Well-adjusted Cook the happy accident at No 3

Alastair Cook makes a virtue of his inexperience. His eyes, which are large, deep brown and set close together, express surprise when he is asked about the meaning of being No 3 in the batting order. He has always opened, at school and then for Essex, and walking out at the start of the innings is second nature to him.

When Marcus Trescothick returned at the start of the Sri Lanka Test series in May, Cook, who had opened in India, was spooned into the team at No 3 in the batting order. Initially, he found it strange to be sitting in the dressing room when the England innings began. He has got used to it now, but he has not given any thought to the special place he occupies. "I don't know what the advantages and disadvantages are, but it gives me a chance to bat for England, and if I'm playing for England, I'll bat anywhere," he says.

The player who comes in first wicket down is the all-round batsman. Openers need stickability. Nos 4 and 5 provide the flash and dash. But the No 3 must be capable of being the consolidator when one of the openers is out early. When the openers have done their job and taken the shine off the new ball, the No 3's job has changed - he needs to press the accelerator and score quickly, just like an ideal No 4.

This dual responsibility requires a versatility that is not easily acquired, even by some of the finest players of the role. David Gower, who played so many of his most brilliant innings in the role that he lingers in the memory as a born No 3, says it is not that easy.

He first played there in the 1981 Test series. That was the summer of Botham and Brearley, and Gower's promotion did not make much of an impression. "I wasn't really set up for it, but you have a go. The key is that you've got to be able to say, 'I like this position'. Get the attitude right, that's the hard part."

Some of Gower's best years in Test cricket were at No 3; the memory of back-to-back hundreds in Faisalabad and Lahore (152 and 173 not out) in 1983-84 brings a catch in the throat of a hardened veteran in the press box, but being No 3 can take its toll. In that job, a batsman cannot afford to have a long bad patch. When Gower's runs dried up during the 1986-87 Australian tour, Mike Gatting, the new skipper, asked whether he would be better off batting at No 5.

Gower moved down and Gatting moved up to No 3, where he batted for Middlesex. "It was good fun," he says. There is an insight into the mind of a professional cricketer here. Gatting felt relaxed about taking the position because he had been made captain, and that meant he no longer had to worry about getting selected, which meant in turn that he was happy to move into the more responsible batting role.

Cook is an accidental No 3. Until recently, openers tended to be typecast. Although he would no doubt tell you that he would have made the adjustment and become best in't world, it is impossible to imagine Geoff Boycott batting anywhere down the order. But the descent has become more common. Mark Butcher, one of England's most prolific recent No 3s, started life as an opener, and moved down when injury created a vacancy. Cook bats No 3 because that is what fate has dictated.

His Test career started with him as an opening batsman, because Trescothick had jumped ship. A century in his first Test showed that, at 21, he was not out of place. But Trescothick's return to open with Andrew Strauss recreated a partnership that no coach would wish to upset. When the selectors decided that Cook must play, come what may, he had to move down a place.

He has adapted to his new post uncommonly well. Batting anywhere, he has scored three hundreds and two fifties in 12 innings at a fraction under 60. Perhaps he has been fortunate that England's openers have been below par for much of the summer, and Cook has come to the wicket in familiar conditions when there is still shine on a hard ball.

He has already impressed one of England's legendary No 3s. Tom Graveney says: "Cook's a complete player. He's in control and very sensible, lots of shots and he can block it out." He also has the patience that Kevin Pietersen is so envious of.

But Graveney's own experience shows that the batting order is a moveable feast. When Denis Compton was England's flamboyant No 4, Peter May was the reliable No 3. When Compton retired and Colin Cowdrey joined the team, he batted at three and May became the enforcer at four. Graveney came in at five. But when Graveney made his way back from a Test wilderness in 1966, Cowdrey was captain. "Kipper put me in at No 3, and it worked well. It comes back to what sort of form you're in, because you've got to be able to do what the situation requires."

And Graveney was in very good form in the late 1960s. Like Cook is now. How long does Graveney think Cook can last? "As long as he stands up," says Graveney.