Who is the second best opener of the last half century?

[Teja.]

Gooch is another cricketer who is severely underrated because of longevity. He played for 21 years and has an average of 43.

Between 1982 and 1993, for a period of 12 years, he scored 6101 runs @ 49.xx in 69 games which is absolutely epic for an English opener of that era. He did destroy some weaker sides and was only slightly less a HTB than the big 3 in the period but he also played a lot of epic knocks. Another contender as strong as any.

I feel Greenidge is the only player who stands head and shoulders above 5-6 contenders here.

 

[The Sean]

Yeah but Haynes is probably the biggest HTB of all time. I personally would take Gayle over him anytime when it comes to WI openers.

Yeah, Greenidge clearly the greater player - and always the dominant half of that partnership. It's just an example of where the difference in quality between the two men isn't mirrored by the difference in their career numbers. And I don't think I'd realised just how big Haynes' home v away difference was!

 

[The Sean]

Gooch is another cricketer who is severely underrated because of longevity. He played for 21 years and has an average of 43.

Between 1982 and 1993, for a period of 12 years, he scored 6101 runs @ 49.xx in 69 games which is absolutely epic for an English opener of that era. He did destroy some weaker sides and was only slightly less a HTB than the big 3 in the period but he also played a lot of epic knocks. Another contender as strong as any.

I feel Greenidge is the only player who stands head and shoulders above 5-6 contenders here.

Yeah, a couple of Gooch's epics against the West Indies were absolute all-timers. Another guy who got better with age, particularly after it looked like Alderman had finished him off in 1989. He had a period of 32 Tests from June 1990 to June 1994 where he averaged 63, and for a good two or three years in the early '90s he was (arguably) the best batsman in the world. Which, considering how few English batsmen can legitimately have had that said about them in the past sixty years, is some effort.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

Yeah but Haynes is probably the biggest HTB of all time. I personally would take Gayle over him anytime when it comes to WI openers.

Haynes was the only West Indian batsman who stood up to Hadlee when the Windies lost in NZ.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

John Wright also got really good with age. He averaged 55.40 in the 90s (1990-1993) despite an overall average of 37.82

 

[Fuller Pilch]

After Wright retired most NZ openers struggled to average 25.

 

[The Sean]

Greenidge averages about 30 in Asia which is supposed to be the easiest place for openers ( And 80s being dark era for spinners)

Anyways 2 important Sehwag stats
1. Only opener to score 4 250+ score ( Bradman, Lara also have 4)

2. Had scored 13 consecutive 150+ score.

Sehwag should have worked hard on its game against moving ball or maybe his batting style was never going to be successful against swing.

Ha, that reads like Sehwag made 150+ for 13 consecutive innings. Which would certainly remove some of the doubt around who to vote for...

 

[honestbharani]

Ha, that reads like Sehwag made 150+ for 13 consecutive innings. Which would certainly remove some of the doubt around who to vote for...

Creative accounting FTW

 

[Jack1]

It would be funny if Simon Katich is an active poster. Only Hayden averages more than him at opener from all the options.

 

[honestbharani]

It would be funny if Simon Katich is an active poster.

 

[shashy]

Hayden. NOT Barry Richards, the most overrated cricketer ever.

 

[Migara]

Marvan Atapattu @43, and TM Dilshan @42.5 are better openers than jayasuriya. Dilshan especially has similar home and away averages which is remarkable for an Asian opener.

 

[Jack1]

Crystal Express

 

[Shri]

alastair cook and it is not even close in all conditions

double in aus, almost a double in india

but i'd pick sehwag before cook because he did in test cricket as n opener no one else could do on roads

 

[Jack1]

Hayden

 

[a massive zebra]

Marvan Atapattu @43, and TM Dilshan @42.5 are better openers than jayasuriya. Dilshan especially has similar home and away averages which is remarkable for an Asian opener.

Not really. Atapattu cashed in against Zimbabwe and averaged about 32 against top 8 teams.

 

[bagapath]

Perhaps Boycott was too slow and Sehwag was too unreliable on swinging wickets.
Hayden was awesome but a little suspect against quality pace. Langer was also a no.3.
Gooch was the best against pace but it took him too long to come to the party; was averaging in the 30s until the late 80s.
Anwar did not reel out enough big scores; no double hundred in his career.

All this is splitting hair. Any one of them could be the winner.

Smith and Greenidge are a cut above the rest.
And I am going for Greenidge. For his devastating stroke play, style (the best of greenidge is the best of batting - mark nicholas) and spectacular box office all around the globe.

 

[nick-o]

I cannot believe people are voting for Barry Richards in this. Sorry, it gets my goat.

The guy did not play a single test match in the half-century the vote is based on. Not one.

In the half-century we are voting on, he played some first-class matches and was part of a circus extravaganza some impressario fixed, but he never played a meaningful test match ever. We have absolutely no idea how he would have performed in the cauldron of a real test match against fired-up bowlers bowling in a match where something mattered.

I mean, I understand he was a pretty boy and teenagers of that era might have had a crush on him, but that does not make him a candidate for this poll. He's the joke last option in the poll, and people voting for him are idiots.

 

[nick-o]

I cannot believe people are voting for Barry Richards in this. Sorry, it gets my goat.

The guy did not play a single test match in the half-century the vote is based on. Not one.

In the half-century we are voting on, he played some first-class matches and was part of a circus extravaganza some impressario fixed, but he never played a meaningful test match ever. We have absolutely no idea how he would have performed in the cauldron of a real test match against fired-up bowlers bowling in a match where something mattered.

I mean, I understand he was a pretty boy and teenagers of that era might have had a crush on him, but that does not make him a candidate for this poll. He's the joke last option in the poll, and people voting for him are idiots.

/cue everyone voting for him as a joke/

 

[Pap Finn Keighl]

And if Sachin had retired at the end of 90s he wouldn't be rated so high. One of the major reasons people rate Sachin so highly is because of huge longevity and 15000 test runs.

His claims to be 2nd best after Bradman was stronger in 2000 than it is now.
Bradman, Benaud, Wisden.. Etc already acknowledged it by then.