Among the various records associated with the sport of cricket, thrilling moments on the field are one of its attractions. Some records are marvelous while others are absurd. I will talk about one such peculiar record related to cricket.
The game has been blessed with some talented and dynamic batsmen since the very first day. These versatile players have shown what they can do by occupying a certain position only.
However, there are also some batsmen who have played at all places in the batting order and who have therefore become really good in managing different situations and roles.
In the present article, we shall identify those players who batted at all positions in Test cricket.
Players Who Batted at All Positions in Test Cricket (Updated 2025)
1. Sydney Edward Gregory (Australia)
Sydney Gregory, or Syd Gregory as he was sometimes called, represented the Australian national team in 58 Tests from 1890 to 1912. Over a long career of 22 years, he was an all-position batsman in Test cricket, ultimately but being the first to attain this point.
Gregory had 100 Test innings under his belt, occupying 5th position (34 innings) the most, and being 835 runs at an average of 26.09. Besides, he was also batting at number 4 (19 innings), with 425 runs registered. The highest, in his career, of 6 innings was at 6 when he scored a double century against England in 1894.
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Out of total Test runs of 2284, he had four centuries and eight half-centuries. The record for playing the most Tests also belonged to him at the time of his retirement.
2. Wilfred Rhodes (England)
Besides Gregory England’s Wilfred Rhodes who also played 58 Tests from 1899 to 1930. The allrounder who became the second batter to take up all positions in Test cricket was Rhodes.
Rhodes in his 98 Test innings batted first in 43 innings and scored 1469 runs with an average of 36.73. While opening he also scored his two centuries that were part of his Test career.
Additionally, he was the first player from England to achieve a double of scoring more than 1000 runs and more than 100 runs. Rhodes retired with a total of 2325 Test runs, an average of 30.19, and 127 Test wickets.
3. Vinoo Mankad (India)
Vinoo Mankad, without any doubt, was among the best cricketers India ever had. He played for India in 44 Tests from 1946 to 1959.
It is almost certain that the term ‘Mankading’ has come up in your conversations very often. In the series of 1947-48, Mankud ran out Bill Brown at the non-striker’s end for he was leaving the crease early. This is how the dismissing method got its unofficial name.
He was great in his all-positions batting record and reached the third spot among batters recording their names in the history of worldwide cricket.
Mankad had most of his 72 innings as the opener (40 innings), scoring 1548 runs at an average of 40.74. Not only that, he also scored his 5 Test centuries while opening the innings for India.
Mankad along with Pankaj Roy teamed up for the highest opening partnerships for India. They put together 413 runs for the first wicket partnership against New Zealand in 1956.
Mankad announced his retirement from the game with 2109 Test runs and a career average of 31.48.
