Most Test runs as an opener
Australia continue their dominance in Test cricket and have been best team in the year 2022 so far. Most recently, they beat West Indies 2-0 and are leading the ongoing Test series against South Africa by 1-0. Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne is currently leading the ICC Test Batters’ chart with Steven Smith and Travis Head being in top-five.
The current Australian Test captain Pat Cummins is topping the ICC Test Bowlers’ chart while Mitchell Starc ranks fifth in the current all-rounder chart. The current Australian team looking sorted with all eleven positions with one of the best players in red-ball cricket. But surprisingly, no Australian cricketer ranks in the top three of the most Test runs chart as an opener.
The top three cricketers who have scored the most runs as openers in Test history:
3. Graeme Smith (9030 runs for South Africa)
The former South African batter remains one of the most successful captains for the Proteas in the 21st century. He scored 9265 runs from 117 Test matches with the help of 27 hundreds and scored 9030 runs playing as an opener at an average of 49.08.
2. Sunil Gavaskar (9607 runs for India)
The legendary Indian batter was the first cricketer to cross the 10000-run mark in the Test cricket. Gavaskar scored 10122 runs from 125 Test matches at an average of 51.12 with the help of 34 hundreds. And as an opener, the right-handed batter scored 9607 runs at an average of 50.30 with the help of 33 hundreds.
1. Alastair Cook (11845 runs for England)
The 37-year-old English stalwart remains fifth in the highest run-scorers in the Test cricket chart with 12472 runs at an average of 46.95, with 33 centuries from 161 Tests. He retired from international cricket in 2018 but is still playing in County Championship. He dominated English cricket playing as an opener and scored 11845 runs at an average of 44.87 with the help of 31 hundreds.
