5 greatest ODI openers of all time

Adam Gilchrist

Gilchrist's impact at the top of the order was immensely beneficial to Australia's fortunes

Purely on impact value, Adam Gilchrist’s imprint on ODI cricket was far greater than many of his peers, and his pyrotechnics at the top of the order were indispensable to Australian cricket. Flappy-eared and forever grinning, Gilchrist hardly looked the kind who could smother bowling attacks, but his bat would turn into a sledgehammer when the bowler would run in with a brand new white ball in hand.

Brutal on the off-side and effortless on the leg, Gilchrist smashed anything that had even a shade of width to the boundary with his butchery cut shot. He used to use his feet often against spinners, not letting them keep him quiet even for a short span.

Part of a young crop of players earmarked for future glory in the early 1990s, Gilly made his debut in 1996, but struggled in the middle-order, batting at 6 and 7.

In a flash of tactical brilliance, Gilchrist was thrown up the order against South Africa in 1998 and smashed a century in only his second innings at the top.

He ended with 15 more ODI tons, and was part of the World Cup winning teams in 1999, 2003 and 2007, scoring an unbeaten 149 in the final World Cup game of his career.