What is Opener? Opener Explained in 2 minutes
Mike Goodpaster Last Verified
26/06/2026
What is an Opener?
In cricket the batting team will play through their innings with two batting players at a time. The first two of these players are referred to as the openers. They are generally the best batting players in the team.
The role of the openers is slightly different depending on the format of cricket being played. In a traditional five-day test match they are used to face the new ball and decrease its effectiveness as well as score runs to get the innings going. In limited overs cricket where there is less time to post a score it is more important for an opener to be aggressive and score runs at a faster rate.
How is an Opener used in Sports Betting?
Having some of knowledge of openers is very useful when it comes to sports betting, as they are involved in a number of different bets. In addition to betting on the amount of runs scored in an opening partnership, openers can figure heavily in bets to do with total runs scored in an innings, a test and a series, runs in an over and number of fours and sixes in a specific period.
Another popular bet is on the man of the match. Unless there is an impressive bowling performance in a match, openers are usually in contention as they are the ones who are expected to score a lot of runs and dictate how the match goes.
Did you know…
The highest ever runs total for a first wicket partnership was scored by South Africa’s ND McKenzie and GC Smith, who scored an impressive 415 against Bangladesh in 2008. They broke a record that had lasted for over 50 years.
