Top 5 New Zealand Test opening pairs of all time

#4 Graham Dowling and Bruce Murray

Graham Dowling

The pair opened for New Zealand on 20 occasions from 1968 to 1971 and during that period, the right-handed duo of Graham Dowling and Bruce Murray became a solid opening pair for their country. Dowling was a technically proficient batsman, who went on to become the captain and remained the country's premier opening batsman for most of his career.

Murray debuted in 1968 and instantly struck up an excellent partnership with Dowling at the top of the order. He was, like Richardson, a classical opener and eschewed strokes at the expense of crease occupation. Over the course of 20 innings, the pair added 789 runs and averaged 39.30, at a time when New Zealand often struggled to compete.

They put on a century plus stand twice and crossed fifty thrice.