Opening batter

An opening batter is one of the two players who begin the innings and face the new ball.

In Test cricket the opener's job is survival and patience. The ball is hard, it swings, and the fast bowlers are fresh, so the opener who leaves well, defends straight and sees off the first hour has done the job even at 20 not out. A high batting average is the measure.

In T20 cricket the job is nearly the reverse. The powerplay is the only time the field is up, so openers are the batters who hit the new ball hardest, and strike rate is the measure. Many sides pair an aggressor with an anchor, so one can go from ball one while the other bats through. In ODIs the opener must do a little of both: attack the first ten overs, then bat on.

For a manager, picking openers is about pairing skills rather than picking the two best batters. A left-right combination unsettles bowlers' lines; a pair of openers who both need ten balls to get in will waste the powerplay.

In Masterstroke: the tactics sheet lets you tell each opener whether to defend, build, attack or swing, and a gun striker in the powerplay will get away with more than a grafter.