After Andrew Strauss retired from international cricket, England’s cricket team were on a mission to find his replacement to partner Alastair Cook at the top of the order.
Now we are in 2020, Cook has retired from the game, and England has not been able to find a replacement even for the former.
They tried to cash in Jason Roy’s golden run at the World Cup by opening with him at the Ashes. We all saw what happened on the last day of the first Ashes Test last year.
Australia has never found a capable partner for David Warner ever since Chris Rogers retired. After trying to find a partner for Murali Vijay, India has now replaced even him. Dean Elgar has also not found a consistent opening partner.
Opening in Test matches has always been a tough job, but until recently it has become the most difficult nut to crack in Test match cricket. In the last five years, while openers have made merry in white-ball cricket, opening in Test matches has become tougher and tougher.
We had players like Justin Langer, Virender Sehwag, Graeme Smith, Alastair Cook, Matthew Hayden and Stephen Fleming. They were not only great opening batsmen but some of the best batsmen of all time. These players defined opening in Test matches.
Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden. (Photo by Hamish Blair/Getty Images)
So what exactly has happened that the next generation is failing to grasp the art of opening in Test matches?
Approach at the start of the innings
There is one saying that we hear commentators say time and again but predominantly in limited-overs cricket: “They all count, doesn’t matter how they come”.
Well, it does in Test matches. An edge to the third-man fence may play a role in kick-starting an innings in white-ball cricket, but in red-ball cricket, it won’t go past the slip cordon. Hence a batsman needs to adapt significantly his approach at the start of the innings. This is also a reason why there has been a rise in a boom-or-bust innings in Test matches.
If a batsman is able to negate the initial few overs, he has a high chance of scoring a big one, but more often than not it will be bust.
Quality of batsmanship
Jason Roy, Brendon McCullum and Glenn Maxwell are all examples of the modern batsman. They have quick hands and immaculate hand-eye coordination resulting in audacious stroke-making.
While the new-age batsman travels the world plying his trade in different T20 leagues, the orthodox and technically correct batsman has reduced in number. This has led to a significant decrease in the quality of batsmanship – a problem magnified under the lens of Test matches.
Things like the gap between bat and pad, foot work, knowing your off stump – which are still very relevant in Test matches – have reduced in importance in limited-overs cricket. Opening in Test matches seems to have copped the biggest brunt of this shift.
(Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
The need to save Test cricket
With the advent of T20 cricket, there have been constant cries from various corners to save Test cricket. The reasons given were that viewership is decreasing and players are giving less importance to Test match cricket.
The conclusion was to make Test matches more interesting. No one wants to see a boring draw. This, in some cases, led to extra spiced-up pitches, especially in a country with friendly seam-bowling conditions. The combination of these made opening batsmen sitting ducks.
Playing James Anderson is a challenge in itself. Add to it an extra green top, and the complexity of the task becomes harder. Some experts have said that throwing the bat around may not be the worst thing on these pitches. So much for patience and grit.
Even India has stopped producing dust bowls and is not afraid to dish out green tops. In the last India-South Africa series, they were playing three fast bowlers at home. This is something I thought I would never see.
Three-day Test matches has become more and more normal. They have become some weird combination of two elongated limited-overs games.
Again, who has been the most affected? Openers.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
And therefore totally exceptions to the usual rules!
DHRUV GROVER
Roar Rookie
Absolutely. I guess David Warner and Rohit Sharma are the only openers whose natural game is so much successful across formats
DHRUV GROVER
Roar Rookie
Oh very well said. I actually have the same opinion. I just hope that we see the likes Pujara, Elgar Rogers prop up on a regular basis because I absolutely love their approach to Test cricket.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
I'm not a good one to ask about that. I've long thought that most athletes are very well paid and some are just grossly overpaid. But, to answer your question, I think any CA contract is not bad money for playing a game most of us play for nothing. Beats laying bricks for a living. If some young opener doesn't think it's enough and tries to become a bish bash T20 star then that's his call but he'll get no sympathy from me.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Totally. But after this virus thing...well who knows? Maybe we might go to different times? But in a world where TV rights pays for every thing...would we ever see for example Australia v Mashonaland? Or England v Lahore?
