Also, a middle order batter in Tests may open for ODIs and Twenty20 due to their aggressive approach to the game.
The Indian cricket team also shuffled their batting order in the first ODI of the India tour of West Indies and United States, 2023.
A batter who is promoted up the order with the intention of scoring quick runs is called a pinch hitter or slogger.
Some examples of pinch hitters include David Miller, Mitchell Starc, Shahid Afridi and Thisara Perera.
However, some nightwatchmen do go on to make big scores, most notably Jason Gillespie's 201*[4] at number three (he usually batted at nine or ten)[5] against Bangladesh in 2006.
These early conditions favour the bowling team, so the opening batters must have considerable patience, a sound technique and be good defensively.
Because of the defensive technique required early on, openers are sometimes less fluent stroke-players than the specialist batters who follow.
Adam Gilchrist batted in a 6, 7 or 8 position batter for all but a handful of his Test innings but in One Day Internationals he opened over 260 times.
Top and middle order batters must also be adaptable as they may be required to attack, consolidate or defend according to the needs of the team as the match situation develops.
One reason for placing all-rounders and wicket-keepers in the middle-order even though they may be more skilled than those who batted above them was because such players would be tired after bowling or keeping wicket during the preceding innings.
Another reason, with the trend of wicket-keepers opening the innings in limited-over cricket, batters at positions 6, 7 and 8 tend to be at the crease when the second new ball is due, so they can function just like an opener and know how to wear out the new ball, or play aggressively to score quick runs to chase victory or to build the innings quickly towards a declaration.
In One Day International cricket, middle order batters are generally able to change their game depending on the conditions.
Therefore, the start of the lower order may vary in position depending on the balance of the side in terms of overall batting capability.
Also, given that batters in ODIs and Twenty20 need to score quickly and aggressively, an opener in limited-overs forms of the game may bat down the order in Tests.
However, as expectations of these players are low when they are batting, they often play aggressive, carefree shots in the hope of scoring as many runs as possible.
On occasions in which the batting team is a long way behind its opponents, the lower-order batters may attempt to salvage a draw by playing defensively until the end of the match.
An example of this would be the first test in the 2009 Ashes series, in which England bowlers James Anderson and Monty Panesar were able to remain at the crease for 11.3 overs, denying Australia the chance to win the match.
The last batter in the order (at position 11) is sometimes referred to as Last Man Jack, a term that has passed into everyday parlance.
Source:[15] Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s 624-run stand for the third wicket against South Africa in July 2006 is the highest partnership in men's test cricket.