England vs India 2018: Patience is the Key to Success for Openers in English Conditions - Graeme Smith

Former Proteas opener Graeme Smith suggested Indian openers be patient to get success in the ongoing Test match at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

However, both Team India openers in the form of KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan have been dismissed by Stuart Broad. At lunch, India was 100 for two. Earlier, visitors bowled out England for 246 runs in the first innings on day one of the penultimate Test.

The highest score by an opener in the series is 44 which was scored by Shikhar Dhawan in the second innings of the third Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

After a couple of poor Tests, Murali Vijay was dropped, and Rahul was pushed to open the innings with Dhawan. Scoring runs at the top of the order has been a point of concern for the Indian batters in the first couple of Tests.

England’s James Anderson has been brilliant outside the off stump channel and will look to continue his good work.

South African great Smith is among those eight opening batsmen in the history of Test cricket to have scored more than 1,000 runs in English conditions.

England Vs India: Graeme Smith gives tips to the openers playing in English conditions:

“For an opening batter I think it’s a must (to wait for the ball to come to you),” Cricbuzz quoted Smith as saying.

“Some guys probably have better cover drives than me but until you’re in, against the swinging ball you want to try and take the lowest risk options to get yourself in,” he added.

“Generally, the way I felt as a left-hander was lining myself up to punch the ball back at the bowler. Command that off stump area. If it was outside off stump then leave well, if he gave me an opportunity to cut then make sure I would take advantage of it; if it was straight then, I’d take advantage of it,” Smith maintained.

“Then as you get in, you can look to play the cover drive, open up a few more scoring areas. Unless the wicket looked flat and it wasn’t swinging. I was setting myself up to hit the ball back at the bowler, leaving well and looking to cut. Those were my early first scoring options,” he said.

Smith scored a memorable 277 runs in his maiden Test innings on English soil back in 2003. He followed it up with another double century in the Lord’s Test.

The southpaw scored a couple of centuries more in the tour of 2008. He scored yet another century in England back in 2012. He scored 1355 runs in England at an impressive average of 67.75.