Faf du Plessis: I want to nail the number three position

South African batsman, Faf du Plessis, wants to make the number three slot his own, following the retirement of all-rounder, Jacques Kallis.

du Plessis was promoted to the number three slot for the first time during the three match ODI series against Zimbabwe and he scored his maiden ODI century against Australia in South Africa's first match of the triangular series at Harare.

"I have played most of my cricket at number five, six and seven but I think if it was up to me I would choose the number three position," du Plessis said.

"It allows me to play my game plan and it also suits the team as well. I think we have some exciting stroke players and number three is a position that gels everyone together. With AB [de Villiers] coming in at four, JP [Duminy] at five and David [Miller] at six, it allows me to set up a good foundation for them," he added.

du Plessis was a relieved man after completing his first ODI ton in his 51st match. "It's a great feeling - it's been a long time coming," du Plessis said. "In the series against Zimbabwe I batted really well but I didn't convert so that was a great pleasure for me. The celebration might have been short but there was a lot of emotion going through it. I felt there was a lot to do still. But I'm very happy - to get your first Test hundred and your first ODI hundred against Australia is a great achievement for me," he added.

du Plessis added a South African record partnership worth 206 runs for the 3rd wicket with skipper, AB de Villiers. Having played together since being teenagers, AB spoke about his happiness in seeing Faf perform well at the highest level. "He's been under a lot of pressure from a lot of people in the ODI format, so for him to score that hundred today We've always had a lot of belief in him as a player," de Villiers said.

"He's definitely our rock - he has been for the last while and he's playing unbelievable cricket at the moment. He's just proved a lot of people wrong, although I know that's not why he plays the game," the skipper added.