What Openers Make The ALL-TIME ULTIMATE Cricket XI?🔥| Bumble & Kimber

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talkSPORT's Cricket editor and presenter Jon Norman sits down with former England cricket player, umpire, coach and commentator David 'Bumble' Lloyd and cricket writer Jarrod Kimber to discuss all things cricket.
In today's episode, Bumble & Kimber discuss which openers would make their all-time ultimate cricket XI.
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[@highbury4life899]

Sunil Gavaskars batting averages at 70 against the West Indies and that too against the pace quartet of Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner and Colin Croft who are considered at the greatest pace quartet in the history of Test Cricket.

[@ClydeMillerWynant]

Obviously a truly great player and a great record against West Indies. His average against them is 65 though, not 70. Pretty sure he never faced that line-up and his record is boosted by probably the best debut series anyone ever had which was way back before they went to four fast bowlers and another big series for him against the weakened side (still had some great players but not the first choice attack) they put out during Packer. He got eight centuries over those two series. Doesn't stop him being the first choice for this of course!

[@ashishnair12]

I wouldn't pick Greenidge & Hayden because both of them didnt have to face the best bowling attack of their generation because they had them in their teams. Gavaskar faced probably 3 generations of the fearsome WI attack, Lillee, Thompson, Imran, Sarfaraz, Wasim, Hadlee without a helmet & averaged 50. Gavaskar is an absolute no brainer.

[@jetpark3743]

Gavaskar without a doubt

[@rajaguruperiasamy8845]

Sehwag with a near 50 average and a strike rate of well over 80 is mental. If he has a good innings, the team wins, that's it. Attacking against the new ball, excellent attacker of spin - probably only next to brain Lara. A spectacle to watch if he gets going. I would have him in my all time 11, just for the excitement he brings to the game of cricket.

[@natarajkrishnaswamy3354]

He wouldn't make an all conditions opener, his record in Eng, SA and NZ is mediocre.

[@avishmaharaj5941]

Yes he was beast in home conditions but not very good away record.

[@CuriosityLearning-op8of]

Sehwags records look good on paper bcoz he was a home track bully.... he was never dependable in away tests especially in SENA countries... He bashed Sri Lanka Pakistan and Bangladesh though 😂

[@AbhishekSharma-mm9tv]

​@@CuriosityLearning-op8ofAustralia?? U serious?

[@CuriosityLearning-op8of]

@@AbhishekSharma-mm9tv yes...

[@GMalik1923]

Surprisingly they didnt mention Saeed Anwar was successful almost everywhere. In the 90s averaged 48 away from home and 48 as an opener. He is extremely underrated. And 90s is a tough era. Overall averaged 47 as an opener. He averaged 59 against Australia the best side of his era.

[@saurabhb1041]

In an all time XI, with Bradman, Sachin and Viv playing 3,4,5 (all excellent stroke makers), you want technically sound openers. So Gavaskar and Cook would be my choice

[@gsanks]

Cook? No English man would make any position on a World XI.

[@saurabhb1041]

@@gsanks Ian Botham is as good an all rounder as they come. Not sure what you’re smoking.

[@joebowden4065]

@@gsankswhy so bitter

[@rufioswitch2132]

Gooch scored runs against the very best opening bowlers, and played Warne incredibly well, even at age 38-40. Warne said he was the best English player he ever bowled against (including KP). He averaged roughly 50 for the last 7 years of his career. Hi 154 against West Indies is one of the greatest test knocks ever. Gavaskar was incredible, in an era of slow over rates, unlimited bouncers and no helmets, and played spin incredibly. Got something like 13 tons against the windies!! Hayden fantastic in all conditions, proven over a long period.. only downside that the best bowling attack was his own side, which he never had to face. Greenidge amazing, I absolutely loved watching him, but again didn’t play against the ultimate best bowling attacks so for me less proven than Gooch or Gavaskar. Barry Richards was *probably* better than all of them, but no test match data to back it up, especially against top level spin in Asia. Sehwag was very good but only averaged 30 odd against aus and England combined so can’t be in the conversation. Graeme Smith is the one that did it against the best bowling attacks - England and Aus in 2000s were very strong and he averaged 50 against them. Ugly as sin to watch bat, but proven against the very best and tough as anything. Very tough choice! Personally I’d go Gooch and Gavaskar, or if being pragmatic with a Left-Right combo then Hayden and Gavaskar. The one I’d most like to watch would be Barry Richards - from the little available on KZbin he was utter genius.

