Opening the batting in Tests is one of the most challenging roles in cricket as it demands a whole lot of resilience & skillset to face the new ball that will behave as per the nature of the pitch. The openers not only have the task of negotiating the new ball threat and weathering the initial storm from the opposition bowlers but also score runs and give their team a solid start.
Hence, playing at the top of the order, especially in the longest format is a specialist role and it requires a lot of endurance from the part of the cricketer. Many players ruled Test cricket from playing in this position and held their forte for a long period. We will list down the players who have played the most innings as a Test opener for their respective teams.
Most Innings as Test Openers
| Player | Innings Batted | Matches | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 278 | 154 | 11845 |
| Sunil Gavaskar (IND) | 203 | 119 | 9607 |
| David Warner (AUS) | 202 | 112 | 8747 |
| Desmond Haynes (WI) | 201 | 116 | 7472 |
| Michael Atherton (ENG) | 197 | 108 | 7476 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 196 | 114 | 9030 |
| Geoffrey Boycott (ENG) | 191 | 107 | 8091 |
| Mark Taylor (AUS) | 186 | 104 | 7525 |
| Graham Gooch (ENG) | 184 | 100 | 7811 |
| Matthew Hayden (AUS) | 184 | 103 | 8625 |
Key Stats
Of the 1010 Test batters who have played as openers, only 34 of them have batted in 100 or more innings in Test cricket. England’s Zak Crawley with 78 innings under his belt, has a real chance of being the next player to play 100 innings as an opener.
Just 17 players have batted as Test openers on 150 or more occasions and only 4 of them breached the magical mark of 200. West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite (180) and Sri Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne (178) may soon cross this particular milestone in the coming months.
Sir Alastair Cook, former England skipper leads this particular list, having played a whopping 154 Tests and 278 innings as an opener for his team. He is also a part of the elite list of cricketers who managed to be a part of their team’s 100 consecutive Test matches.
Len Hutton’s 56.47 is the best average for any batter who has played 100 or more innings as an opener. He has scored 6721 runs in just 131 innings with 19 centuries.
India’s Sunil Gavaskar has the most number of centuries as a Test opener, while Cook has made the most runs.
