Sixteen for six, and other horror stories

Sixteen runs for six dismissals. That stat - the lowest aggregate by England's Nos 3, 4 and 5 in a Test - was born out of a woeful performance by Ravi Bopara, Ian Bell and Paul Collingwood in England's innings defeat against Australia at Headingley, and it is approaching cult status. It has added to the intense speculation over the composition of England's middle order for the deciding Test at The Oval. This week we've looked at other dreadful performances by various segments of the batting order: top, middle, lower; and by the entire line-up as well. We've also identified matches with the worst batting performances from both teams' orders.

The lowest contribution from a team's top order (Nos. 1, 2 and 3) came from South Africa's trio of Jack Siedle, Bob Catterall and Bruce Mitchell against England at Old Trafford in 1929. They added only 14 runs between them (10 in the first innings and four in the second) in six innings.

That undesirable record was very nearly broken in 2007 by Bangladesh's top three against India in Dhaka. India's top order had scored three centuries, but when it was Bangladesh's turn to bat, Javed Omar, Shahriar Nafees and Habibul Bashar managed only 0, 2, 4 and 0, 4, 5 respectively in each innings - an aggregate of 15.

Fewest runs by Nos. 1, 2 and 3 for a team in a Test (qualification: six innings)

Team	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	0		Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
South Africa	6	0	14	6	2.33	0		v England	Manchester	Jul 27, 1929	Test 184
Bangladesh	6	0	15	5	2.50	2		v India	Dhaka (SBNS)	May 25, 2007	Test 1833
England	6	0	16	10	2.66	3		v South Africa	Cape Town	Mar 7, 1910	Test 109
Pakistan	6	1	18	10*	3.60	1		v West Indies	Lahore	Nov 7, 1986	Test 1056
West Indies	6	0	19	6	3.16	2		v Australia	Melbourne	Dec 26, 2000	Test 1525
India	6	0	23	7	3.83	2		v West Indies	Kanpur	Oct 21, 1983	Test 964
Pakistan	6	0	23	11	3.83	3		v New Zealand	Hamilton	Jan 2, 1993	Test 1207
Australia	6	0	24	11	4.00	1		v England	Sydney	Feb 10, 1888	Test 27
England	6	0	25	11	4.16	2		v Australia	Sydney	Feb 1, 1895	Test 45
Australia	6	0	26	22	4.33	3		v England	Lord's	Jul 16, 1888	Test 28
South Africa	6	1	26	13	5.20	3		v England	Lord's	Jun 23, 1955	Test 409
India	6	0	26	16	4.33	2		v South Africa	Durban	Dec 26, 1996	Test 1347
West Indies	6	0	26	8	4.33	2		v South Africa	Cape Town	Jan 2, 1999	Test 1440
West Indies	6	0	27	11	4.50	2		v South Africa	Bridgetown	Apr 21, 2005	Test 1749
Australia	6	0	29	19	4.83	1		v England	Brisbane	Dec 1, 1978	Test 834
India	6	0	30	11	5.00	1		v West Indies	Kolkata	Dec 31, 1958	Test 463
West Indies	6	0	30	28	5.00	3		v Australia	Melbourne	Dec 26, 1981	Test 915
South Africa	6	0	31	16	5.16	1		v Australia	Melbourne	Feb 12, 1932	Test 216
England	6	0	31	10	5.16	0		v India	Lord's	Jun 10, 1982	Test 928
New Zealand	6	0	32	14	5.33	0		v Australia	Wellington	Mar 29, 1946	Test 275

The Bopara-Bell-Collingwood performance was the worst by England's Nos. 3, 4 and 5, lowering the bar set in the first Ashes Test, at Lord's in 1888. On that occasion, however, it wasn't the same set of batsmen who failed in each innings. Billy Barnes, George Lohmann and Walter Read scored 3, 2 and 4 in the first innings, while Bobby Peel, Read and Tim O'Brien made 4, 3, and 4 in the second - a total of 20.

Curiously, the three worst performances by batsmen at No. 3, 4 and 5 all belong to South Africa: 12 runs against England in Cape Town 1889, 15 in Melbourne 1932, and the nadir - a paltry 6 at The Oval in 1955. South Africa went into that fifth and deciding Test with the series level at 2-2, but the failures of Headley Keith, Russell Endean and Roy McLean, who scored 5, 0 and 1 in the first innings and ducks in the second, left the visitors with no chance. Tony Lock and Jim Laker were the destroyers of the South African middle order.