[@akshayabhatt9073]

From the cricketer i have seen (Mid 70s onwards) Gavaskar Greenidge Viv Tendulkar Lara Gilchrist Imran Warne Marshall Lillee Holding

[@AM2K2]

I love this channel...keep the content coming!

[@shubhamkumar-zy8yx]

Sunil Gavaskar Barry Richards Vivian Richards Brian Lara Sachin Tendulkar Garfield Sobers Adam Gilchrist (wk) Imran Khan Shane Warne (C) Malcolm Marshall Curtly Ambrose This will be my all time xi

[@hubbybell]

Not bad at all

[@abhijithanand8770]

Great list, but I would try squeeze in Don Bradman instead of brain lara

[@adrianneale3368]

@@abhijithanand8770 Bradman was pre-war wasn't he?

[@adrianneale3368]

Strong line up that 👍

[@thiefoftomorrow]

Wasim for imran as there’s plenty of batting and maybe McGrath for Ambrose. Good list. Not a sexy pick but everyone should have kallis in too to squeeze in an extra bowler or bat

[@RVG1203]

Barry Richards played one series.. take a look at Gavaskar's first series against West Indies

[@nitinaggarwal9379]

My all time test XI: Virender Sehwag Sunil Gavaskar Don Bradman Brian Lara Steve Waugh (c) Garfield Sobers Adam Gilchrist (wk) Shane Warne Wasim Akram Malcolm Marshall Dennis Lillee

[@karamjitdedyal752]

Sehwag scored centuries in Australia, England and South Africa. Averaged almost 50 and very attacking. I would have him in.

[@nooneknows19]

He wasn't good in England and South Africa though. The one hundred in South Africa came at 6. He was brilliant against spin. And pace and bounce. But was dreadful against the lateral ball.

[@sathvikraomp2006]

@@nooneknows19 Sehwag doesn't even average 30 in South afric and england

[@markbateman9222]

At the opening of the video the words "post war" were uttered. But the names listed are all very recent. No Hutton? Carried his bat twice in tests, almost single handedly carried England on the 1950-5 tour of Australia (and lost the best years of his career to the war)

[@himankphillaur]

Barry Richards might have been a great player, but cannot be preferred over players who have proved themselves at the highest level for more than 10-15 years like Greenidge, Gavaskar etc. His great county record doesn't make him a pick in an all time XI. To my mind, Sunil Gavaskar is the greatest post war (even all-time) opener great against all comers in all conditions.

[@natarajkrishnaswamy3354]

True. We can't go with iffs and buts had Barry Richarss played more.any other opener who would've played a consider number of tests should've been considered. In that case are we considering Adam Voges who had a wonderful but short career.

[@TheOfficialEmirati]

Bradman watched Barry richards play internationally, and I think in Sheffield Shield. Bradman included barry richards in his all time xi.

[@natarajkrishnaswamy3354]

@@TheOfficialEmirati the other openers that are in discussion have all performed. Nothing against Barry Richards , but we can't consider a cricketer that has played 4 tests over cricketers that have played 100 tests. Then we should also consider Adam Voges over others in the middle order as Voges has an average of 61 over a 20 test career.

[@ksundares]

Sunny G Alwar for tests- one thing these bozos failed to mention is he was very decent against the best bowling in his day - the Windies

[@abhishekchhazed8974]

I have slight reservations in extrapolating performances from domestic cricket to international. Barry Richards might have been the best batsman in the whole world but didn't play much internationally. Picking him above some of the proven greats is a bit obnoxious. Interestingly, they wanted to pick an attacking batsman and they somehow picked Hayden above Sehwag. Sehwag has identical numbers and a Test strike rate of 80 which is better than Haydens ODI strike rate. Some can argue about the quality as they always do, but numbers don't lie when you have that long career.

