The 1996 World Cup was a turning point in the history of cricket. Not only did it crush the dominance of the egoistic Aussies and Windies, but also it set about breaking apart the age old concept of opening the batting in limited overs.
Till then, the only accepted approach was to start off sedately and watchfully, building more and more power as the innings progressed. But two freakish openers had set their minds upon blowing that idea down the river in the 1996 World Cup in the sub-continent. The two Sri Lankans, Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana, revolutionised ODI batting forever. The wily Adam Gilchrist and the sensational Virender Sehwag took it a notch further and made batting at the top look as easy as cutting a cake.
If Jayasuriya and Kalu are the pioneers of change in opening the innings and Sehwag and Gilchrist, the carriers of that change, modern opening batsmen have left all of these legends gaping at their feats with wide open mouths. Such is the prowess and power the modern opening batsmen possesses that even 120 in the opening 10 overs is greeted with mere applause rather than shocking gasps.
In the period since the 2015 World Cup, the world has seen some prodigious openers scale the peaks of batting records. Guys like David Warner and Alex Hales have scored four centuries post the 2015 World Cup while the South African wicketkeeper, Quinton de Kock, has gone a step further, scoring five hundreds during the period.
India's Rohit Sharma, Pakistan's Azhar Ali and New Zealand's Martin Guptill have gone about making the task tougher for opening bowlers with magnificent batsmanship.Even Bangladesh boasts of a spectacular opener in Tamim Iqbal, who has averaged above 60 since the World Cup in Australia-New Zealand.
These brilliant openers have made the job harder for cricket analysts by religiously scoring loads of runs. Let us go through the list of openers that have scored more than 1,000 runs since the last World Cup, rating them in the process.
Please note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and they do not necessarily represent the views of Sportskeeda
#6 David Warner
The Australian opener has made his name as a specialist opener in all formats of the game. His aggressive style of batting has surprisingly been rewarding even in Test cricket.
Warner has had a period of golden form since the 2015 World Cup, notching up four hundreds en route to scoring 1,054 runs at an average of 55.47.
He has notched up hundreds in four different continents- one each in Australia, North America, Africa and Asia. He hit a brilliant 122 against India at Sydney in January 2016. His second hundred was a 109 against South Africa in the West Indies in the Tri-Series.
The ODIs in Sri Lanka were a relief for the Aussies after being humbled in the Test series. Warner hit a carefully compiled 106 in the final match of that ODI series. The ongoing ODIs against South Africa have not gone well for Australia, but Warner was unperturbed and managed his fourth hundred of the year in Durban.
Rating: 8/10
#5 Jason Roy
England have made an unbelievable transformation since the 2015 World Cup, where their style of cricket was likened with the 1970s era. But a reformed administration with Andrew Strauss at the helm has seen England come out playing a different, aggressive brand of cricket. A new found likening for young, firebrands saw Jason Roy walk into the limited overs setup.
Roy made an immediate impression, forming a formidable opening partnership with Alex Hales in the past one year. He has made 1,096 runs in 31 ODIs post the World Cup, scoring 3 hundreds at an average of 39.14.
The series against Lanka at home saw him at his very best as he played a mind blowing innings of 162 in 118 balls at The Oval to follow up another century he had made in the second match of the series. Roy is one opener who will be inviting a lot of attention in the forthcoming years.
Rating: 7.5/10
#4 Martin Guptill
The Kiwi opener had an outstanding 2015 World Cup,where he recorded the second highest ODI score of 237*. Since the World Cup as well, he has maintained his limited overs form, scoring 1,105 runs at the top of the order in just 21 ODIs averaging a high 61.38.
He has also notched up three hundreds and eight fifties during the period. Only Kane Williamson, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan have recorded more half centuries during this time, with nine each.
Guptill followed up hundreds against Zimbabwe and South Africa in 2015 with a spectacular series against Lanka in December-January at home, where he scored 79, 93*, 30, 27 and 102. He has also recorded 39 sixes in ODIs since the World Cup, the highest by any batsman.
Rating: 8.5/10
#3 Azhar Ali
The stout Pakistan One Day captain, despite the heavy criticism levied at him for his scoring rate, has been the pillar of Pakistan's batting. He has provided much-needed stability at the top that Pakistan had been searching for since the retirement of Saeed Anwar.
Azhar has played 28 One Dayers since the 2015 event, averaging 39.85 while scoring 1,116 runs with three hundreds and five half-centuries. Although his three hundreds have come against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and West Indies, his presence at the top of the order was important in helping the likes of Shoaib Malik and Sarfraz Ahmed score freely.
He had a good series against England despite Pakistan losing the series 4-1. He scored 208 runs at an average of 42.1 in the series, where he tried to lead the side by example. Inspite of the sheer weight of runs in the past one year, he has been underrated as an ODI opener.
Rating: 7/10
#2 Alex Hales
Hales, the other prolific English opener, had a horror series against the Australians at home in mid-2015 where he averaged just 10 in 5 matches, after which he found his groove to score 1,132 runs in 29 ODIs at an average of 43.5 3 with four hundreds.
After the series against Australia, Hales made hundreds in each of the four series he was part of. In the series against Pakistan in the UAE, Hales made 171 runs in four games at an average of 42.75. He then carried on his good form against the South Africans in their home scoring 383 runs at an average of 76.6 in five matches.
The Lankans also got a taste of Hales as compiled a 133 not out against them at home before going on to score his career best 171 in the series against Pakistan. The only issue with Hales has been consistency around his hundreds. Inspite of recording centuries in quick succession, his runs in the other games have been questionable.
Rating: 7/10
#1 Quinton de Kock
The young South African prodigy has been the opener to watch out for since the World Cup in Australia-New Zealand. The left-handed wicketkeeper has averaged 56.61 in 23 matches while carrying on his habit of converting starts into centuries. The scintillating batsman has scored five centuries, two each in the series against India and England at India and South Africa respectively.
He has been instrumental in providing the South African middle order with electric starts. He has been a thorn for opposition bowlers with his stroke play and six hitting ability. In the ongoing ODI series against Australia, the opener cracked a career best 178 in a chase of 295 in Centurion. He followed that up with another 49 ball 70 in the third ODI where a Miller-powered South Africa chased down 371.
De Kock, after a decent start, has been critical to South Africa's plans in limited overs cricket. He has more than made up for a lacklustre 2015 World Cup with performances in sync with his unquestionable talent. South Africa's terrific run of late in ODIs has been largely due to De Kock's splendid starts.
Rating: 9/10
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