Top 5 openers to play for South Africa

The importance of openers in Test cricket is as important as the new ball bowlers. These players have to be switched on right from the outset as very often they dictate the outcome of the match. And then if the match is being played in seaming and swinging conditions of South Africa, their job becomes all the more admirable.

Over the years, talent in South Africa has never been rushing through the system, but they have to be nurtured and then given the long rope. And this strategy has yielded dividends because the Proteas team has found high-class openers who have served them with distinction.

Here in this list, we take a look at 5 of the top openers to have emerged from the Rainbow nation.

#1 Barry Richards

The apartheid system in South Africa claimed many bright talents, none bigger and brighter than Barry Richards. People all over the world believe that the cricketing world was poorer because Richards could not show the world what he was made of.

Barry played only 4 Test matches for South Africa, but his performances in Domestic cricket when he played for Hampshire, Natal and South Australia, and then in Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket was a testament to his unbridled potential.

To many players who played with or against him, Barry Richards was the complete batsman, next only to Sir Donald Bradman. In 339 First class matches, he scored an astonishing 28,358 runs at an average of 54.74, and with the highest score of 356.