[@sonnyrust8479]

Richards is a proven great, just because he didn’t play Tests due to apartheid. He scored 80 FC centuries at 54 back when FC cricket mattered. Don Bradman had him opening in his 20th century XI. I was upset they didn’t talk more about Cook. Player of the Series in away series wins in Australia and India, most runs by a leftie of all time and most runs by an opener. This is all a bit of fun, don’t read too much into it

[@abhishekchhazed8974]

@@sonnyrust8479 Richards records speaks for himself but I still have my reservations. Bradman played in that era and there is always that bias. My point being, Wasim Jaffer has the most runs in Ranji Trophy but couldn't make it at the top level. Would you consider him same as Richards if Wasim didnt play for India and only had great domestic numbers. Domestic cricket would be tough but they are still home conditions. Your option of Cook completely make sense because he went across countries and did it against top oppositions. Thats the difference that Richards lacks. No doubt on his ability but he still hasn't done what others have done.

[@WesleyMcpherson-lu1rf]

Roy Fredericks Fellas. Don't forget 169 against the fearsome Lillie and Thompson in the 1975/76 tour of Australia. Thompson was never the same.

[@rohitseth818]

Where do I watch the entire of this discussion?

[@TheOfficialEmirati]

They will post the other videos over the next few days/week

[@vivekanand5563]

Among post-war openers, Bobby Simpson, Len Hutton, Dennis Amiss averaged the highest after playing a significant amount of matches. But if you want to look at players who were good for over a decade, you have to go with Gavaskar and Hayden. My personal favourites are Barry Richards, Gordon Greenidge and perhaps Saeed Anwar.

[@saulsmith2939]

If it's test series, you go cook Smith, and draw the first test with the bowlers having bowled 50 over each, second test you have a second string bowling attack and win

[@PeakFictionWithAms]

You guys should do this for odis and t20s once youre done with the test list

[@runitstraight2637]

Matthew Hayden had a test average of 50 as an opener. Incredible after 103 test matches

[@Specter45909]

Sehwag too, almost identical averages and identical runs

[@esthermartin6699]

Hayden and Greenidge never faced their own bowling attack. Hayden struggled against swing in 2005 in England.

[@GMalik1923]

​​@@esthermartin6699he also averaged 28 in NZ and 34 in SA. Hayden that is.

[@briansukhu4392]

Hayden struggled during the 90's when the bowling attacks were world class, struggled post 2005 when the attacks improved.

[@karthikpatra]

Selecting a player who just played 4 tests at home, whatever his potential may be is just nuts. Vinod Kambli demolished Warne, averaged 136 after his first 4 tests, and has 10k FC runs @60. Shall we select him over Sachin in the middle order?

[@rajivnivas7546]

Gavaskar and Greenige

[@yashsheth577]

Last time England won a series in Australia and India there was one very significant and common factor Alastair Cook scored runs by the truckload Criminally underrated players especially by his own people

[@MaheshKumar-yj8nc]

David want to impose - these openers will throw their wickets within first 10 overs and then the team will be back to defending a better to have Sunil gavaskar who is assured to stay at the crease for long.

[@harinagarajan2296]

Gosh. Marvellous discussion this. Against extreme pace all were vulnerable. Gavaskar against malcolm Marshall going round the wicket is one example. Counterfactuals are not there. Haydn against Patrick Patterson. Uncovered pitches and facing Griffith or Underwood. I think len hutton and Gavaskar.

[@shaktiswami662]

When did Haydn face patterson?

[@harinagarajan2296]

@@shaktiswami662 In such discussions we do not have counterfactuals. This is what i meant. I know Haydn never faced Patterson. But what if we could simulate such a scenario? This is why picking an all time anything is problematic. This is what i meant.

[@PJ-cm8ix]

Alistair Cook and Sehwag, Honourable mention: Barry Richards

[@roboticduniya1731]

I can pick Gavaskar and Bradman as my openers, come on Bradman can bat anywhere, this will give space going down the order...

[@lonestar6709]

Jack Hobbs. Sunni Gavaskar. Don Bradman. Graeme Pollock. Garry Sobers. Kumar Sangakkara. Keith Miller. Imran Khan. Richard Hadlee. Malcolm Marshall. SF Barnes. That's the greatest team, of all time.

