Rearguard to the rescue

Andrew Symonds has added plenty of muscle to the Australian bottom half © Getty Images Enlarge

When Australia's fifth wicket fell at 61 on the second day of the Perth Test, the Australian fans could have been excused for seeing no reason to panic yet. Admittedly, the consistency of Australia's top order has ensured that they haven't often been in dodgy situations, but even when they have the lower order has been able to pull them out fairly often.

India's bowlers ensured that Australia's recovery at the WACA was only a partial one - the innings folded quickly after the 102-run stand between Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist - but there have been other occasions when the sixth wicket has done far more damage.

Three seasons back, at the same venue, Pakistan had reduced Australia to 78 for 5. Enter Gilchrist, to join Justin Langer, and exit all hope for Pakistan. By the time the pair was separated, they had added 152, and Australia eventually finished on 381. More recently, in the Boxing Day Test in 2006, Matthew Hayden and Symonds turned a score of 84 for 5 into a total of 419; Langer and Simon Katich added 218 to transform a wobbly 98 for 5 into a solid 375 in Colombo in 2004, while Gilchrist and Hayden hurt India equally badly in Mumbai in 2001. Since 2000, on five occasions Australia have managed a century stand for the sixth wicket after losing their top five for less than 100. Sri Lanka are the only other side to do it more than twice, but all their three such rescue acts came at home. (Click here for the entire list of 16 such century partnerships since 2000.)

Australia have been the masters of recovering from top-order collapses, and the presence of Gilchrist, Lee and Co has meant opposition teams have plenty to do even after dismissing the top five. The table below shows just how much better Australia's last five wickets have been compared to the other sides. They are the only ones to average more than 30 per wicket; New Zealand are next in line, but for most of the other teams, the average partnership is only in the mid-20s.

If Australia have been the best at extracting the most number of runs from their lower order, they've also been champions at ensuring that other teams don't do the same against them. Opposition teams barely touch an average of 20 for the last five wickets against Australia. The Indians give away nearly 26 runs per wicket, but New Zealand and West Indies have fared marginally worse.

The numbers for India aren't too dismal overall, but they've struggled more - both with their lower-order batting and dismissing the opposition's - in conditions which aren't close to what they usually encounter at home. In matches played in Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa - all venues which are mostly more suited to seam and swing bowling - India's lower-order quotient has left them significantly in the red: their last five wickets have scored fewer runs than their bowlers have conceded to the opposition lower order. Australia, on the other hand, have a whopping difference of plus 14.36. South Africa are the only other team with a positive difference.

It's hardly surprising to find three Australian pairs among the top six for the sixth wicket since 2000. Gilchrist features in a couple of them, and his association with the under-rated Damien Martyn was particularly fruitful: in 20 stands they averaged more than 75, with four century stands. The 102 runs they added was the first hundred partnership between Gilchrist and Symonds, but it's unlikely to be the last.