Does playing an opening batsman in the middle order have an adverse effect on their performance?

[jazzyfizzle0]

There seems to be a high proportion of opening T20 batsmen compared to specialist middle order batsmen in the game / in real life. So I'm wondering if performance would be effected if you stacked your batting line up with openers. Say for example you have an opening batsman who has a slightly better average and strike rate than a specialist middle order batsman with exactly the same length/line/style preferences, are you better off playing the opener?

[Yorkie]

I’ve not noticed any performance issues, so long as they’re V.Agg/Agg batsmen with decent form, but like you say in T20 you can have 3, 4, 5, openers all following after each other. Thinking about it another way the 1st & 2nd openers don’t often hang around too long in T20 so the other openers fit into their places nicely as new openers. Anyway I’ve used 5 or 6 openers and not seen any issues. Also 3 or 4 with England with no issues. Sometimes I’ll also stick in to my middle order an opener in the 4day games, ready to take on the new ball, moving him up or down the order as and when. This also works well..

[cde]

I’ve found the same in T20s and OD matches, it doesn’t seem to change how effective they are.

I have found that if i have a really promising looking opener it can pay to field them no higher than 3 for a season or two so they build a good average before moving them to open. It is harder to open the batting and it can have a suppressing effect on an inexperienced batsman’s average, which after a couple of seasons seems to become a much more fixed mark than later in their career.

In my FC team I like to field three openers too. I usually go for a very aggressive / defensive combination at the top with another aggressive opener either coming in at 3 if one of the openers goes quickly or dropping down the order to face the new ball. This seems to suit about 50% of the aggressive openers, for some reason others seem to tank coming in further down the order.

[jazzyfizzle0]

Thanks guys. I've been a long-time player and never noticed a difference either, so was hoping it would be the case.

[Chris_]

Chris said this last year:

“Openers have increased ability against the new ball, which is balanced by less ability against the older ball. If you an opener who bats at no. 6 in your team you might want to train them to be a middle order batman as they are generally not facing the new ball.”

I made a topic a couple of weeks ago on this issue but got no answer. I also noticed just how many batsmen are marked as openers for T20.

I wondered if the power play was considered to be the new ball in white ball matches, or if perhaps the entirety of a t20 innings might be considered to be the new ball. That would be in line with a first class innings seeing 20 overs roughly being 2 bars - and would explain why so many batsmen are openers in t20.

I don’t know though. In T20 I often have my entire batting lineup as openers, as I don’t have many who aren’t!

[cde]

I’ve found in FC and Tests it seems to make A difference but not at all in LO matches, which is just as well since the AI churns them out at a terrific rate.

If I had to give an example in FC cricket it would have to be a player like Ben Duckett. For the past few years I have found that if I sign and play him he will average about 38ish as an opener, 42ish at number 3 but if I drop him down the order with the intention of him facing the new ball he averages in the mid 20s, facing the new ball or not. This has happened probably 90% of the times I have signed him.

[Top_Cat]

I noticed a difference with at least one player. I had one young player, a designated opener, who I batted down the order in the Test side. Did enough to stay in the team but nothing spectacular i.e. no tons after 15 Tests. As soon as I dropped an opener and pushed him up, three tons in five Tests.

Another example, In real cricket, Alex Carey opened for a few games in T20 and it came off but then was pushed back down the order. In the game he's designated as an opener in LO stuff so tends to score bugger-all down the list. Push him up to open and it's boundaries galore. The team and squad balance is best served with him down the list so I have to make sure the rest of the team is good enough to outweigh the runs he won't score and hope the training against the old ball pays off (3 seasons in - so far little difference). It's one of quite a few instances where I find myself fighting the structure of the game as much as the opponents. Pretty irritating.

Must admit I find myself a little puzzled at the need to offset new ball skill with less ability against the old ball. I hope the difference in points for one vs the other are quite different because it should not be treated as symmetric. Openers train against old balls too.