Just for Openers Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Sutcliffe, a Yorkshireman, played for England from 1924 until 1935. World War II brought a premature end to his career, but he is still remembered as one of England's best batsmen - his batting average of over 60 runs has still not been beaten by an English player well into the twenty-first century. His partnerships at test match level with Jack Hobbs remain legendary. Hobbs played county cricket for Surrey and was an opening batsman for England from 1908 until 1930, interrupted by the First World War when he served with the Royal Flying Corps. Hobbs became the first professional cricketer to receive a knighthood, in 1953.

We move forward a little now with Len Hutton, whose England career lasted from 1937 until 1955, although, as with the two previous players, war intervened. Hutton suffered an injury during World War II and had to adapt his style as a result. Although he scored a lot of runs, Hutton was a cautious player and his spell as captain of the test team was not entirely problem free. He is still recognised as one of the best cricketers of all time. Warwickshire player Dennis Amiss was an opening batsman for England's test match team between 1966 and 1977. He is also remembered as being one of the first batsmen to wear a helmet to protect his head - something now commonplace in the twenty-first century.

John Edrich came from a prolific cricketing family with four cousins also playing professionally and one, Bill Edrich, also playing for England. John was a steady opener who played for his country from 1963 until 1976 - both his first and last test matches were against the West Indies. Yorkshireman Geoffrey Boycott opened for England in test matches from 1964 until 1982 in a long lasting career. Although he scored a large number of runs, Boycott wasn't universally popular and was often perceived, by public and team mates alike, as being too intent on his own achievements rather than being a 'team player'.

Graham Gooch made his test debut in 1975 against Australia and finished his test career in 1995 against the same opposition. His debut was one to forget, as he made a pair (no runs in either innings) before being dropped by the selectors . His form in county cricket, for Essex, led to a recall in 1978 and a much more successful career. A particular highlight came in 1990 when he scored a total of 456 runs in a match against India - 333 in the first innings and 123 in the second. Gooch's opening partner in that match was Mike Atherton, a Lancashire player, whose career lasted from 1989 until 2001. Like Gooch, Atherton was appointed captain of the test team. His test career included sixteen centuries, and he has gone on to a cricket broadcasting career.

Mark Butcher is another player with a cricketing pedigree - his father also played for England as an opener, although only for one match. Mark's England career lasted rather longer, from 1997 until 2004 and he scored eight centuries for his country. Marcus Trescothick's England career was successful but was cut short when he struggled with his mental health, something he discussed openly at a time when few men were willing to own up to admit to such problems. Trescothick was an aggressive player, and a foil to the rather steadier Andrew Strauss during their years as an opening partnership.

Once Trescothick retired, Andrew Strauss took a more positive approach to his own batting in a test career which lasted from 2003 until 2012. He played in exactly one hundred test matches, many as captain, during this period. Strauss found a very successful partner with the final opener featured in this quiz - Alastair Cook. Cook, known as 'Chef' to his team mates, played 161 test matches for England between 2006 and 2018 and also captained the side from 2012, when Strauss retired, until 2017. He will always be remembered for the successful tour in Australia in 2010/11 when England beat Australia in an Ashes series away from home for the first time in twenty-four years. Cook scored 766 runs over the five matches.

Since those days, England have struggled to find a reliable opening pair, and I can't pick anyone more recent to include in the quiz. Maybe Ben Duckett might qualify in the future.

The incorrect options are fast bowlers Harold Larwood (1920s & 1930s), Brian Statham (1950s & 1960s), Bob Willis (1970s & 1980s) and Mark Wood (2010s & 2020s). There are two spin bowlers, Jim Laker (1940s & 1950s) and Derek Underwood (1966 - 1982) while Alan Knott (1967 - 1981) and Jack Russell (1980s & 1990s) were wicket keepers as well as being reliable batsmen.