5 middle order batters who shifted to Test opening ft. Tilakaratne Dilshan & Stephen Fleming
The suspense around the retired David Warner's replacement as opener ended when Cricket Australia (CA) announced the squad for the first Test against the West Indies. Despite picking Matt Renshaw, chairman of selectors George Bailey confirmed Steve Smith's move from No.4 to opening the batting alongside Usman Khawaja.
Smith expressed his wish to open the batting after Warner's retirement in Tests over the past few days. The 34-year-old started his career as a leg-spinner batting down the order before being promoted to the middle order. Ever since, Smith has owned the spot like very few in cricket history, averaging over 61 at No.4 in 111 innings with 19 centuries.
Yet, the sight of a legendary middle-order batter shifting to opening the batting isn't commonplace. While Smith's move is somewhat of an anomaly, there have been instances in the past of a successful middle-order batter transforming to open the batting in red-ball cricket.
As we await the former Australia captain walking out to face the first ball of the innings, let us revisit five middle-order stars who shifted to opening the batting in Tests.
#1 Tilakaratne Dilshan
One of Sri Lanka's best match-winners, Tilakaratne Dilshan, was a permanent member of a formidable middle order for a decade from 1999 to 2009.
Renowned for his impeccable footwork against spin, Dilshan played over half his career at No. 5, 6 and 7. He boasted a sensational average of 46.37 in 52 innings at No.6 and over 37 in 23 innings at No.5.
Yet, the latter half of his glittering career saw the now 47-year-old play the aggressor role at the top of the order. Starting with the home series against New Zealand in August 2009, Dilshan opened the batting for 25 consecutive innings before another brief stint at No.5 for three games.
The swashbuckling batter then returned to opening and played 27 of his final 28 innings at the position. Dilshan produced sparkling numbers as an opener in Tests, averaging over 42.50 in 53 innings, with eight centuries.
He was among the rare batters to achieve equal success as an opener and a middle-order batter, with his runs and centuries almost split in half at both positions.
#2 Stephen Fleming
New Zealand's Stephen Fleming is among the most accomplished captains in cricket history. Yet, his silky batting that mixed attack and defense in equal proportions went undersold by fans around the globe.
In a much lower-scoring era of batting, the 50-year-old scored over 7,000 runs at an average of 40.06 with nine centuries in 111 Tests.
Fleming played 23 of his first 26 innings at No. 4, 5, and 7 before a passage at one-drop. However, that lasted only six innings as the southpaw returned to the middle order for another 25+ innings from 1996 to 1998.
Following that, Fleming played almost another six years as a non-opener and toggled between Nos. 3 to 5.
Finally, he opened the batting for the first time in his Test career in 2003 (nine years after his debut) and scored a 69* against Sri Lanka.
Yet, the tall left-hander continued to bat mostly at No.3 before opening in five of the six innings during New Zealand's tour of England in 2004.
Fleming returned to No.3 again for the next two series before opening in the first two Tests of the home series against Australia in 2005. But that would be the end of the former Kiwi skipper as a Test opener, as he only opened once in the final 31 innings of his Test career.
Fleming found maximum success at No.3, with an average of over 47 in 69 innings. He averaged around 37 at Nos. 4 to 7 and 33.30 as an opener in his Test career.
#3 Greg Blewett
An often-forgotten cricketer, Greg Blewett was at the forefront of the beginning of Australia's domination in the middle to late 1990s.
Blewett in his own right, the South Australian-born cricketer was fortunate to score an Ashes century in his debut Test in 1995. Despite several batters making their way up the Aussie ranks, Blewett held his own and played 46 Tests in his career.
He batted at Nos. 6 and 7 in 25 of his first 27 innings and scored two centuries and a double century to earn a promotion to No.3. Barring a few instances, Blewett batted at the position for the next year but was left out of the team due to mixed results.
The now 52-year-old then batted at his favorite No.6 position in the first four innings upon his return before becoming a permanent opener. Blewett played the final 22 innings of his Test career at the top of the order but averaged less than 30 with no centuries.
It was a staggering case of a batter who found resounding success at the lower middle order, with an average of almost 43 and three centuries in 31 innings. Yet, the move to the top three and opening paid no dividends, as Blewett scored a solitary century in a combined 48 innings.
#4 Neil McKenzie
Former South African batter Neil Mckenzie's Test career traveled in three distinct parts. The 48-year-old began as an opening batter in his debut tour of Sri Lanka in 2000. Yet, an underwhelming average of nine in the three Tests saw McKenzie demoted to the middle-order.
The next four years saw the 48-year-old wield his willow predominantly at Nos. 5 and 6 with the odd innings at other positions from Nos. 3 to 8.
Despite eventually being dropped in early 2004, McKenzie averaged an impressive 42.66 in 52 innings at Nos. 4 to 6.
The elegant batter received a career revival when he returned to the Test side as an opener in 2008. Mckenzie played the rest of his Test career for over a year as an opener and helped the Proteas achieve series wins in England and Australia and a drawn series in India. He averaged over 47 in 29 innings in that period, including three centuries.
#5 Simon Katich
Simon Katich's successful transformation from a middle-order batter to an opener is perhaps the most well-documented in the modern era.
The 48-year-old started as a floating middle-order batter, with most of his stints coming at No.6. Despite the inconsistencies, Katich played several valuable knocks that helped Australia win from testing situations.
His 81 and 99 in the Nagpur and Bangalore Tests of the 2004 Indian tour helped Australia conquer their final frontier of winning a Test series in India.
Yet, a middling average in the 30s meant Katich was out of the Test side from 2006 until the middle of 2008, when he returned as the designated opener. The southpaw's career took off, and the defiant batter played his final three years at the top of the order, averaging 50.48 with eight centuries.
The three years of impressive returns as an opener established Katich as one of Australia's most accomplished Test batters, with over 4,000 runs at an average of 45.03.