Australia's Test openers, ranked: Why Usman Khawaja is top three

He will bow out with over 6,000 Test runs to his name, and over 3,000 as an opener. If you were building an all-time Australian XI, Khawaja might not make your list.

The team has historically had no shortage of middle-order batting talent, in over a century and a half. And surely at least two openers make the cut over him; Hayden, Langer, Warner, Slater, Taylor might be considered better?

Perhaps, but there is a case to place Khawaja higher than you might initially think. The following rankings will consider Australian openers to score 3,000 runs, with Victor Trumper and Bill Ponsford also taken into account as the most notable pre-war batters in that position.

Test records: Australian openers with 3,000 runs (+ Trumper, Ponsford)

Justin Langer

5,000-plus runs at an average of 48 is an exceptional record for a Test opener. It’s harsh to put Langer so low down on this list, but there is a good reason; of these 12, he is the only one that averaged less than his teammates in the top seven both home and away.

Averages of 50 at home and 45 away are fantastic as is, but Langer’s teammates managed 55 and 46.3 respectively. In essence, he was more or less a cog in the wheel, never being exceptionally poor. These gaps only widen when removing drawn Tests (which are naturally high-scoring and can often be played on flat wickets).

The counter to this, of course, is to say that with the lineup of Hayden, Ponting, Gilchrist and more around him, it would be near-impossible to stand out. True of course, but there is no objective measure to account for that. If we are to compare players across different eras, the best evaluation is probably the measurement of how much they stood out from their contemporaries.

Michael Slater

Slater’s home average of 52.62 ranks fourth among the 12 players here, but consider that in the games he played in Australia, the rest of the top seven averaged nearly 46. In essence, he cashed in on what were already largely batting-friendly conditions.

What hurts Slater more, though, is his record outside Australia. In 19 Tests in India, New Zealand, West Indies and Zimbabwe, he averaged under 30 while the likes of Steve and Mark Waugh, David Boon, Matthew Hayden and Mark Taylor made runs around him. His volume of runs though – over 5,000 – may tempt one to bump him up a tier in these rankings.

Colin McDonald

The 1950s was the slowest-scoring decade of Test cricket, and remains the one with the lowest batting average post-World War I. McDonald had support in the batting order primarily from Neil Harvey and Norm O’Neill; there was little else to speak of. He was an excellent opener at home, averaging nearly 48.

A bumper 1955 tour of the West Indies gave him an average of 64 in the Caribbean, but he was rather scratchy elsewhere, with sub-25 figures from 15 Tests in England and India. Regardless, away from home McDonald anomalously averaged more in result Tests than he did in draws.

Across eight result Tests in the subcontinent, he scored just one half-century, although these were quite low-scoring matches. The rest of Australia’s top seven averaged 27 in these games, but he managed 25.

'B' tier (No.s 9-7)

Mark Taylor

One of Australia’s longest-serving captains, Taylor played over 100 Tests, and started his Test career like a house on fire, with 1,219 runs in his first calendar year itself. He did equally well home and away, averaging 43.4 and 43.6 respectively. It was only in South Africa (five Tests) where that number went below 35.

There are no obvious holes in his record. The one to really pick at is his record at home in non-drawn Tests. As his teammates averaged almost 44, he managed 36. Taylor did not make up for it by being as outstandingly good away from home, either (41 vs 40 are the corresponding numbers outside Australia). Over 7,000 runs in ten years is no joke, however, and probably what separates him from the previous tier.

Bill Ponsford

Ponsford averaged 54 as an opening batter in the 1920s and 30s. The brightest spot is his record away from home, where he averaged 70, or 52 per cent more than his top seven teammates managed – no mean feat when Don Bradman was one of them. He stood out less at home though, as the likes of Stan McCabe and Bill Woodfull came into their own.

Ponsford doesn’t make it any higher than the B tier on account of his only overseas experience coming in England, and the low overall tally of 1,517 runs as an opener. Neither is his fault, but there is little alternative.

Arthur Morris

There is little to choose between Morris and his contemporary, McDonald. There was a slight overlap in their careers as openers, Morris having played in the higher-scoring 1940s, just after World War II. What affects him in this ranking is his record in result Tests at home. While Morris’s top seven teammates scored at 39 runs per dismissal, he averaged barely 31.

Morris was far more useful on the road, averaging 55.3, led by his maiden tour of England that yielded 503 runs at nearly 72. His ranking is capped here at the B tier because even the result Tests he played in were high-scoring – Morris’s teammates averaged 46 in these games. He also never had the chance to play in the subcontinent.