[@hrishikeshnambiar2449]

1)Sunil Gasvaskar 2)Alastair Cook 3)Steven smith(Best since bradman but acc to me he better than bradman) 4)Sachin tendulkar 5)Steve waugh(c) 6)Garfield Sobers/Ben stokes 7)Adam gilchrist(wk) 8)Wasim akram 9)Shane warne 10)Pat cummins/Morne morkel 11)malcolm marshall my xi

[@ksundares]

Look at S Smith 4th innings average ( conditions are most tough)- really bad for the greatest batsman as per you - just saying

[@calvinrulez]

Gavaskar Don Bradman (c) Viv Richards Sachin Tendulkar Brian Lara Gary Sobers Gilchrist (w) Wasim Akram Shane Warne Malcolm Marshall Glenn McGrath Twelfth Man - Kallis Honorable mentions - Imran Khan, Jack Hobbs, Muralidharan, Ambrose

[@kartikeyatiwari2502]

Why not murali?

[@calvinrulez]

@@kartikeyatiwari2502 Personal preference. Murali is almost as good as Warne. It's hard to pick one among the two. All the other bowlers are irreplaceable. Can't pick more than 1 spinner, because Sachin and Viv are decent part-time spinners, and even they'll be hardly needed. If the match happens on a dust bowl, I'd maybe drop McGrath with Murali and play two spinners.

[@kartikeyatiwari2502]

@@calvinrulez Murali is straight up better than warne but he isn't white so doesn't get enough credit

[@vratysanu]

Where is part 2 of this series ?

[@LenandlarSingh1979]

Is strike rate a factor in 'moving the game along'? If yes, then Hayden's strike rate is surely a factor. Yes they played in different times but his Test SR is almost that of Greenridge's ODI's (there's no test SR data for GG - fair to say it might be about or lower than his ODI'S?)

[@shreyanshpranshuchauhan5991]

These are all small videos where is the full video?

[@joshuasamaraweera3174]

Hayden and Sehwag are the most fearsome test openers. Both averaged near 50 and capable of hitting a triple century

[@Chris-wj8fz]

Greenidge and Haynes..you must pick opening bats and bowlers who know how to play together like Lillee and Thommo Warne and McGrath Hayden and Langer

[@spookytoothable1911]

I'd have Barry Richards & Gavaskar. And I don't care that he only played 4 tests. During the WSC era, when he played for the Rest of the world 11, he batted against some of the most intimidating fast bowlers ever & dominated. And this was towards the end of his career. And Gavaskar could play aggressively as well. He once hit a hundred against a Malcolm Marshall led Windies in 94 balls.

[@shyam2630]

I can't get over the fact how underrated is Alistair Cook is. I would have him as he performed in all types of conditions.

[@rihitjamb3757]

He had a long period where he was not very consistent from like 2013 till retirement

[@prathamprakash6098]

From 2006 -2013 Alastair Cook is Goat opener..My God his stats and impact was tremendous ( conquered both Aus and Ind during that time period, won 3 back to back ashes for Eng too).. But those last 5 years did not have the same impact and was one of the reasons for his premature retirement...( He had some purple patch but was few nd far between)

[@rahulmodi8706]

Ony for Test cricket

[@souravverma8861]

On Sehwag and Hayden Debate I want to add that Sehwags Test Strike rate is better than Haydens ODI Strike Rate and average is almost the same scored almost the same amount of Runs, so if you want to go with attacking option, there is no one ahead of Sehwag

[@goldenboots507]

Sunil gavaskar Ricky ponting Brian lara Sachin tendulkar Viv richards Kumar sangakara/ gilchrist Imran khan (c) / kallis. Wasim akram Shane warne Malcolm marshall Glen mcgrath

[@cudpug2233]

strauss and trescothick? Mentioned in the close rejects list along with sunny G? That's some english bias there. They might be great players no doubt, but come on! Sunny G?? I understand them picking aggressive openers, but still? I don't think that should be that big of a criteria to drop undeniable quality.of this sort.

