Opening an innings in Test cricket is an art by itself and it is one of the most challenging positions for a batter in the format, especially on the pitches that offer assistance to the pacers. These batters have to endure the pace threat of the bowlers with the new ball and protect their wickets against the seam and swing that is on offer.
Hence getting to a Test century after such a hard grind would require a special effort and some batters scored plenty of those in their respective careers. Let us celebrate the batters who have been the top-century makers as openers in Tests.
Most Test Centuries as Openers
| Player | Innings | 100s as Opener | 50s | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunil Gavaskar (IND) | 203 | 33 | 42 | 221 |
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 278 | 31 | 55 | 294 |
| Matthew Hayden (AUS) | 184 | 30 | 29 | 380 |
| Graeme Smith (SA) | 196 | 27 | 36 | 277 |
| David Warner (AUS) | 202 | 26 | 37 | 335* |
| Geoffrey Boycott (ENG) | 191 | 22 | 42 | 246* |
| Virender Sehwag (IND) | 170 | 22 | 30 | 319 |
| Andrew Strauss (ENG) | 171 | 20 | 27 | 169 |
| Gordon Greenidge (WI) | 182 | 19 | 34 | 226 |
| Len Hutton (ENG) | 131 | 19 | 31 | 364 |
Key Stats
328 – This is the number of batters who have scored at least a Test century from the opening position. It is to be noted that a whopping 1010 players have played at least a Test match as an opener for their respective side.
Only 3 of those openers have scored 30 or more centuries in Test cricket and they are India’s Gavaskar, England’s Cook & Australia’s Hayden. Southpaws from South Africa & Australia, Graeme Smith and David Warner, make the top 5 respectively.
37 – The number of players who have scored 10 or more centuries as an opener in Test cricket. Rohit Sharma (9), Usman Khawaja (7), Aiden Markram (7), and KL Rahul (7) are a few active batters who are within touching distance of joining the elite list.
The number shrinks to 19 when we consider the minimum criterion to be 15 Test centuries as an opener. Former Test openers like Herschelle Gibbs, Jack Hobbs, Gary Kirsten, Michael Slater, and Marcus Trescothick all had scored 14 Test centuries at the position.
61.10 – Herbert Sutcliffe’s average is the best among the openers with at least 4000 Test runs (4522) and he had piled up 16 tons as an opener in 83 innings. The next best average (56.47) as an opener belongs to Len Hutton and the top 3 is concluded by the inclusion of Jack Hobbs (56.37).
Matthew Hayden’s 380 remains the highest individual score by an opener in Tests and Cook’s 11845 is the most runs scored by an opening batter in Tests. Alastair Cook is also the only player to score more than 10000 runs while batting as an opener in Tests. Find the top ten here.
