Ranking the top 10 Test openers in the world currently

They say the toughest job in Test cricket is batting at the top of the order, and they aren’t wrong. Taking on the new ball may be the best time to bat in white ball cricket, but with the red ball, you are coming up against a swinging ball, and every part of your technique is tested.

This was never clearer than in the recent Test series between India and England, where it took until the fifth and final Test for any of the openers in the series to go past 50. That first opener to pass 50 was Alastair Cook, who played in his final Test match and ended a stellar career with a superb 147 at the Oval.

Cook has been one of, if not the greatest opener that we have seen in Test cricket over the last decade or so, and the figures certainly reflect that. His record of playing in 159 consecutive Test matches is also one that is likely to stand for a long time.

We have entered an era of a cricket where, partly down to Twenty20 cricket, the traditional opener has gone slightly. We now see a number of openers who look to play their shots from ball one, regardless of opposition or match situation, a trait perhaps inspired by India great Virender Sehwag.

Here are the top ten openers in Test cricket at the moment.

---

#10 KL Rahul (India)

Rahul scored 149 runs in his last Test innings

Rahul makes this list off the back of an excellent performance for India in the final Test of their series against England. He struggled in the opening few games of the series, and had he not been so reliable in the slip cordon, he probably would have been left out of the side. However, he remained in it, and played a superb innings in the final match, making a very stylish 149.

He hasn’t always been an opener in Test cricket, but given the recent struggles of Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay, he may have a future there. He is certainly a stylish opener, and although he doesn’t have the best defensive technique, he plays some superb shots. He already has five hundreds to his name, along with 11 half-centuries, with a decent average of 38.53, something he will wish to improve over the coming years.

#9 Shikhar Dhawan (India)

Dhawan struggled on the recent tour of England

If he was as good overseas as he was in India, Dhawan would certainly be much higher up this list. Much like Rahul, he is a man capable of playing some very attractive innings, and getting his side off to a flyer. He memorably showed this off on his debut, scoring the fastest century on Test debut against Australia, reaching three figures off just 85 balls. He was eventually out of 187.

The 32-year-old does have the ability to go big once he gets off to a start, and actually has a very good conversion record from fifties to hundreds. He has passed fifty 12 times in his career, and on seven of those occasions he has gone on to make a century. He has a good average of 40.61 in Tests, at an impressive strike rate of 66.94. His attacking instincts are his greatest strengths, but they have often proved his downfall in the past.

#8 Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh)

Iqbal is one of Bangladesh's greatest players

Tamim Iqbal will most certainly go down as one of the best players in Bangladesh Test history. He may not have always played on the strongest side, but he has always been a consistent performer, both in Asia and overseas. He is very much a modern opener, and his defensive technique is pretty average, but this has improved over his career, and he is an attractive player at the top of the order.

Statistically, he probably has one of the worst records of the players on this list, but it is worth noting that he has often been the best player in what has been a pretty average side, and he has played a lot of Test matches in tough overseas conditions. He averages 37.84 in Test matches, though it has often been his conversion rate that has let it down. He has made 25 fifties in Test matches but has only made eight centuries.

#7 David Warner (Australia)

Warner is currently serving a one-year ban

Warner finds himself a bit further down this list because of the recent sandpaper scandal in Australia, which saw fellow opener Cameron Bancroft look to tamper with the ball on the orders of captain Steve Smith and vice-captain Warner. He is currently serving a one-year ban for his role in the scandal. This may be the final time he appears amongst this list, as because of his previous disciplinary record and on-field behaviour, the smart money is on him not returning to the Australian Test side when his ban is over.

Warner was seen earlier in his career as almost exclusively a white ball cricketer, but he has proved that he is more than good enough batting against the red ball and has adapted very well to Test cricket. He has an excellent record in Tests, having scored 6363 runs at an average of 48.20, along with an excellent strike rate of 74.50, as well as making 21 centuries.

