There were some truly great opening batsmen to grace Test cricket since its appearance in the early 20th century. Some of them left an undeniable mark on international cricket. We are truly unlucky people of this generation who didn’t see all of their talent and couldn’t see for ourselves why they were so highly rated. To name a few, WG Grace, Sir Len Hutton, Jack Hobbs, and Barry Richards immediately spring to mind. Barry Richards was unlucky as he did not play much international cricket due to the ban on South African cricket at the time. However, we are lucky to have seen some great opening hitters in our time, like Gordon Greenidge, Matt Hayden, Virendra Sehwag, Bobby Simpson, Graham Gooch, etc. But the best were sunny and boycs, namely Sunil Gavaskar and Sir Geoffrey Boycott.

In 1972, Sir Donald Bradman selected the rest of the world team to come to Australia and play a test series against Australia. There was much speculation about who he would select as the best players for the World 11. Geoffrey Boycott was a foregone conclusion for the opening spot as he had established himself as the leading opening batsman in the world. Surprise surprise goal, Bradman’s selection was Sunil Gavaskar. This shocked many cricket pundits of the time. Sunny Gavaskar had made headlines with a sensational debut against the West Indies in his backyard. But that alone would not have been enough for cricket’s greatest legend at the time to make the decision. Sunny did not disappoint the Don for years to come with a career second to none. He scored 13 hundred Tests against West Indies, who were the best fast bowling attack at the time. As if that wasn’t enough, he scored 8 hundred tests against Australia which was the second best bowling attack at the time and 5 hundreds against Pakistan which was third. So if you look at his record surprisingly, his top 3 centuries total is against the top 3 bowling strikes at the time and with the highest runs scored against the best strike at the top. This is an incredible achievement and should be considered even higher than the record number of runs and centuries he set in his time. The man just wouldn’t give away his wicket no matter what. People criticized him for being selfish or slow and what not. But he has answered all those questions. His 94 ball hundred against WI in Delhi was a clear indication that he could score runs quickly if needed. But he preferred to crush the opposition with a huge price tag on his window. There was another reason for this as well. At the time, the Middle Indian order was fragile and it was his wicket that used to pretty much seal the fate of the match for the Indians. Remember there was no helmet at the time and Gavaskar ducked and plowed through for many centuries against the fiercest fast bowling attacks of the day. The monumental figure of quality opening batting was Sunny Gavaskar.

Geoffrey Boycott’s was late in his career when I really started to understand Test cricket. He later became famous among Indian cricket fans for his television commentary in a Yorkshire accent. I still remember going to splits when he described Courtney Walsh’s hitting. He called Walsh the worst hitter in the world. He was hilarious as a commentator. What he showed through all of this was his knowledge of the game. The man is a technical hitting showcase. There is absolutely nothing this guy has missed about hitting. Technical proficiency was embodied in the way he beat and built his innings. When Boycott plays a coverage drive, he can be sure it’s the best way to go. I remember him telling a young man how to play a defensive forward stroke and how to bend the leg to certain degrees and where the chin should be placed. It has been incredible to see. Boycs absolutely hated giving away his wicket. It is sometimes said that England struggled to win games, but that is mostly conjecture. England never lost a Test match in which Boycott scored a hundred. He was definitely the greatest first-class cricket opening batsman of all time. He averaged over 100 twice in first-class cricket in the 1970s.

Both Sunny and Boycs think that Boycs was a bit better than Sunny. This thought comes mostly from Boycott’s technical proficiency, but I don’t think so. I think Sunny was being modest after taking a look at her history. Scoring those kinds of runs against the best in the world consistently and in her backyard takes some work. I rate Sunny slightly better than Boycs. There isn’t much to it though, as Boycs said. 19-20.