One of the most difficult jobs in cricket is opening the batting in Test matches. The white Kookaburra ball in the limited-overs formats barely swings for a couple of overs and from thereon, it becomes easier to bat, especially with two new balls in ODIs. Hence, opening the batting in ODIs and T20s is perhaps the best position for a batter. However, in Test cricket, nothing seems more challenging than facing a brand-new red ball, be it a Dukes, a Kookaburra, or even an SG Test.
Despite opening the batting being one of the most challenging jobs in Test cricket, it has never been more challenging in the last 20 years than in the last five years. In five-year periods since 2002, the period between 2017-21 has been the most challenging for opening batters. This is evident from the batting average, strike rate, and innings per 50+ scores, as seen in the above visual.
The returns of opening batters dip even more since 2017. In 2017, openers averaged 37 in Test cricket, with a 50+ score every 3.82 innings. Since then, the openers haven’t managed a better innings/50+ score. There was a drastic drop of 8.35 runs in the batting average of openers in the following year (2018). Since 2017, the highest the openers have averaged in a calendar year is 34.92 in the current year, with 2021 being the second-highest with 34.0 runs per innings.
Another notable fact in batting post-2017 has been the number of ducks registered by the openers. In 2017, the openers got out without troubling the scorers once every 15.82 innings. The ‘innings/ducks‘ kept getting worse, with the numbers being 9.78, 12.26, 10.53, and 9.28 for years 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively.
Difficulty in opening the batting is also subject to the conditions, be it pitch, weather, or a combination of them. In subcontinental conditions, opening the batting is relatively easier than batting in the middle-order, as the new ball doesn’t turn much and comes onto the bat with a truer bounce than an old ball. Even in South African conditions, the slightly oldish ball (after the 15-20 overs) is a bit more difficult to negotiate than the brand-new ball. In conditions like Australia and New Zealand, the new ball moves a lot more than the older one. Hence, opening the batting is more challenging than batting in the middle-order in Australia, New Zealand, and even England and West Indies, where the new Dukes ball is harder to negotiate. This is also seen from the difference in batting averages of openers and the batters batting in positions 3-7, as shown below.
2022 is seeing a slight surge in the batting average of the openers. This is also a result of the surfaces that have been laid out in recent times. From 2018 to 2021, there were only 19 draws out of 153 matches, a draw percentage of just 12.42%. In 2022, there have been five draws already, with 35.71% of the Test matches ending in a draw. This includes the ongoing series between West Indies and England, and Pakistan and Australia. All four matches, so far, have been draws in these series, and with flat pitches being rolled out, batting has been easier. This is also reflected in the batting average of openers this year, 34.92, the highest since 2017.
Four out of the top five openers this year average more than 81, with the lowest amongst them being Zak Crawley with an average of 39.75. All the five openers are a part of the series mentioned above. This reiterates that opening the batting depends more on the conditions, pitch, and weather than the opposition or the opener himself.