5 Grounds with the lowest opening stands average in Test cricket

Test cricket is the toughest form of the game for opening batsmen, simply because of the fact that the bowlers can be far more attacking and there can be no limit to the number of fielders in catching positions. Most mistakes are punished and the batsmen are sent packing. Hence, survival is of paramount importance for the pair of opening batsmen at the start of an innings.

However, certain venues have proven to be the graveyard of opening batsmen and the first wickets almost always seem to fall before the opening pair are able to put up a substantial score. That being said, it would be interesting to see which particular grounds have been the hardest for opening batsmen in the history of Test cricket and here is a look at 5 grounds that have produced the lowest opening partnership averages.

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#5 SuperSport Park, Centurion, South Africa

SuperSport Park, which is better known as Centurion Park has been a fixture in the South African cricket season since 1995 and has hosted 23 Test matches so far since 1995. When people think of difficult pitches in South Africa then the ground that comes to mind is perhaps the Kingsmead in Durban, however, it is Centurion which has proven to be a riddle for opening batsmen over the course of the last 23 years.

The average for the opening stand at the ground is 28.61 and more often than not, the fast bowlers enjoy bowling on the pitch that has a lot of assistance for them. The seam movement and bounce is usually the source of misery for most batsmen. The first wicket has fallen for 0 on 6 occasions and openers have put up a century stand only 4 times in 79 innings.

#4 Shere Bangla Stadium, Mirpur, Bangladesh

A wicket falls at the Shere Bangla Stadium

Having first hosted a Test match back in 2007, the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur has become one of the regular Test match venues in Bangladesh and perhaps one of the reasons for the low opening stand average are the troubles that the hosts have had over the years with their openers. The ground has been a particularly spin-friendly ground in the recent years but it used to be a far more neutral pitch in the early years.

Bangladesh have often opened the bowling with spinners in recent years as well and that has proven to be a successful strategy. The average opening stand at Shere Bangla Stadium is 28.34 and in a total of 61 innings, only 5 hundred runs opening stands have been put up, while opening stands have ended for naught on 8 occasions.

#3 Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

A Test match in progress at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium

It is, as everyone knows, not a regular ground and although it has hosted hundreds of one-day internationals, the Sharjah Cricket Ground has only over hosted a handful of Test matches as a neutral venue. As a matter of fact, the ground in the desert has only hosted 9 Test matches so far but during the course of those games, it has established its reputation as a bit of a troublesome ground for opening batsmen.

It has never been a particularly tough pitch to bat on opening stand average of only 27.55 tells its own story. There have only ever been two century opening stands at this ground and it is interesting to note that the number of 1st wicket stands that ended for zero stands only at 2.

#2 Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New Zealand

Fielding side appeals for a wicket at Hagley Oval

The Hagley Oval in Christchurch is one of the newest Test match venues in the world, having opened its doors to Test cricket back on Boxing Day of 2014 and over the course of 5 games, the ground proven to be a nightmare of opening batsmen. Needless, it has a lot to do with the individual skills of the New Zealand fast bowlers, who are regarded as some of the finest exponents of swing bowling in the world and the Hagley Oval is a ground that is highly suited to that sort of bowling.

The opening stand average of 26.10 in 20 innings is not much of a surprise and it is unlikely that things are going to improve over the years to come. The help that seam bowlers get at the ground is well known and so far, the no opening pair has been able to record a century stand at the venue.

#1 Carisbrook, Dunedin, New Zealand

A limited overs game in progress at Carisbrook

It is perhaps one of the most swing friendly grounds in New Zealand and although Carisbrook in Dunedin hosted its first game in 1955, it has not been a regular venue over the course of the last 6 decades or so. It is a bit of a pity that the ground has only been allotted 10 Test matches in all this time (last Test in 1997) and perhaps one of the reasons is down to the difficulties batsmen have often had when playing at the venue.

In particular, opening batsmen have found the venue difficult and Carisbrook remains the ground with the lowest opening stand average in cricket history. The average opening stand at Carisbrook in 36 innings is 26.03 and there has only been 1 hundred run stand at the ground.

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