OPENING WOES

Opening in England - A forgotten art

by Gokul Gopal • Last updated on

Vijay got axed from the team after failing to replicate his 2014 success in England. © Getty

Human beings are creatures of habit and it invariably translates into their activities. Cricket isn't an exception to that as superiority in any aspect of the game requires loads of practice which in turn helps transform skillsets of cricketers as their second nature. Take the case of openers, who are the first line of defence for the elevens that the captains exchange after the toss formalities. Having honed their skills for years in environs familiar to them, an away tour in the traditional format of the game is their toughest challenge - especially if it is in bowler-friendly climes such as England.

Among the several overseas openers who have played in England, only a handful have tasted success there. If we take the current England-India series, not a single opener has registered a half-century and it's already three Tests into the series. Sunil Gavaskar is the lone Indian opener to score more than 1000 runs in England while Rahul Dravid, a makeshift opener in 2011, is the only Indian who has faced more than 100 balls per dismissals as an opener. The table below, which lists only eight openers to have scored in excess of 1000 runs in England, is a reflection on how tough it for those at the top of the order.

Most runs scored by overseas openers in England

Name Mat Inns Runs HS Ave 100 50 0 Mark Taylor (AUS) 18 31 1584 219 52.80 5 7 1 Gordon Greenidge (WI) 19 30 1570 223 56.07 6 4 2 Graeme Smith (SA) 12 22 1355 277 67.75 5 3 1 Sunil Gavaskar (IND) 15 28 1152 221 41.14 2 8 2 Bruce Mitchell (SA) 10 20 1141 189* 76.06 4 4 0 Desmond Haynes (WI) 19 31 1101 184 42.34 2 7 0 Arthur Morris (AUS) 10 19 1033 196 57.38 3 6 1 Bill Lawry (AUS) 14 24 1007 135 45.77 4 5 2

Gavaskar being the lone player from Asia among the eight openers to score more than 1000 in England, and Graeme Smith the only one since the year 2000 to score more than 1000, are further proofs that opening in England isn't exactly a walk in the park even for the best in the business. Among those who have scored more than 1000, there are only two players who have got those runs in victories - Gordon Greenidge and Mark Taylor. Smith, meanwhile, has the highest average among those who have scored 1000 or more runs in wins and draws combined in England.

Why is it that only a select few have been successful while a large population of the overseas openers haven't been able to leave their mark in England? Smith, the former South Africa captain who's among the elite few to have performed well in England, breaks it down to awareness of the conditions and opposition, the skillset to counter swing, which is the most lethal weapon for bowlers in England, and the immaculate knowledge of where the batsmen's stumps are.

"I think a lot of it is working out who you are up against, so having clear-defined tactics for each bowler," says Smith in a chat with Cricbuzz. "I sort of in my mind knew how James Anderson was going to bowl, how Stuart Broad would bowl, and prepare in that way. I always thought about how they'll try and get me out so prepared that way in the nets. The other thing is, batting in England you need to be really aware of the conditions. There's a big difference batting in England when it's overcast and cloudy to when it's sunny. So just being aware of those situations - when you need to tighten up and when you can afford to attack a bit more and stuff like that. So mentally being a lot more aware, because the wicket may seem to be flat but all of a sudden it clouds over and it starts swinging.

"The other thing that's key to batting in England is you have got to be strong on your off stump. It's very similar to batting in South Africa in many ways in that the wickets aren't that quick and because of that you've got to hold your line. When you're out batting in England, the minute you follow the ball then you tend to nick it more. If you can play a line and you hold your line, if there's swing or movement and it beats you, then that's fine. I found that in England because the wickets are a touch slow, if you follow the ball or at the last minute feel for something, you tend to edge it. So I was quite comfortable playing and missing in England and holding my channels with my bat."

***

Since 2010, as many as 38 overseas openers have had an opportunity to bat in England in 59 Test matches. In those games, 12 hundreds and 48 fifty-plus scores have been the contributions from the men at the top of the order. India, who have played the most number of Tests in England since 2010, have a sum total of five fifty-plus scores from openers in 12 Tests, with Dravid and Murali Vijay being the lone contributors. If numbers from 2000 are taken into consideration, Indian openers haven't done any better, with only 14 fifty-plus scores, including four centuries.

Indian openers in England since 2000

Name Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF 100s 50s 0 Murali Vijay 7 14 0 428 146 30.57 1129 1 2 3 Rahul Dravid 3 5 1 318 146* 79.5 638 2 0 0 Virender Sehwag 6 10 0 278 106 27.8 431 1 1 3 Dinesh Karthik 3 6 0 263 91 43.83 518 0 3 0 Wasim Jaffer 5 10 0 244 62 24.4 505 0 3 2

Three different opening combinations in each of the three Tests so far - a few promising starts in a couple of those Tests - have failed to materialise into a single half-century by an Indian opener in the current series. Vijay's contributions in the previous series in England, in which he scored 146, 52 and 95, remain the last fifty-plus scores by an Indian opener. The experienced right-hander hasn't been able to replicate his previous showing, being dismissed two out of four times by Anderson, leading to his axing from the eleven for the third Test.

