The batting talent of tailenders

The two most recent Test matches, in Sri Lanka and England, both produced some remarkable lower-order batting displays. At the P Sara Oval, Abhimanyu Mithun and Amit Mishra offered plenty of resistance in India's first innings, but that effort was dwarfed by Sri Lanka's incredible late-order fightback in which Ajantha Mendis played protagonist. The last three wickets in Sri Lanka's second innings put together 180 runs - which is the second-highest for them in all Tests - to lift them from a miserable 87 for 7. Meanwhile, the resistance from Pakistan's tail at Edgbaston further embarrassed the already beleaguered top-order batsmen, with Zulqarnain Haider and Saeed Ajmal at least ensuring that Pakistan's bowlers had some sort of a target to defend in the fourth innings.

These two Tests continue a recent trend where the last four batsmen have added a fair bit to their team's total. In 25 Tests this year, the last four batsmen (Nos. 8-11) average 18.46, with two centuries and 13 fifties; in 2009 they averaged 17.96, and both these numbers figure in the top five annual averages over the last 40 years. (Click here for the full list.)

As that link also shows, though, the increase in averages hasn't been as consistent, or as significant, as one might have thought: the average in 2008 was only 15.39, while in 2007 it was 14.78. Overall in the 2000s, the average was 15.51, which was only marginally better than the previous decade, and worse than the averages in the 1980s and the 1960s. That doesn't conform to the general perception that tail-end batting has improved substantially in recent years, though the way the 2010s have started is pretty encouraging.

Decade-wise averages of No. 8-11 batsmen since 1950

Decade	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
1950s	164	19,373	14.05	8/ 43
1960s	186	24,570	15.78	8/ 80
1970s	198	24,612	14.79	2/ 70
1980s	266	33,901	16.05	10/ 104
1990s	347	42,500	14.34	10/ 122
2000s	464	61,833	15.51	27/ 177
2010s	25	3878	18.46	2/ 13

The partnership stats for the last three wickets mirror the averages table above. Again, the 1960s and the 1980s outdid the 2000s, but 2010 has so far produced some important lower-order performances.

Decade-wise partnership stats for the last three wickets (8-10) since 1950

Decade	Partnerships	P'ship runs	Average stand	100/ 50 stands
1950s	1348	18,985	14.49	4/ 62
1960s	1537	26,978	18.25	13/ 116
1970s	1624	27,464	17.59	13/ 112
1980s	2053	36,753	18.71	21/ 151
1990s	2832	47,258	17.25	26/ 187
2000s	3821	66,962	18.09	45/ 250
2010s	206	4029	20.34	5/ 16

A look at the batsmen with the highest averages at these positions since the 1950s shows that the top 10 is dominated by batsmen who played predominantly in the 1980s and the 2000s. Among those who've played at least 50 innings at these slots, a couple of South Africans head the list. Mark Boucher's preferred slot was No. 7, but he also played at eight and nine 52 times, averaging almost 35. Incidentally, in 112 innings at No. 7 he only averages 26.82. Shaun Pollock, on the other hand, played 99 out of 156 innings at Nos. 8 or 9. Both his Test centuries came when he batted at nine, making him one of 16 batsmen to score a hundred from that position, and the only one to get two.

Like Boucher, Kapil Dev played most often at No. 7 (98 out of 194 innings at that slot), but he had a more-than-handy record when he came in lower down the order, averaging nearly 33. Daniel Vettori, though, has clearly preferred batting at No. 8 or lower - in 152 Test innings, only 24 times has he batted higher. He is one of only two batsmen - Shane Warne is the other - to score more than 3000 runs at positions 8 to 11. Three of his five Test hundreds have come at No. 8, where he averages 42.28; at No. 9, though, his average slips to 23.88 in 51 innings, which is why his overall average at these positions is only 31.59. Boucher, Pollock, Kapil and Vettori are also the only batsmen with a 30-plus average.

Best batsmen at positions 8-11 since 1950 (Qual: 50 innings)

Batsman	Innings	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Mark Boucher	52	1424	34.73	2/ 9
Shaun Pollock	99	2330	32.81	2/ 7
Kapil Dev	65	1967	32.78	2/ 13
Daniel Vettori	128	3317	31.59	4/ 18
Ian Smith	75	1667	27.78	2/ 6
Syed Kirmani	76	1598	27.55	1/ 6
Kiran More	57	1180	26.81	0/ 7
Nicky Boje	52	1125	26.78	0/ 3
Chaminda Vaas	144	2785	25.55	1/ 12
Richard Hadlee	81	1641	24.49	1/ 8

Of the pairs who've batted together at least 10 times for the last three wickets in an innings, Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan have the highest average - 34.33 from 12 innings. That average is slightly misleading, though, for 313 of their 412 partnership runs were scored in a single innings, against Zimbabwe in Sheikhpura, when Akram scored that monumental unbeaten 257. In 11 other innings, their highest partnership was 26. Jason Gillespie's limpet-like abilities have been well documented, so it's hardly surprising to see his name twice in the top 10, with Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist. With Waugh, Gillespie has two 50-plus partnerships in 10 innings, while with Gilchrist he had three in 14, including a 73-run stand in Fatullah when Gillespie scored a famous double-century. Gillespie is one of four Australians who feature twice in the top 10 - Gilchrist, Warne and Brett Lee are the others - which illustrates another aspect of their cricket that was outstanding during the period they dominated world cricket.

Best batting pairs for wickets 8-11 since 1950 (Qual: 10 partnerships)

Pair	Partnerships	Runs	Average	100/ 50 stands
Saqlain Mushtaq - Wasim Akram	12	412	34.33	1/ 0
Jason Gillespie - Steve Waugh	10	308	34.22	1/ 1
Brett Lee - Shane Warne	10	340	34.00	0/ 3
James Franklin - Daniel Vettori	11	338	30.72	0/ 2
Ian Healy - Shane Warne	16	491	30.68	0/ 3
Abdul Qadir - Imran Khan	10	304	30.40	1/ 0
Adam Gilchrist - Jason Gillespie	14	382	29.38	0/ 3
Kumar Dharmasena - Chaminda Vaas	12	350	29.16	0/ 3
Adam Gilchrist - Brett Lee	17	458	28.62	1/ 2
Imran Khan - Sarfraz Nawaz	11	279	27.90	0/ 2

Sri Lanka's last four did give the Indians a lot of grief in Colombo, but it's nowhere close to what Akram and Co did to Zimbabwe's bowlers in that Sheikhupura Test. Powered by Akram's unbeaten 257, Pakistan's last four batsmen added 336, which remains a record for the most runs scored by the last four batsmen in a single innings (and this despite the Nos. 10 and 11, Waqar Younis and Shahid Nazir, getting ducks). The only other instance of the last four scoring more than 300 was way back in 1908 at the Adelaide Oval, when Australia's tail amassed 307, with hundreds for Roger Hartigan and Clem Hill.