Best Ashes Teams

[Richard]

God, England were **** in this period being discussed now. Thinking about it turns a mediocre day into a good one .

They were far ****ter in the previous one. It's just that in the second half of the 1980s Australia were even worse.

[Richard]

So, given your attitude towards non-openers being turned into openers, eg Justin Langer, does that affect your regard for Atherton?

Nah. Atherton had always opened at club, age-group level etc. - he saw himself as an opener. That's why it rather surprises me that he hardly ever opened pre- Test career.

Langer on the other hand had never been regarded as a remote long-term opening prospect (though I believe he had of times opened for WA) until that 2001 Test, by which time he had been an established Test player for 3 years and was, what, 31 years old?

EDIT: looking at matters it seems Atherton had a couple of years in 1988 and 1989 where he slipped down to three via either his own choice or someone else's. He even had the likes of Graham Lloyd and Mark Ramprakash pushed up to open instead of him. Up to 1987 he'd always been an opener.