13,378 runs at 51.85, 41 hundreds, 62 fifties, top score 257
At 3: 113 matches, 196 innings, 9,904 runs at 56.27, 32 hundreds, 43 fifties, top score 257
BRIAN LARA (West Indies)
Overall: 131 matches, 232 innings, 11,953 runs at 52.88, 34 hundreds, 48 fifties, top score 400no
At 3: 45 matches, 66 innings, 3,749 runs at 60.46, 9 hundreds, 13 fifties, top score 400no
SIR VIV RICHARDS (West Indies)
Overall: 121 matches, 182 innings, 8,540 runs at 50.23, 24 hundreds, 45 fifties, top score 291
At 3: 45 matches, 59 innings, 3,508 runs at 61.54, 12 hundreds, 14 fifties, top score 291
Source: PA