[@neilgovender7450]

Attacking Barry Richards and Matthew Hayden, left right combination and dominant. or Greenidge and Sehwag,.Cook and Gavaskar to take off the shine of the ball

[@arkzbh]

As opener - Hayden Gavaskar Sehwag Grame Smith - I dont know how ill choose between these 4, but imo unquestionably these 4 were the best. Gooch , a great player, but he is not even in the league imo. Gordon and Boycott can be considered obviously, but no way Gooch. I have watched each of them playing

[@calvinrulez]

Gavaskar and Jack Hobbs

[@craigrodgers9693]

The criteria was post war. I presume ww2

[@susheelchandra2913]

Biasness should be allowed till it doesn't harm anybody

[@rihitjamb3757]

Barry Richard’s and gavaskar. Greenidge and pollock reserves

[@mountainman9145]

Barry Richards and Gavaskar. True openers that were capable of dealing with that great West Indian pace attack of Marshall, Croft,Holding,Garner etc

[@ryangarraton8400]

My all time XI would be: Alastair cook Matthew hayden Ricky ponting (c) Sachin Tendulkar Brian lara Jacques kallis Adam gilchrist (wk) Shane warne Wasim akram Muttiah muralitharan Glenn mcgrath Honorable mention to kumar sangakkara who just misses out but the only place he might fit in there is as an opener. A couple of batsmen in lower positions maybe but i think they could be effective.

[@devkoli1483]

Sunil gavaskar arguably the best opener of all time..face the best pace attack of all time. .and hit most centuries against the most dangerous side of his era windies...surely he would be the first pick🛐

[@kumarsuneet7070]

Grenidge did not face Loyd's pace battery. And Gavaskar handled them with a degree of authority, scoring most of his centuries against them. And please do not equate Sunny with Geoffrey Boycott. Sunny had a few shots too. I would agree with Gavaskar and Gooch.

[@santugk]

Shewag had 2 triple tons and another 293 as an opener. The world feared him while at the crease .Enforcer or otherwise, he is better than any opener anywhere. Gavaskar was good across the globe. They would make the perfect ice and fire combo..

[@Jaydoggie1]

Segway was a flat track bully

[@samuelking6432]

Wasn't he dominated by the English and the Australians? He looked like a rabbit stuck in the headlights in front of them.

[@santugk]

@@samuelking6432 You must have had a stroke been in coma when he smoked Aussie for 195 at MCG & 155 at Adelaide or 151 at Chennai!!

[@samuelking6432]

@@santugk With that logic, Jason Gillespie is the greatest batter. He made a double hundred you know 😂.

[@sathvikraomp2006]

Sehwag was pathetic in South Africa and England. Doesn't even avg 30 in those countries

[@kennethcarter3494]

Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe are the greatest opening pair by a long way. They averaged 57 and 61 as individuals, and they averaged as a partnership together 88 in 38 innings. Which is 33 runs better than the next pest partnership. I notice this all the time when people select all-time teams. It is not all-time, it is recent time selections.

[@gsanks]

They didn't face Akram, Holding and Warne. They were a different era

[@shadrianshadrach3804]

Dream Test Team 1. Gavaskar 2. Smith 3. Lara 4. Richards 5. Waugh 6. Border (Captain) 7. Gilchrist (Wicket Keeper) 8. Marshall 9. Warne (Vice Captain) 10. Steyn 11. McGrath 12'th Man Keith Miller

[@vinaytripathi157]

Gavaskar is dispensable as an opening batsman in test cricket..put your heads together to pick the other one of the pair.

[@billybank2012]

Gooch could play attacking and defensive... But when you see his 154 against the west Indies then it's an obvious choice... Mind you I'm being biased cos Gooch was my favourite batsman to watch.. But if I'm in opposition to him I'll call Terry alderman to get him out quickly cos medium paced was his weakness.

[@khurmiful]

We should pick two best all time teams and then discuss who would win under which conditions. The ultimate 11 is boring, who are they playing is what I want to know. You can have Gordon and Hydos and I’ll have Veru and Goochie for example.

[@kunalgill2511]

I did this exercise for football and cricket. These are my two greatest cricket XIs: Gavaskar Hayden Bradman Tendulkar Richards Sobers Gilchrist (wk) Akram Warne © Marshall Lillee Vs Hutton Greenidge Lara Kallis Sangakarra (wk)© Sehwag Ambrose Waqar Steyn McGrath Murali

[@samuelking6432]

Sunil Gavaskar and Alistair Cook would be such a formidable pair for any team.