Smith, who has had the opportunity to view some of the recent performances by India in England, attributes their lack of runs to their position at the crease. "I watched a few of the dismissals of the Indian batters, and you feel like they're exposing their stumps quite a lot. Someone like Murali Vijay, batting on leg stump to someone like James Anderson is just opening up the game for him.

"Also, Jimmy is not going to really affect you with the short ball. So how do you negate his effectiveness? Maybe batting out of your crease (is an option). You've got to be patient because he's got great control. I found with Jimmy that if you can hold him from not getting a wicket and really be strong against him, the pressure shifts to a lot of the other guys. Jimmy's frustration starts to shine through. A lot of it is a tactical game or technical, and then mentally being aware of what's around you," notes Smith.

***

Patience is a key requirement to succeed in England, which Smith himself had displayed during his playing days. Having faced 2262 deliveries in 12 Tests in England, Smith ensured that he kept the opposition bowlers in wait - his 113.10 deliveries per dismissal speaking volumes of his fortitude. He's among the six openers who have faced more than 2000 deliveries in England.

Since the year 2000, Australians included, none have been able to breach the 2000 barrier in terms of balls faced apart from Smith. Chris Rogers, who faced 1645 deliveries, is the only other opener since 2000 to have played more than 1500 deliveries in England. In terms of deliveries per dismissal, only four cricketers have an average of more than 100 since 2000, which includes a non-regular opener in Dravid, highlighting the nature of modern-day batting where patience isn't much of a virtue anymore.

Most balls per dismissals for openers since 2000

Name Mat Inn Runs BF Balls/Dis Mark Richardson (NZ) 3 6 369 971 161.83 Rahul Dravid (IND) 3 5 318 638 159.50 Neil McKenzie (SA) 4 8 339 879 125.57 Graeme Smith (SA) 12 22 1355 2262 113.10 Chris Rogers (AUS) 10 18 847 1645 96.76 Justin Langer (AUS) 6 11 496 878 95.33

Lack of patience, lack of a clear game plan and an inclination to rush into things are some of the attributes of modern-day openers that has left them searching for success in England. Mark Richardson, Neil McKenzie, Dravid and Smith were the anomalies who were able to spend sufficient time at the crease and force England into trying different plans. The likes of Chris Rogers, Justin Langer and Simon Katich, who have faced at least 80 balls per dismissal, could also be bracketed in this category, which still has limited number of players who have displayed the skills to wear down the bowlers.

What are those skills that the current players might be lacking? As far as Smith was concerned, his modus operandi was simple: not try anything lavish outside off, let the ball come to him and take advantage of it. "For an opening batter I think it's a must (to wait for the ball to come to you). Some guys probably have better cover drives than me but until you're in, against the swinging ball you want to try and take the lowest risk options to get yourself in.

"Generally for me, the way I felt as a left-hander was lining myself up to punch the ball back at the bowler. Command that off stump area - if it was outside off stump then leave well, if he gave me an opportunity to cut then make sure I would take advantage of it, if it was straight then I'd take advantage of it. Then as you get in, you can look to play the cover drive, sort of open up a few more scoring areas. Unless the wicket looked flat and it wasn't swinging, I was setting myself up to hit the ball back at the bowler, leaving well and looking to cut, those were my early first scoring options.

"With Jimmy, I thought his inswinger would be the most effective delivery to someone like me but he changed tactics and used a lot of away swingers at me, which I actually preferred. For one, it pulled his length back - whenever he bowled his away swingers at me it was more back of a length than full. And I also used to pick his away swingers quite easily out of his hands. When he bowled his in-swingers he's at the stumps, his length is always a touch fuller. I found that more challenging. Maybe it gave you some more scoring options because occasionally he would get too straight and I'd be able to put him away. But I thought when he bowled his in-swinger, his length was a lot more effective than when he bowled his away swinger," says Smith.

Since 2016, there have been only two centuries scored by an England opener at home - both by Cook. ©

Looking at the opening partnership numbers in England, apart from the home team Australia have the most number of century partnerships in the last 18 years, which is understandable considering the frequency of Ashes series they have played. For the other teams, the 100-plus stands have been limited, with only 13 instances since 2000, five of which involves Smith. While New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have a couple of century stands since 2000, India have managed only one in that period with the last instance dating back to July 2007.