#6 Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies)

Brathwaite is an old-fashioned Test opener

Certainly one of the more old-fashioned openers on this list. Test cricket in the West Indies is probably at its lowest point at the moment. There was a time, particularly in the 1980s, where they dominated Test cricket all over the world, but that has changed, and things have gone downhill in recent years. And in an era where the majority of West Indian batsmen are known for their powerful hitting in white ball cricket, Brathwaite is the exception.

His career strike rate of 41.63 suggests the sort of player that he is. He isn’t an extravagant player, but he judges the line and the length of the ball so well and leaves the ball well outside off stump. He averages 37.94 with the bat and has eight hundreds to his name. He is still only 25, so will get better over the next few years.

#5 Tom Latham (New Zealand)

Latham is still at an early stage of his Test career

Latham is another one of the players on the list who has really begun to make a name for himself over the past couple of years. He is usually a wicketkeeper, and usually takes the gloves during ODIs for his country, but that role goes to BJ Watling in Test matches. That means he is picked solely as a batsman, and he has proved his worth over the last couple of years.

He is another player who does all they can to protect their wicket, and will rarely play a shot that risks losing it. He averages just over 38 in his first 36 Test matches and has continued to improve over the last 12 months or so. He has begun to form a partnership with Jeet Raval at the top of the order, and he will hope that he can make that next step up over the next couple of years.

#4 Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka)

Karunaratne has become a key player to this Sri Lanka side

Karunaratne is someone who has really taken his game to the next level over the last couple of years, with half of his eight Test centuries coming since the start of 2017. He had quite a patchy start to his career but has become a reliable member of this Sri Lanka side, and he looks like a top class opening batsman.

It is no surprise that the players highest up on this list are the ones who are the more old-fashioned openers and put more effort into trying to get themselves in, and put away the bad balls, rather than take risks. Karunaratne is another one of those players, and this has bought him a lot of success in recent times. This was most notable in the most recent two-match Test series with South Africa, where he was named Man of the Series, making at least 50 in all four innings he batted.

#3 Aiden Markram (South Africa)

Markram has scored over 1000 runs in his 12 Tests

Markram is the youngest player on this list, but he certainly looks like he has a massive future in the game. He has only played 12 Test matches in his short career so far but has shown all his talent and temperament, scoring an impressive hundred against Australia, and falling agonisingly short against India, where he really deserved to get to three figures. He is still only 23 though, so will have time to make up for that near miss.

The South African has taken to Test cricket like a duck to water and has been in excellent touch so far in his short career. He looks very confident at the crease, and he looks to keep the game simple, and that is partly down to why he has been so successful. He has made an impressive 1040 runs in his first 12 Tests, at an average of just over 47. He already has four Test centuries to his name, a number that will surely grow in the coming years.

#2 Azhar Ali (Pakistan)

Ali became an opener late on in his Test career

At 33, Ali is one of the more experienced names on this list. He hasn’t always batted at the top of the order, however, having come in at three in the earlier parts of his career. Moving him up to face the new ball has been a success for Pakistan though, as he has proved more than useful as an opener. He is a patient player and is prepared to go for long spells without scoring so to protect his wicket.

He has shown that he is capable of going on to get a big score once he has got himself in as well, having made two double hundreds in his career, as well as an unbeaten triple century against the West Indies in 2016. These are just some of the 14 Test centuries that he has accumulated in his career. Having scored a lot of runs in Asia and the Middle East, he has also proved himself as an excellent player of spin.

#1 Dean Elgar (South Africa)

Elgar is one of the more experienced players in this South Africa team

The second South African in the top three, but there is a reason that the Proteas are one of the top Test sides on the planet right now. Elgar may not be one of the most glamorous names on this list, but that isn’t always what makes a great opener. The 31-year-old has become a massive player for South Africa over the last few years and has now become the most reliable opener in Test cricket.

He is now 51 Tests into a career that has seen him average just over 41, with 11 hundreds to his name and 12 fifties. What is most important though is the role he plays in this South African side. He has played with the likes of Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Francois du Plessis during his career to this point, and the fact is he has consistently shielded them from the new ball, and helped them to put big scores on the board.