What makes a good Opening Bat?

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What makes a good Opening Bat?

What do you lot think is essential in an opening batsman?

Personally, I think it's less about having all the shots in the book and more about a good basic technique, the ability to play the swinging\seaming ball, awareness of the off stump and a bloody mindedness. You also need a fair bit of concentration.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

I think it depends on your role within the team. There seems to be a trend to have one attacking opener able to dominate an attack and a more subdued, solid opener able to see off the new ball and bat through an innings. eg. SA have had Hudson & Kirsten, Kirsten & Gibbs, Smith and Dippenaar, Smith & Mckenzie.

I think another trait is patience, which goes hand in hand with concentration. Also the ability to compartmentalise, as there will be plenty instances where the ball will be beating the bat and you've got to be able to move on from that and concentrate on the next delivery and not let it dwell in your mind.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

I left patience off my list :embarrassed:. That is key, I think you have to be able to shut out the fact that runs are coming slowly and just be able to hang in there. See off the new ball and then make hay.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

If your an opening batsmen you should first get used to the bowler then play your normal game
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

Someone else who doesn't have patience on his list is Virender Sehwag. Technically, he is not the best, but he has a good hand-eye co-ordination and all the shots in the book. He takes full advantage of the attacking fields set in Test matches and races away to 30-40 within the first 10 overs. That puts most bowlers off their game. He hasn't been on top of his game for quite some time now but he still averages more than 50 after 50 tests which is impressive.
Aggressive batsmen like him with a good hand-eye co-ordination and a cricketing brain can be successful as openers too.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

I think the openers role should not only be seeing off the new ball but also to study the pitch to be the source of information for batsmen coming in after them. Being an opener is one of the toughest jobs in cricket since you can't ask anybody who batted before you about how the pitch is acting out. The openers goal should be to provide a sufficiently solid platform for the other batsmen as well as study the pitch as well as he can while batting to lend his advice to those coming out on the pitch after him.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

I also think that confidence has a big part to play in being a successful opening batsman. You need to have the confidence to play shots even if the balls swinging around, tactics such as batting outside your crease, coming down the pitch can help stamp your authority and put the openers off. I feel that if you're too defensive at the start of an innings, in one day cricket anyway, you won't be successful. I know that in my league especially it can be very easy to put a bowler off his stride, and if you just let them bowl they gain confidence and have more chance to get you out, thats why the majority of good batsmen in club cricket tend to be pinch hitters or sloggers.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

patience, concentration, control of emotions, a good eye (swinging ball) and a decent collection of shots.

i beleieve these are key components of a good opener
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

Off Late; I have been promoted to opening slot by my team with instruction to at least bat till 12-15 overs after that our strong middle order takes care of the remaining overs.
With an aggressive batsmen on the other end;the scoring happens efficiently with average run rate not less than 4 runs per over.
My role as a opening bat is to hold the inngs,looking out for cheeky runs,handle the swing carefully,be patience and communication with the batting partner and also handle the new batsmen in the crease something my team is happy with it.
I don't score flashy 50's or 100's but the major contribution comes in holding the inngs and encouraging/advising the batting partner.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

i am an opening batter and all of these components are keys to being a god opening batsman. You need a very good eye to watch the ball all the way down, and to watch out for seam movement.
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

My list:

1. Must be able to set proper goals. What do I mean by this? I mean an opening batsman must be able to set goals rather than just "seeing off the new ball" everytime. Club level's are cottoning onto this and bringing their best bowlers on at first change rather than opening. The goal may occasionally be "see off the new ball", if the bowlers are really doing well, but more realistic goals would be "turn the strike over", "lets click along at 3 an over for the first 10". Something like that.

2. Good technique. It may not necessarily be text book, but it needs to be a technique that you are comfortable with which helps you face the newer ball.

3. Patience - As others have said, patience is a big one I think. You need to be able to wait for the bad ball, especially if runs aren't coming your way.

4. Assertiveness. The best openers are always thinking on the front foot, rather than just hitting survival mode.

5. A good opener must be able to form a good partnership/connection with his other opening partner. Working together so that you can share your goals is critical.

Anything else?
 
Re: What makes a good Opening Bat?

One really really important quality I can think of is the ability to positively know which balls to leave and not be afraid to leave, say, 6 in a row if need be. I think this is especially true for the opener, since the new ball is more likely to be doing something.

Of course the compliment of this is to make sure you take full toll of "gift" or poor bowling as soon as it presents.

This has probably been indirectly referred to, in a way, by some of the previous comments. But I thought it worth specifically mentioning. Part of the whole concentration/confidence/patience thing. The "leave" is often overlooked when seeking such opinions.

How many of us have gone out playing at one we should have left. I have probably just overloaded the forum server asking that. :D

BTW, some fantastic replies/reponses from everyone!
 
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