Why does having a left/right hand opening combo matter?

[honestbharani]

It's extremely useful at the lower levels. As the standards get higher the advantage is less pronounced but it is still useful esp in LO games where one side of the boundary is short

 

[subshakerz]

Ok

Just him being typically consistent.

 

[reyrey]

Proportionally there are roughly twice as many Test left-handers as during the 1980s, and three times the proportion before WW1.

It's possible more naturally right handed people are just batting with a left-handers stance.

A few names and there are plenty more, but Chris Gayle, Graeme Smith, Mark Butcher, Trescothick, Langer, Hayden, Mark Taylor, Kirsten, Ganguly all bowled right arm off-spin or medium pace, but batted left-handed.

England had played over a hundred Tests before Woolley became their first left-handed batsman to score a century.

Similarly maybe more natural left-handers were just taking right-handed batting stances back then.

 

[peterhrt]

Similarly maybe more natural left-handers were just taking right-handed batting stances back then.

Yes they were.

Scyld Berry estimates that around a third of 18th century cricketers batted left-handed. A hundred years later The Times newspaper ran a campaign to ban left-handers from the game. Similar prejudice existed later elsewhere.

In the 1930s England's selectors picked left-handers Leyland and Paynter to combat Australian leg-spin. Pullar, Subba Row and Close all faced Benaud in 1961.

Prior to the 1974 home series against India, the selectors were concerned that Bedi had established a hold over several English right-handed batsmen in Test and county cricket. He had taken a hundred wickets the previous season. They recalled John Edrich to bat in the middle order then gave a debut to David Lloyd. Both delivered the goods. At Birmingham Lloyd recalls Indian wicket-keeper and Lancashire teammate Farokh Engineer urging him to concentrate and not give it away as he approached a double century. In those days some players were just as attached to their counties, who paid them well, as to their countries.

 

[Slifer]

Given the option, I'd rather open with Greenidge and Fredricks than Greenidge and Haynes. Both Fredricks and Haynes are there about quality wise but yeah being left handed for me, in my puny little mind, I feel like typical opening bowlers would be a little put off.

Maybe counter that by opening the bowling with a left arm and right arm bowlers.

 

[Dendarii]

While I get that bowlers wouldn't like to have to be continually adjusting their lines to the extent that's required for a left/right combination and would much prefer to get into a groove, is it not something they'll have practised? There are enough left-handed batsmen around that it's hardly an uncommon occurrence.

 

[Immenso]

A (good) LH opening batsman used to be gold.

The biggest threat to the proliferation of the LH opening batsman is the popping of the myth that a bowler is admitting defeat by going around the wicket (thanks ball-tracking data), combined with the now orthodox modern chest-on bowling action that moves the ball away from LHers naturally.

The pendulum has probably swung. It's now likely an advantage to be a RH opening bat. Want to try to get at least one RHer in your opening combo.

 

[Nintendo]

Duckett and Crawley are a recent pair that are at the extreme end of the "difficult to adjust from one to the other" thing. Ones a tall right hander who you wanna bowl fuller and wider to, the other is a shorter left hander who you wanna go more back of a length too on a second/third stump line. Both score quickly and cover each other's weaknesses aswell, so if you get duckett off strike and bowl a good length/slightly back of a length ball to him like you would duckett he's just gonna use his reach to drive you on the up.

 

[capt_Luffy]

Given the option, I'd rather open with Greenidge and Fredricks than Greenidge and Haynes. Both Fredricks and Haynes are there about quality wise but yeah being left handed for me, in my puny little mind, I feel like typical opening bowlers would be a little put off.

Maybe counter that by opening the bowling with a left arm and right arm bowlers.

Why not Hunte?