'A' tier (No.s 6-4)

Victor Trumper

A Test average of 39 is easy to scoff at, but Trumper’s early 20th century career was almost exclusively played on wet wickets. He was not strictly an opener at Test level, but batted at the top in two-thirds of his innings, averaging 33. His career numbers are propped by over 1,000 runs at 57 from No.5 and No.6.

He had limited opportunities to play outside Australia, and had contrasting fortunes. Trumper bashed South Africa (then still a weak team) but struggled in England. On the whole though, in non-drawn Tests outside Australia, he averaged 39.5 while his teammates only managed 24.84 – an incredible 59 per cent better.

He is still remembered mainly for his unprecedented rate of scoring. Statistician Charles Davis estimated his Test strike rate to be around 66-67. His first-class feats include a century in 58 minutes in 1906, another one before lunch in 1908 and a knock of 293 in just over three hours in 1914; all exceptional even by today’s standards.

Matthew Hayden

Hayden is one of only seven Test cricketers ever to score 8,000 runs as an opener, and boasts the highest average of the lot – 50.73. He averaged 50-plus in every calendar year from 2000-2008.

He forged an iconic partnership with Langer at the top, and is perhaps similarly short-changed here by playing in such a strong lineup. He gets points for longevity and a sheer volume of runs, but loses out slightly on account of being slightly worse than his teammates away from home. Hayden averaged 41 in non-drawn Tests outside Australia, in high-scoring games (his teammates averaged 44).

David Warner

Australia’s top run-scorer at the top of the order, Warner is similarly rewarded for his volume of runs. Incidentally, he is the only player to open the batting 200 times for Australia. Short of stature, Warner’s back foot play served him well at home, where he averaged over 58, more than anyone else on this list.

Like Slater, he also had what seems to be an iffy record outside Australia, averaging just under 33 as an opener. But what allows Warner to move higher is the fact that he played in tougher conditions; his teammates averaged 35 to Slater’s teammates’ 42. In result Tests abroad, he was in fact a touch better than his top seven (34.5 vs 33.5).

'S' tier (No.s 3-1)

Usman Khawaja

The most contentious placement on this list? Perhaps. But the case for Khawaja in the top three is the rarity of his profile. As we have seen, Australia have produced many openers that succeeded at home, but precious few that could make a significant impact outside Australia. The following two in this tier are perhaps the only ones that compare for that aspect, as well as longevity.

But first, the holes in his CV. In non-drawn Tests in Australia, Khawaja averaged 36 while his teammates managed 41. He cashed in during drawn games to fatten that to 41 overall at home, more or less on par with his teammates. He was also not a specialist opener. Whether this counts for or against him is subjective, but it does mean his 3,000-odd runs are not as many as some others on this list.

Outside Australia, Khawaja played in some of the lowest-scoring Tests of anyone on this list. His top seven teammates averaged barely 32 in Tests with results, while he managed 42. In Asia, this number was 60.2 and in England, 41. (Before saying that he may have played with inferior batters, consider that the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne were often in the same lineup.)

Aside from staying put, Khawaja also capitalised on flatter pitches like no one else. The overall rise in batting averages when including draws was roughly one point for Khawaja’s teammates, but 10 points for him. Australia have certainly not had an opener like him this century.

Bob Simpson

Khawaja is a rare profile, but Simpson is not. What sets him apart is the extent to which he outperformed those in his era. Of the 12 on this list, his top seven teammates had the third-lowest average in result Tests at home – 36.66. Simpson averaged nearly double in these games, an astounding 71.12. Paradoxically, he only averaged 35.5 in drawn Tests at home.

Part of why he makes the S tier here is that he was also among the top on this list for his away record – more or less on par with Khawaja, whom we have established is unique for his stellar performances outside Australia. Simpson averaged nearly 41 as his top seven teammates managed 31 in results. These were fattened to 58.5 and 35.4 respectively when including draws.

Like Khawaja, his runs tally is not extraordinary since he began his Test career in the middle-order, but he averaged over 45 in every region in which he played – Australia, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa and the West Indies.

Bill Lawry

Unlike the other two in this tier, Lawry, Simpson’s long-time opening partner, was an opener through-and-through. Both home and away, he outperformed his teammates in non-drawn Test matches. In home results, his average of 58.4 is second only to Simpson, among the twelve on this list.

His away average of 37.3 in results ranks ninth on this list, but the average of his teammates in those games ranks 11th; like both Khawaja and Simpson (and Trumper), he excelled in difficult conditions.

Lawry did not significantly improve his average in drawn matches, though; likely a result of the progressively dour and stubborn strokeplay through his career that once led journalist Ian Woolridge to call him a “corpse with pads on”.

Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.