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Yeah. Fly in, fly out. No chance to get used to conditions. Opening the batting against that brand spanking new ball with the bowlers at their freshest is not the easiest of jobs at the best of times and the packed out schedule makes it even harder.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
Because it's a totally different game. Patience is required in tests...if you had it in T20.. you'd get dropped!
The Late News
Roar Rookie
A lot of truth there mate. I also believe that the old fashioned tours are missed. The ability to find form in a foreign country...very hard to do now with short tours. I suppose there is an argument that says the players now play in lots of different conditions...but red ball v white ball cricket...well...its different.
AREH
Roar Guru
Describing the task as an art seems most appropriate - we are talking about an incredibly specialised skill that is becoming rarer. I do wonder about the incentives in being a primarily red ball top order player, nowadays, as it only seems viable if you are a 'Big 3 or 4' contracted player, with the lucrative short-form opportunities. Even most of these types now play some shorter form cricket. Young fans now must look at a Pujara, Elgar, Brathwaite etc and just wonder!
AJ73
Roar Rookie
Totally agree with you MarkD, and Langer has a lot to answer for there. He undermined Renshaw to get Bancroft in. No reason was given really, considering he scored 500 runs before turning 21 - he is only 24 now. I hope he comes back like Hayden, the perfect foil for Warner. However, Warner could be the issue as it is stated he likes to bat with Joe Burns. The other person they broke was Ussie. Would have been useful as an opener.
DHRUV GROVER
Roar Rookie
But do you think we also need to make such specialist roles more tempting money wise ?
Raimond
Roar Guru
There was a terrible dismissal in the first Test between South Africa & England, where Elgar gloved the first ball of the match. Anderson's delivery was well down the leg side, but nowhere near a Test wide, yet Elgar chased it nonetheless. Horrible to watch.
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
I would think so. There are a few exceptions like Warner but generally it's a specialist position. Jason Roy was tried by England but that didn't work, so yeah, bring in the experts I think.
MarkD
Guest
Reckon we had a good opener in Renshaw, but they broke him. He might not of scored quickly early on in an innings but he did see off alot of balls and somewhat limit the new ball.
DHRUV GROVER
Roar Rookie
Oh Yes Paul. But approach certainly needs to change a lot. In limited overs you need to get a move on after let say facing 10-20 deliveries. But this approach is not required in tests. I was talking about how this approach when creeps in test cricket creates a problem. Otherwise I fully agree that you don't need to play your shots from ball 1.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Batting has never been easier outside of the Video Ump and more planning. The standard of batting right now is not very good at all save for the top few
DHRUV GROVER
Roar Rookie
In that case, do you suggest that we should have specialist openers for both forms of cricket for the national teams ? I know this is already happening from a long time, but is it time that we actually recognize this and make Test opening as coveting a deal as an IPL contract ?
dungerBob
Roar Rookie
Field restrictions, hardly any slips, 2 white balls, leg side wides etc all add up to make opening in limited overs a far easier proposition than in test cricket. Aaron Finch is a good exanple. One of our best L.O openers ever but struggles to hold down a middle order spot in red ball cricket for the Vics. Test & short format cricket are 2 completely different beasts imo.
Paul
Roar Guru
"he doesn’t have the time in limited overs cricket to leave the ball and get set in especially the openers, who are supposed to make full use of the power play." I very much disagree, Dhruv. These are probably the only guys who should take time to assess conditions in either 50 over or 20 over cricket. I agree they can't take too long and are more likely to play at deliveries that they'd leave if playing Tests, but they still have a full compliment of overs, so should not automatically go bull at a gate, simply because they're batting against a white ball.
Rellum
Roar Guru
CA has a live stream going now of a game in 2005(I think) between Aus and India. SO much more seam movement already than you see now