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Top 10 English ODI openers of all time

England v India - Royal London One-Day Series 2014
England are yet to win an ODI World Cup and a Champions Trophy.

The origin of cricket is still a mystery but there are historical references to prove that the sport was being played in south-east England in the middle of the 16th century.

In the 19th century, the British Empire was instrumental in spreading the game overseas to Australia, the Caribbean, India, New Zealand and North America.

Then, in the 20th century, to make the sport more result oriented, English Counties introduced the concept of limited-overs cricket in 1963, however, the first ODI was played between England and Australia on 5 January 1971 at Melbourne.

Despite playing the sports at the international level for the longest time, the number four team on ICC ODI Rankings, are yet to win an ODI World Cup and a Champions Trophy.

Now, let's have a look at the 10 best openers produced by England in the 46-year-long history of ODI cricket.


#10 Mike Atherton

Mike Atherton...

The former England captain Mike Atherton was popular for his resistant and defensive batting style against the most hostile fast bowling attacks during the 1990s.

Between 1990 and 1998, Atherton opened the innings in 43 ODIs for England and scored 1,572 runs at an average of 38.34. He scored two tons and 11 fifties in a career that spanned over eight years.

The right-handed opening batsman, who was nicknamed 'cockroach' by Steve Waugh, brought up his highest ODI score of 127 in a 1995 fifty-over game against the West Indies at Lord's.

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