Test Cricket is all about partnerships, both for the batsman and the bowlers. The team that has the best players to complement each other in tandem has become successful in this format of the game. And one of the main things determining the complexion of a batting inning has to be the start given by the openers.
More often than not, the team with the opening batters who can bat time has not ended up being on the losing side. The more the duo spends time at the crease, the chances are more that their side will pile up a massive score as it allows the rest of the batting order to take advantage of a tiring bowling attack. So the opening partnership for any team is crucial, and the over the years, many pairs have demonstrated how their association positively impacts their own side.
As they bat for long hours, their understanding & trust in each other’s game will only grow, and this will confidence for the rest of the batters that their opening batsmen will give them a good start more often than not.
We have listed 10 opening pairs based on the cumulative runs they have piled together throughout their career while they strode to the crease side by side.
| S.No | PLAYER 1 | PLAYER 2 | COUNTRY | SPAN | INNINGS | RUNS | AVERAGE | HS | 100-RUN STANDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sir Gordon Greenidge | Desmond Haynes | West Indies | 1978-1991 | 148 | 6472 | 46.63 | 298 | 16 |
| 2 | Justin Langer | Matthew Hayden | Australia | 2001-2007 | 113 | 5655 | 51.41 | 255 | 14 |
| 3 | Andrew Strauss | Alastair Cook | England | 2006-2012 | 117 | 4711 | 40.97 | 229 | 12 |
| 4 | Marvan Atapattu | Sanath Jayasuriya | Sri Lanka | 1997-2007 | 118 | 4469 | 40.26 | 335 | 9 |
| 5 | Virender Sehwag | Gautam Gambhir | India | 2004-2012 | 87 | 4350 | 51.79 | 233 | 11 |
| 6 | Mark Taylor | Michael Slater | Australia | 1993-1999 | 78 | 3887 | 51.14 | 260 | 10 |
| 7 | Bob Simpson | Bill Lawry | Australia | 1961-1967 | 62 | 3596 | 59.93 | 382 | 9 |
| 8 | Jack Hobbs | Herbert Sutcliffe | England | 1924-1930 | 38 | 3249 | 87.81 | 283 | 15 |
| 9 | Sunil Gavaskar | Chetan Chauhan | India | 1973-1981 | 59 | 3010 | 52.81 | 213 | 10 |
| 10 | Herschelle Gibbs | Graeme Smith | South Africa | 2002-2008 | 56 | 2983 | 55.24 | 368 | 7 |
Key Insights from the above table
16 – Number of times Sir Gardon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes have put a 100+ run partnership for the opening wicket together in Test match cricket. This is the most by any pair for the first wicket in the history of Test Cricket. Jack Hobbs (who opens our all time England’s best Test XI) and Herbert Sutcliffe have put together century partnerships 15 times in 38 innings and they take the 2nd position.
6492 – The legendary batting duo from the Caribbean Islands (Greenidge and Haynes) also hold the record of having the highest overall partnership in Tests for the opening wicket. They have opened the batting 148 times and possess a great average of 46.63 together.
11 – The number of century counts by the best Indian pair in the above list is placed 5th in the overall Indian list of most number of Test century partnerships.
3 – The pair of Herschelle Gibbs and former South African skipper have been part of 3 triple-century partnerships in Tests, the most by any opening pair in the international red-ball format.
87.81 – This is the average between arguably the prolific opening pair pre-world war 2, Jack Hobbs, and Herbert Sutcliffe. This is the highest-ever average between an opening batting pair that has scored over 3000 runs. The duo from England made 3249 runs in just 38 innings and it is simply hard to beat in the years to follow.
3 – Pairs from Australia that have made the top-10 list while there are 2 pairs from the traditional batting giants India and England.
