Top 5 England Test opening pairs of all time

#3 Len Hutton and Cyril Washbrook

According to many, Len Hutton is among the greatest batsmen to have ever played the game and as an opening batsman, he was peerless for the majority of his career.

He formed plenty of superb opening partnerships but the one with Lancastrian Cyril Washbrook proved to be the most prolific.

Washbrook was known for being an attacking batsman and preferred to cut, hook or pull anything that was pitched even marginally short. Along with the technical excellence, he had the game to pounce on anything loose and that made Hutton-Washbrook pairing such a formidable one.

The pair opened 51 times between 1946 and 1951 and clocked an average of 60 runs, which is a superb return. They put on stands in excess of hundred runs on 8 occasions and crossed the 50 run mark 13 times.