Country-wise opening stands in England since 2000

Team Partners Inns NO Highest 100 stands 50 stands England 17 226 4 196 18 47 Australia 8 46 2 185 6 12 South Africa 5 30 1 338 5 5 West Indies 7 40 1 118 1 6 Sri Lanka 11 29 1 207 2 3 India 11 36 0 147 1 6 New Zealand 5 20 0 163 2 4 Bangladesh 2 8 0 185 2 2 Pakistan 12 32 2 48 0 0 Zimbabwe 3 8 0 20 0 0

"Mindset is key," stresses Smith, who goes on to elaborate how South Africa managed to thwart England's best laid plans. "When we won there two tours in a row, as a batting unit we spoke a lot about how we wanted to play. Making sure against England in particular that you don't allow them to get on a roll. If you lose a wicket, we have to fight hard to forge a partnership. Like most teams they've got a bit of sting but if you get through it then options will open up. The teams I have faced, I always found their motto generally was to try and hold the run rate. But once you got through that initial phase and the partnerships start to build, they never really had a Plan B. Especially if the ball doesn't swing for them or if you can negate that then Plan B is gone. Then you're in and you're building the partnerships."

But has it become tougher for openers of late to build a solid base? Smith doesn't think so, mentioning that the lack of application has led to repeated failures for the opening batsmen. "I just think modern day batters don't have the patience any more. They're not prepared to work through periods. Look at Virat Kohli's hundred in the Edgbaston game. How long was he under the pump for? He fought and he fought and he fought, and then suddenly it breaks. You get the opportunity to play and the game opens up.

"I just think that little bit has gone out of the modern day game, certainly in the Test match format. The batters aren't hitting boundaries nowadays and that's why captains nowadays drop the field back so quickly - because they know that the modern day batters want to see boundaries. If they can cut out the boundaries then people get frustrated and play loose shots. I think you can play on egos a lot more nowadays than you probably could a few years back," he reckons.

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The opening struggle is not just limited to overseas players. English players haven't fared too well either. While the clock is already ticking for Alastair Cook, he remains the lone solid presence at the top of the order while several other openers who have batted with him in the last few years have not done much to inspire confidence. Since 2010, while Cook has scored in excess of 4000 runs at home, the only other batsman to have crossed the 1000 mark is Andrew Strauss who, despite that, averages in the mid 30s.

England's openers at home since 2010

Name Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF Balls/Dis 100s 50s 0 Alastair Cook 59 102 4 4199 294 42.84 8815 89.94 9 20 3 Andrew Strauss 19 30 1 1008 141 34.75 2146 74.00 2 4 3 Alex Hales 7 13 0 437 94 33.61 958 73.69 0 4 0 Joe Root 5 10 1 339 180 37.66 833 37.66 1 1 0 Sam Robson 7 11 0 336 127 30.54 755 68.63 1 1 0 Adam Lyth 7 13 0 265 107 20.38 529 40.69 1 0 1 Keaton Jennings 8 14 0 250 48 17.85 585 41.78 0 0 2 Mark Stoneman 4 7 1 133 52 22.16 313 52.16 0 1 0 Nick Compton 3 5 0 58 19 11.60 179 35.80 0 0 0 Kevin Pietersen 1 1 0 12 12 12.00 8 8.00 0 0 0

Since 2016, there have been only two centuries - 105 against Pakistan and 243 against West Indies, both by Cook - scored by an England opener at home. The last time an England opener other than Cook had registered a three figure score was in May 2015 by Adam Lyth against New Zealand.

The recipe for Smith's success in England, as he revealed, was to concentrate on playing straight and close to the stumps. This approach may curb the scoring rate and reduce the boundary opportunities initially but it also ensures that the wicket-taking avenues for bowlers are reduced and they are forced to think differently. And it is this exact approach that the openers - both from India and England - have been found wanting in this series.

In the three Tests so far India and England have used a total of five openers, who between them have scored only 395 runs with a combined average of 18.01 - Shikhar Dhawan's 44 and Keaton Jennings's 42 being the highest individual scores for the two teams respectively. Among the runs the openers have scored so far, only 36 runs have come straight down the ground or in the 'V', which again emphasises Smith's point that the current generation openers, in their bid to get a move on with the scoring, are compromising on the values of playing straight.

***

It's not often that an opening batsman from a different country feels England is the best place to bat but Smith had that comfort level when it came playing there, even in the most testing of conditions. It was possible because he created an atmosphere for himself to thrive, accepted the challenges head on and was ready to equip himself with the skills required to counter those challenges.

"I found England to be a great place to bat - I loved it, we had two amazing tours there. For me batting was - obviously there were times when you need to suck it up, soak up the pressures and get yourself in. But there were also times where I felt it was my time to transfer pressure back on to the bowler. Whether it was body language, whether it was commanding my position, being a bit more attacking. That's the way I saw batting - as an opportunity to transfer pressure back onto the bowler.

"You have to have a brain. Sometimes you realise that, 'Okay, the wicket is doing a lot, the ball is swinging, I've got to fight and fight hard to get through it.' So it's about figuring out and understanding what you're up against and putting your technique and mindset into the situation," concludes Smith.

*Stats updated until the end of England vs India, 3rd Test

© Cricbuzz

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