As a batsman, you always want to face the new ball in white-ball cricket as it is the best time to bat in white-ball cricket.
This thing is not valid in red-ball cricket as opening the batting for your team in test cricket is one of the most challenging jobs, As you will have to play against the new swinging red ball, which will entirely check your technique.
Also, A good start in test cricket can set the path to a match-winning total. That is why the role of openers in test cricket is quite huge.
They also nullify the effect of the new red ball so to make the game easy for upcoming batsmen. As of now, we have entered into the era of t20 cricket, So finding a good red-ball opener is quite difficult nowadays.
So let’s just rank the best players to bat on the toughest place in the toughest format of the game by :
- Their overall test stats as an opener in the last decade.
- Their stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions(away+neutral venues) in the last decade.
- Their stats as an opener in the matches played in SENA countries in the last decade.
Note: For any player belonging to SENA countries, their stats in India are considered in place of their home country.
So let’s just start
Also, Don’t forget to read our article on The Greatest Test 11 Of The 2000s
Dimuth Karunaratne
The Captian of the current Sri Lankan team grabs the no.8 spot in our list. He is a classical batsman which is quite rare to find in this t20i era.
The left-hander is only the second Sri Lankan batsman to score 3 test centuries in a calendar year as an opener. Grown under the likes of Dilshan, Sangakkara, and Mahela.
He didn’t get the appreciation that he deserved. But since 2015, He is the leading Sri Lankan batsman in red-ball cricket.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 120 Innings,4389 Runs,38 Average,9 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 71 Innings,2246 Runs,33 Average,3 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in SENA countries:38 Innings,1014 Runs,27 Average,1 Century
7. Tom Latham
The current New Zealand vice-captain comes at 7th position on our list. He is also the youngest batsman to feature here.
Performed absolutely well in domestic cricket as well as county cricket, Debuted in 2014, and then never looked back, especially after his series in West Indies in which he is the second-highest run-scorer and helps his team manage an overseas test series victory.
He has even the potential to become the greatest New Zealand test opener ever.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 84 Innings,3525 Runs,43 Average,11 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 46 Innings,1763 Runs,38 Average,5 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in SEIA countries:23 Innings,611 Runs,26 Average,0 Centuries
6. Murali Vijay
The Best Indian opener of the last decade and also one of the most underrated players in the last decade.
This right-handed batsman made his debut in the Border-Gavaskar trophy in November 2008 as Gambhir was banned for one match for elbowing Shane Watson.
He never grabbed his place in the team until 2013 in which is scored 167 in the second test against Australia. Later, Next year he also scored his first overseas test century in England and also finished as India’s leading run-scorer in that series.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 102 Innings,3821 Runs,38 Average,12 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 56 Innings,1725 Runs,31 Average,3 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in SENA countries:42 Innings,1285 Runs,31 Average,2 Centuries
Also, read our article on Best 8 Fast-Bowlers of Last Decade in Test Cricket (2010-2019)
5. Kraigg Brathwaite
The current West Indies test captain is arguably the best batsman of his team in red-ball cricket and also one of the positives for West Indies last decade.
The man from Barbados was also the second-highest run-scorer for his team in the last decade just behind his senior Darren Bravo.
This man has just got his captaincy in the place of Jason Holder. His team has a lot of expectations from him in this WTC cycle from batting as well as captaincy.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 111 Innings,3475 Runs,33 Average,8 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 54 Innings,1823 Runs,35 Average,3 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in SENA countries:29 Innings,1004 Runs,35 Average,1 Century
4. Tamim Iqbal
The greatest batsman developed from the soil of Bangladesh is the next guy on our list. Tamim Iqbal is a man who gets unnoticed often and never gets enough praise from cricketing fans around the world.
He started the last decade with an absolutely astonishing performance as he scored 837 runs with an average of 59 and a strike rate of around 80 with 9 50+ scores in 14 innings.
His team wants him to get back to his prime form So that they can finish better in this WTC cycle.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 89 Innings,3680 Runs,42 Average,8 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 35 Innings,1385 Runs,40 Average,3 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in SENA countries:17 Innings,765 Runs,45 Average,3 Centuries
Ready for the Top 3 picks??
3. Dean Elgar
Played in the greatest test team of the last decade and maybe one of the best teams of all time, Dean Elgar is a classical opener in the era of the t20s.
His contribution to his team never gets praise as he played under the likes of AB Devilliers, Amla, and FAF. He was one of those openers who set a value on his wicket.
He is equally good in all conditions, whether the ball is swinging or spinning. Now he was the captain of his team for this WTC cycle and his team expected a lot from him.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 93 Innings,3440 Runs,40 Average,11 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 44 Innings,1421 Runs,33 Average,5 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in IENA countries:32 Innings,1086 Runs,35 Average,4 Centuries
2. David Warner
One of the best all-format batsmen to develop from Australian soil David Warner is the second-best test opener in the last decade.
Played quite attacking cricket even in the toughest format of the game for batsmen. He is the only player on this list who has a 300 on his name.
He was also the first Australian cricketer in 132 years to be selected for a national team in any format without experience in first-class cricket.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 153 Innings,7088 Runs,48 Average,23 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 71 Innings,2246 Runs,35 Average,6 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in SENI countries:29 Innings,1838 Runs,33 Average,3 Centuries
1. Alastair Cook
One of the greatest openers to play this format, Sir Alastair Cook is also the highest run-scorer in the last decade.
He played some very vital knocks for his team and also lead his team to victory in a series against India in India.
In the history of test cricket, No one has made more runs than Cook in test cricket as an opener.
Also, no left-handed batsman has made more runs in test cricket than this man.
He is also the youngest batsman to complete 12,000 runs in test cricket.
His stats as an opener in the last decade: 200 Innings,8769 Runs,46 Average,23 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches not played on home conditions in the last decade: 94 Innings,4323 Runs,49 Average,13 Centuries
His stats as an opener in the matches played in SINA countries: 65 Innings,2858 Runs,46 Average,9 Centuries
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