Fewest runs by Nos. 3, 4 and 5 for a team in a Test (qualification: six innings)

Team	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	0		Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
South Africa	6	0	6	5	1.00	4		v England	The Oval	Aug 13, 1955	Test 412
South Africa	6	0	12	5	2.00	2		v England	Cape Town	Mar 25, 1889	Test 32
South Africa	6	0	15	6	2.50	2		v Australia	Melbourne	Feb 12, 1932	Test 216
Australia	6	0	16	6	2.66	1		v England	The Oval	Aug 10, 1896	Test 52
England	6	0	16	8	2.66	2		v Australia	Leeds	Aug 7, 2009	Test 1929
New Zealand	6	0	18	6	3.00	1		v England	Lord's	Jun 19, 1958	Test 455
New Zealand	6	0	18	9	3.00	2		v Australia	Auckland	Mar 22, 1974	Test 736
England	6	0	20	4	3.33	0		v Australia	Lord's	Jul 16, 1888	Test 28
New Zealand	6	0	22	13	3.66	3		v England	Leeds	Jul 3, 1958	Test 456
Sri Lanka	6	0	22	7	3.66	1		v Pakistan	Kandy	Aug 26, 1994	Test 1267
West Indies	6	0	24	16	4.00	3		v Australia	Melbourne	Dec 26, 2000	Test 1525
South Africa	6	0	26	11	4.33	2		v England	Port Elizabeth	Feb 13, 1896	Test 47
Australia	6	0	27	17	4.50	3		v England	Manchester	Aug 30, 1888	Test 30
India	6	0	27	11	4.50	1		v England	Lord's	Jun 27, 1936	Test 252
England	6	0	29	14	4.83	1		v West Indies	Port of Spain	Jan 24, 1935	Test 239
New Zealand	6	0	29	17	4.83	2		v South Africa	Centurion	Apr 15, 2006	Test 1798
South Africa	6	0	30	11	5.00	1		v England	Port Elizabeth	Mar 12, 1889	Test 31
England	6	0	30	11	5.00	2		v New Zealand	Christchurch	Feb 3, 1984	Test 976
Sri Lanka	6	0	30	10	5.00	0		v New Zealand	Hamilton	Mar 14, 1997	Test 1359
Zimbabwe	6	0	30	7	5.00	0		v Sri Lanka	Galle	Jan 12, 2002	Test 1585

The Hyderabad Test in 1969 had it all - rain, riots, problems with umpires, and the lowest aggregate by batsmen at Nos. 4, 5 and 6. On a grassy pitch - it hadn't been cut for a while - India crumbled for 89 in the first innings, with ML Jaisimha, the Nawab of Pataudi Jr and Ambar Roy contributing no runs. Pataudi and Roy made 13 between them in the second innings after Jaisimha completed a pair, leaving India on 76 for 7 before rain came to the rescue.

The aforementioned collapses involving South Africa, against Australia at the MCG in 1932 and against England in Cape Town in 1889, are at Nos. 1 and 2 in the table of fewest runs scored by a team's batsmen from No. 1 to 7 in a Test. At Newlands, South African opener Bernard Tancred scored an unbeaten 26, but the next six batsmen contributed only 12 between them. Not even Tancred managed double figures in the second, though, as South Africa's top seven mustered only 19 on their way to defeat by an innings and 202 runs. At the MCG in 1932, South Africa's top seven managed only 50 between them for 14 dismissals, scoring 22 in the first innings and 28 in the second.

Fewest runs by Nos. 1 to 7 for a team in a Test (qualification: 14 innings)

