Batting Records

Top 10: Most Ducks as Openers in ODI Cricket

The opening slot is a challenging position for any batter. There’s constant pressure to give a good start to the team by scoring runs at a brisk rate.

Plus, openers need to negate the threat posed by the new ball, as bowlers get a bit of help to move the ball. On many occasions, openers have failed to overcome these challenges and lost their wickets early on, bagging undesirable ducks.

Here we’ll look at the top 10 openers who have scored the most ducks in ODI cricket.

Most Ducks as Openers in ODI Cricket

Player Innings Ducks
Sanath Jayasuriya (SL) 383 29
Chris Gayle (WI) 274 23
Tamim Iqbal (BAN) 240 19
Herschelle Gibbs (SA) 182 17
Adam Gilchrist (AUS) 259 17
Nathan Astle (NZ) 186 16
Martin Guptill (NZ) 174 16
Upul Tharanga (SL) 189 16
Aaron Finch (AUS) 140 15
Romesh Kaluwitharana (SL) 112 15

Key Insights

29: Sanath Jayasuriya’s 29 ducks are the most by an opener in ODI cricket. Overall, the left-hand batter earned 34 ducks, again the most in this format.

8: Jayasuriya has also logged nine golden ducks in his career, with eight coming as an opener. Martin Guptill (7), Aaron Finch (6), Chris Gayle (6), Litton Das (5), and Ramiz Raja (5) are the other openers with five or more first-ball ducks in ODIs.

10: Over 33 opening batters have scored 10 or more ducks in their respective ODI careers.

8: Herschelle Gibbs, who scored 18 ducks in his career, got out on zero eight times in 2002, which is the most by an opener in a calendar year.