[@cd11645]

My All time Test and ODI XI - NOTE : maximum 4 players from a single country so that it won't get biased. Test XI = 1. Virender Sehwag 2. Matthew Hayden 3. Brian Lara 4. Sachin Tendulkar 5. Jacques Kallis 6. Adam Gilchrist 7. Ravindra Jadeja* 8. Wasim Akram 9. Shane Warne 10. Glenn McGrath 11. Dale Steyn *Took Jadeja bcos I'm making all time 11, not list of best players. so I have gone for Jadeja bcos I need a player who is bowling all rounder, someone who is a fantastic spinner & can support Warne and can do a lot of spin bowling alongside Warne as well as can bat & stay at crease when needed. And Jadeja who has 300 Test wickets at avg of 24 with SR of 57 and also he has 5 Test centuries & 21 test fifties with an average of 37 as batsman. So Jadeja fits perfectly in the role which I need as he is a very good spin bowler and a fine batsman. And also he is an extremely great fielder which is a bonus point ODI XI = 1. Sachin Tendulkar 2. Sanath Jayasuriya 3. Virat Kohli 4. Jacques Kallis 5. Ab de Villiers 6. Yuvraj Singh 7. MS Dhoni 8. Wasim Akram 9. Muralitharan 10. Glenn McGrath 11. Brett Lee

[@Jaydoggie1]

Barry Richards and Gavaskar easy pick

[@nikhilgawade6831]

they spent 20 hrs arguing why sehwag and Hayden wont make the list becuase they are not consitent. But finally picked 2 players who have not played in all conditions

[@razorzagaming]

Best captain player is Greame Smith. So his in any 11 the Captain and opening batsman. No one has his stats. His win record and second inngs record as player and captain.

[@everygamersdream72]

Gooch and Hayden were my picks then he said them!

[@vantheman1238]

People will disagree with me; however, I am picking the opening batsman who scored runs on every type of surface and in every country across the world over the course of three decades. A man who whenever he scored a hundred his country never lost a Test Match and he scored hundreds against Dennis Lillee, Terry Alderman, Andy Roberts, Colin Croft, Joel Garner, and Michael Holding when over the age of forty. My opening batsman Sir Geoffrey Boycott. Centenary Test Match was at Melbourne in 1977. You can watch the programme where they interview all the former old players on KZbin. It is a great watch.

[@jinayvora6240]

Picking bazball style openers when England are floating at the bottom of the WTC points table feels like a cop out to me ...

[@RVG1203]

How can you pick someone who played only a handful at the test level albeit a great talent

[@johnwalsh1990]

Sir Geoffrey batted on uncovered wickets without a helmet against all the great Australian and West Indian fast bowlers he may not be the best but hes got to be pretty close..

[@BineeshSilent]

Don’t call it all time XI, call it “ all time XI type of game these guys are looking for “

[@rahult1518]

Gavaskar Greenidge : gavaskar attacked when needed .

[@mrh1096]

You left out Gary Kirsten, Len Hutton, Herbert Sutcliffe, Jack hobbs

[@craigrodgers9693]

The criteria was after world war 2. Rules Hobbs and Sutcliffe out. Amazed Hutton wasn't mentioned though.

[@vinayb5746]

Akash chopra and sanjay Bangar

[@aawharver4948]

My guy said gooch would take on West Indies, Sunny G has 11 hundreds against them smh

[@craigrodgers9693]

Amazed Hutton not mentioned.

[@ContentGramophone-tp9gw]

Gooch gillchrist lara tendulkar kalas m crowe...warne akram marshall mcgrath murali

[@Ramanjitsd]

Greenidge and Gavaskar

[@psychonaut4650]

Barry Richards is honestly a great pick.

[@mavirk]

Gavasker & Cook, PERIOD!

[@TheDPgamer]

Graeme smith and Sachin( yes I’m using sachin as an opener)

[@ujjwalbachwani1764]

Should Amla and Warner get a mention?

[@Iam-zi3my]

Warner who shits his pant away from home

[@raheelakhtar7]

Richie Benaud picked an all time XI (2004) with 2 reserves in each position. He picked Gavaskar and Jack Hobbs to open with Greenidge, Hutton, Arthur Morris and Victor Trumper as reserves. All Time, not post WW2.

[@russhouldin5774]

Exactly. I expect recency bias in general but not from someone (Jarrod) who wrote a history of test cricket.

[@rrao7963]

Saeed Anwar best opener

[@russhouldin5774]

@@rrao7963 You're aware he has a test average of 45?

