By SRTeam Imagine batting with a new ball on a pitch where the ball is dancing in the air like crazy (aka swinging) and even then, scoring big runs for your teams. That doesn’t sound particularly easy, or does it? Well, that is precisely what the job of the opening pair is in the game of cricket. And yes, in the history of cricket, we have seen so many good cricket openers that have become super famous because of their big scores, big centuries, and playing attitude. Like, you may know that Sachin Tendulkar is the greeted cricket opener of all time, but who else is down on this list? Well, that is precisely why we’re up to today, here we will be taking a good look at the top 10 best cricket openers in the world EVER. So, here we go then.
1. Sachin Tendulkar
There is no way we could have put any other player on the top of this list than the God of cricket himself. Yes, we’re talking about Sachin Tendulkar, who has been the greatest opening batsman of all time. Thanks to his records which are still intact, he played for upward of 20 years and scored a staggering 34,357 international runs. Really? Yes!! No one in history has scored more international runs. He was the first player to score a double century (that’s 200 runs in one game!) in ODIs and ended with 49 centuries in the format. He is equally spectacular when it comes to Test cricket by scoring 51 centuries which proves he is the run machine.
2. Rohit Sharma
No doubt, Rohit Sharma makes batting look so easy, but it is actually his class. This crazy record of his is the only player ever to score THREE double centuries in ODIs. His highest score? Scoring 264 runs in a match is something that no one else has done. And just so you know, his ODI batting average is nearly 50 which is outstanding for an opener. Without a single doubt, this man is one of the best of this generation as he often turns a good starting score into a massive one.
3. Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden was simply THE best batsman of his time and a run machine at the top of the order. Like, he was a big unit, powerful, and daring to take on anybody and hit big runs to bowlers all over the park. He was a key member of the Aussie team in the 2000s during the time of Steve Waugh, just saying! And as for a little bit of stats here, well, Hayden scored 15,066 international runs and had a big Test average of 50.73.
4. David Warner
Next on the list, did you know that David Warner began as a T20 player but soon proved himself to be an all-format success? He plays the game aggressively and fast which helps his team to always be ahead. Like, yes, having scored over 18800 runs in international cricket, he is among the finest openers ever to play the game. He scored 45 hundreds, and his ability to bounce back shows that he is mentally strong too, no matter what the situation on-field.
5. Hashim Amla
Although Hashim Amla lacked the volume or the aggression, his unfailing execution made him easy to hear. Like, he was not the loudest player but his batting was. For example, Amla made 18,672 runs and his ODI record is unbelievable, and he was the fastest player to reach the milestone of 7,000 ODI runs! His consistency was simply stellar as his average in ODI’s is 49 which means he was more than reliable.
6. Sanath Jayasuriya
Did you know that usually, opening batters were expected to be slow and deliberate before Jayasuriya? He was the one to turn things around a bit, you know? Like, instead of playing safe, he attacked from ball one and set the tone for the modern-day aggressive opening. As for a little bit of stats here, during his career, he scored 21,032 runs and he had an ODI strike rate of 91.2 which was well ahead of his time.
7. Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist was a very special cricketer who was a wicketkeeper as well as a dasher/explosive opener, no two ways about that. He was THE batsman who scored over 15,000 runs in ODIs with s strike rate under 100. Thus, he was a nightmare for the bowlers, just saying! The Aussies used to rule the world of cricket for a long time. He never looked to survive while batting but always tried to put the opposition under pressure.
8. Virender Sehwag
If you ever need some entertainment, just watch Sehwag bat and have fun. He wouldn’t care who the bowler was, what the situation was, anything, he would just see the ball and hit it. That’s all! He made runs totaling 17,253 and scored two triple-hundreds in Test cricket, which not many players have accomplished! Like, his ODI strike rate of 104.3 means how destructive he was. When Sehwag was batting, you always had a sense of excitement in the air. ALWAYS!
9. Alastair Cook
Sure, as cricket lovers, we all know that Alastair Cook wasn’t flashy, but he was rock solid. Like, he was known as one of history’s best Test openers. His stats speak just that, like, he made 15,737 runs with 33 Test centuries to become England’s highest Test run-scorer. He was a guy who wasn’t about huge sixes, but the one to bat for hours, wear the bowlers down, and build match-winning innings.
10. Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle is the king of power-hitting. He didn’t just hit sixes, he destroyed bowling attacks. That’s why we call him the Universe Boss, right? Like, with 19,593 international runs and 42 centuries to his name, Gayle is perhaps the most feared batsman of modern times to play cricket. So yes, in a way, you can say that Chris Gayle had the ability to win a match on his own.
Conclusion
That’s all. Sure, the list of the best cricket openers goes on and on, but if we’re talking about THE best ones so far, then these ten would always make it to this list. And looking at their big scores and overall career stats, you know exactly why that is the case, don’t you?