Top 5 left-handed openers from New Zealand

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Bruce Edgar

Opening the innings is perhaps not the most glamorous job in Test cricket but there is no doubt that it is an extremely testing role and over the years, New Zealand have had their fair share of excellent openers.

Most of those openers have been in the classical mould. They were primarily focussed on blunting the bowlers and occupying the crease for as long as possible before the middle-order stroke-players could take over. Perhaps the greatest opener New Zealand ever had was the legendary Glenn Turner.

However, he was a right-handed batsman and it is also a reason for New Zealand's left-handed opening batsman not getting much attention. So, here is a look at 5 of the best left-handed opening batsmen New Zealand have ever had.

5 Bruce Edgar

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The former left-handed batsman played for New Zealand between 1978 and 1986, during the course of which he became one of the team's most important top order batsmen.

Bruce Edgar played 38 out of his 39 career Test matches and established himself as a regular in the Test side soon after his first game in England back in 1978. Edgar was not a flashy batsman but he had the innate ability to face the quickest of fast bowlers without any trouble and that made him an outstanding asset to the Kiwi top order.

In addition to that, he was a very cautious player and eschewed risky shots in order to ensure that New Zealand started well. Edgar scored 1898 runs for the side in 38 Tests at a modest average of 30.61 and scored 3 centuries, in addition to 12 fifties. 

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