Team	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	0		Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
South Africa	14	0	50	16	3.57	4		v Australia	Melbourne	Feb 12, 1932	Test 216
South Africa	14	1	57	26*	4.38	4		v England	Cape Town	Mar 25, 1889	Test 32
Australia	14	0	63	15	4.50	2		v England	Sydney	Feb 10, 1888	Test 27
New Zealand	14	0	70	14	5.00	4		v Australia	Wellington	Mar 29, 1946	Test 275
Pakistan	14	2	75	21	6.25	5		v Australia	Sharjah	Oct 11, 2002	Test 1617
Australia	14	0	79	32	5.64	7		v England	Manchester	Aug 30, 1888	Test 30
England	14	1	81	20*	6.23	5		v Australia	Sydney	Feb 1, 1895	Test 45
England	14	1	91	24	7.00	1		v Australia	Lord's	Jul 16, 1888	Test 28
New Zealand	14	1	92	18	7.07	2		v Pakistan	Dhaka	Nov 7, 1955	Test 415
England	14	0	93	30	6.64	5		v Australia	Melbourne	Mar 5, 1904	Test 82
England	14	1	94	19	7.23	2		v Australia	Brisbane	Dec 1, 1950	Test 327
New Zealand	14	0	96	33	6.85	3		v England	Lord's	Jun 19, 1958	Test 455
India	14	0	97	18	6.92	4		v New Zealand	Hyderabad (Decc)	Oct 15, 1969	Test 661
South Africa	14	0	98	26	7.00	3		v England	Leeds	Jul 29, 1907	Test 94
Australia	14	0	99	22	7.07	3		v England	Lord's	Jul 16, 1888	Test 28
India	14	0	103	27	7.35	5		v England	Manchester	Jul 17, 1952	Test 353
West Indies	14	1	105	44	8.07	6		v England	Bridgetown	Jan 8, 1935	Test 238
South Africa	14	0	106	23	7.57	2		v England	Port Elizabeth	Feb 13, 1896	Test 47
Australia	14	0	107	47	7.64	4		v England	The Oval	Aug 10, 1896	Test 52
South Africa	14	0	108	42	7.71	5		v England	The Oval	Aug 12, 1912	Test 128

The table below contains the smallest contributions by a particular section of batsmen from both teams in a match. The most recent game in the top 10 entries for lowest top-order (Nos. 1 to 3) contributions is the Harare Test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in 2005. New Zealand's top three added 38 in the first innings out of a total of 452. Zimbabwe's top three - Neil Ferreira, Brendan Taylor and Dion Ebrahim - were out for 5, 10 and 0 in the first innings, and a few hours later they were out for 16, 0 and 8 in the second. It was only the second, and last time, a team had been dismissed twice in a single day. The top three batsmen in both teams therefore totalled 77 for nine dismissals at an average of 8.55.

Fewest runs by Nos. 1, 2 and 3 of both teams in a Test (qualification: nine innings)

Team	Team	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	0		Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
Australia	England	9	0	49	15	5.44	2		Sydney	Feb 1, 1895	Test 45
New Zealand	England	9	0	68	25	7.55	0		Christchurch	Feb 3, 1984	Test 976
England	Australia	9	0	71	38	7.88	5		Manchester	Aug 30, 1888	Test 30
Zimbabwe	New Zealand	9	0	77	20	8.55	2		Harare	Aug 7, 2005	Test 1759
England	Australia	12	0	78	24	6.50	3		Lord's	Jul 16, 1888	Test 28
England	Australia	9	1	82	18	10.25	1		Birmingham	May 29, 1902	Test 70
Australia	England	11	2	85	15*	9.44	2		Melbourne	Jan 2, 1879	Test 3
West Indies	Australia	11	2	85	24	9.44	4		Kingston	Mar 13, 1999	Test 1451
England	West Indies	9	0	87	22	9.66	2		Leeds	Aug 17, 2000	Test 1508
India	West Indies	9	0	89	25	9.88	1		Kolkata	Dec 10, 1983	Test 971
Australia	South Africa	9	0	93	40	10.33	2		Melbourne	Feb 12, 1932	Test 216
Sri Lanka	Australia	9	0	94	50	10.44	3		Moratuwa	Sep 8, 1992	Test 1196
England	Australia	9	0	96	32	10.66	2		The Oval	Aug 13, 1888	Test 29
Australia	India	9	0	96	29	10.66	1		Sydney	Dec 12, 1947	Test 291
England	Australia	12	0	109	32	9.08	1		The Oval	Aug 11, 1890	Test 34
Australia	New Zealand	12	1	110	28	10.00	4		Perth	Dec 12, 1980	Test 889
Australia	England	12	0	112	44	9.33	1		Sydney	Feb 10, 1888	Test 27
England	Pakistan	9	0	113	29	12.55	1		Leeds	Jul 2, 1987	Test 1077
Pakistan	West Indies	9	1	115	75	14.37	1		Lahore	Nov 7, 1986	Test 1056
South Africa	India	12	0	115	33	9.58	3		Johannesburg	Dec 15, 2006	Test 1823

The middle-order batsmen (Nos. 3, 4 and 5) from both England and Australia scraped together only 60 runs from 12 innings between them at Lord's in 1888 at an average of 5 per dismissal. (Click here for the table.) That match also had the lowest aggregate of scores for batsmen from Nos. 1 to 7 from both teams. In 28 innings between them, the top seven from both teams managed only 190 at an average of 7.03 per dismissal. (Click here for the table.)