[@rrao7963]

@@russhouldin5774 only asian opener to score centuries in all sena countries in test no other opener in 90s did it his 118 in Durban best even Lara Sachin could not score centuries when fanie devillers played for sa check out the stats he could have averaged more than 50s against aus he scored three centuries five fifties in test likes of McGrath Warne averaged 60 scored 840 runs in eight test

[@russhouldin5774]

@@rrao7963 So Gordon Greenidge doesnt count because he's not Asian?

[@harrygodber4655]

Langer? Ave 48 as an opener with a 58 Sr. Mediocre record in Asia I suppose though.

[@AMB5]

Barry Richards and Cook for me without any hesitation.

[@ramaniganesh9477]

Gooch is not the same calibre as Gavaskar - he has more centuries against the WI pace battery.

[@craigrodgers9693]

Not really. Most of Gavaskar's centuries against WI were in 71 when they had no fast bowlers. And 79 when they had a third team. And one in 75/76 when just Holding was bowling.

[@Legendgaming-tp1is]

Gream smith, virendra sehwag left hand right hand great combination thank me later.

[@tenmeh]

Gavaskar and Hayden 🔝

[@chriswatson7965]

Hayden and Gavaskar

[@robertbaldwin5771]

Glen Turner

[@sachin233]

Gooch.. avg so mediocre in test .. not in all time test team . Bias English selection

[@craigrodgers9693]

If we go on average, after WW2 which was the selection criteria, then Hutton would be above everyone who played more than 50 tests. So not sure there is much English bias tbh

[@wkmalory]

Hobbs and maybe Barry Richards

[@princesinghrajput3412]

Sehwag

[@rohitpratap4174]

All time Test Gavaskar and Hobbs. Gooch much shorter period of domination was weak in late 70s early 80s unlike above 2 who were consistent for 2 decades. ODI Sachin and Gilchrist

[@rohitpratap4174]

What I'm surprised these guys (esp Jarrod) is forgetting is OFTEN in Test cricket you can't smash the bowlers around day 1 on a green top. You need to blunt them to get the middle order dominating the more tired bowling later (even today!). Gavaskar could dominate when needed, not just against spin, but he scored a blistering ton in Kanpur Vs Marshall & co hooking them off his skull cap for a ton at a faster than a run a ball. Need to respect conditions more in Test cricket so surprised at their conclusions.

[@shashwatmishraalumni4918]

In tests openers for me Viv richards Sehwag In odi for me Jayasuriya Gilchrist In t20 for me Gayle Warner/butler

[@rudranshtanmay4064]

no rohit/sachin in odi??

[@Iam-zi3my]

Bhag bsdk chumu you know nothing about cricket. Richards was not a test opener And Sachin is the greatest odi opener you twat

[@shashwatmishraalumni4918]

@@rudranshtanmay4064 sachin not as an opener And Rohit is good but Rohit is not a all condition player I'm not sure about his record in sa aus nz in odis In subcontinent wi and england he's great

[@midfielderlounge2592]

@@shashwatmishraalumni4918you are so wrong his average in aus is over 50 he has 4 or 5 century in aus he is good in NZ as well he only struggled in sa

[@midfielderlounge2592]

@@shashwatmishraalumni4918 gili and Jayasuriya average is stupid in almost every country No where near as complete as Rohit

[@freddielepine]

Going on numbers fastest to 1k 3k 3 k 4 k runs hashim amla every day of the week.

[@PFNel]

What a pity that Barry Richards played only four tests.

[@PJ-cm8ix]

@@PFNel He should've switched nationalities when he had the chance 🥲

[@PFNel]

@@PJ-cm8ix He did score 325 for South Australia directly after his only test series. Not test cricket, of course, but still great.

[@MegatronRacing237]

Matthew Hayden IS A MUST!!!!

[@neeravnaik]

Put Graeme Smith and Alistair Cook in there and opposition will go to sleep.

[@kedarsontakke1394]

Barry Richards over Sehwag....... Wow

[@utsavdave4747]

Chris Gayle and Hayden is the greatest opening pair in all 3 formats

[@isaacbanda785]

I will go with Smith.

[@aawharver4948]

My guy chose Gooch, he averaged 42 lmfao for all time 11😂😂😂 these guys are jokes