Top 5 openers to play for South Africa

#4 Gary Kirsten

If Gibbs was the more flamboyant one, Gary Kirsten was the workman at the top of the order. He was not an entirely gifted player too, but then he had a solid temperament and a resolute attitude which made him become on the most important cogs of the South African batting line-up.

As an opening batsman, he was a determined figure at the top of the order and wanted to score runs, and never bothered if these runs looked ugly. He also had the ability to dig in for the long haul and concentrate for extended periods of time.

These virtues allowed him to work on his strengths and churn out runs at a time when it mattered the most. In 101 matches, he scored 7289 runs at an average of 45.27, which included 21 centuries.