Huge loss indeed

Mohammad Yousuf has been a prolific run scorer in Pakistani middle order averaging more than 60 in last five and the half years time

After seeing what this cricket board has done with the formidable heavy weight middle order of Pakistan cricket team, I think we don't need foes to destroy us as these three middle-order positions for Pakistan have been among the world's best, and even more successful than the more acclaimed middle orders of Australia and India, They average 51.85, which is next only to Sri Lanka's 55.15, and their tally of 31 centuries in 40 Tests means that, on average, there is one centurion among Pakistan's Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in three out of four Tests!

Team-wise middle-order stats (Nos. 3-5) in Tests since 2005

Team	No. of players	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Sri Lanka	13	45	11,582	55.15	36/ 44
Pakistan	17	40	10,579	51.85	31/ 45
Australia	14	60	14,112	51.50	44/ 64
South Africa	13	59	12,703	47.22	41/ 54
India	14	55	11,797	45.72	33/ 60
England	16	70	14,754	42.88	41/ 61
West Indies	22	50	10,216	41.02	29/ 48
New Zealand	22	42	7802	36.97	14/ 41
Bangladesh	17	34	4452	22.59	3/ 24
Zimbabwe	8	8	941	20.02	0/ 6

Not surprisingly, all three of Pakistan's heavyweights find a place among the world's best middle-order batsmen since 2005. Younis and Yousuf have similar averages, of just over 60, while Inzamam isn't far behind with 57.40. Sri Lanka's two jewels lead the way, but India and England go completely unrepresented in the top 12. India's best during this period has been Sachin Tendulkar (average 51.10), while Kevin Pietersen has topped for England with an average of 49.91.

Best middle-order batsmen (Nos. 3-5) in Tests since 2005 (Qualification: 1500 runs)

Batsman	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Kumar Sangakkara	43	4103	62.16	14/ 14
Mahela Jayawardene	45	4333	61.90	15/ 13
Younis Khan	32	3273	60.61	10/ 11
Mohammad Yousuf	33	3364	60.07	12/ 11
Shivnarine Chanderpaul	46	3531	57.88	10/ 21
Inzamam-ul-Haq	20	1550	57.40	5/ 8
Ricky Ponting	60	5480	57.08	19/ 25
Jacques Kallis	55	4627	55.74	17/ 19
Thilan Samaraweera	33	2500	55.55	7/ 15
Brian Lara	19	1859	53.11	8/ 2
Michael Clarke	47	3468	51.76	11/ 15
Michael Hussey	47	3467	51.74	10/ 18

The partnership stats for the middle-order wickets tell a similar story: Sri Lanka lead the way with an average of 55.23, while Pakistan follow at 51.17. That average means Pakistan's three middle-order wickets put together about 153 runs; in the first innings of the Lord's Test, those three wickets only managed 38.

Team-wise partnership stats for wickets 3-5 in Tests since 2005

Team	Innings	Runs	Average stand	100/ 50 p'ships
Sri Lanka	224	11,875	55.23	41/ 38
Pakistan	217	10,695	51.17	31/ 48
India	278	12,718	47.81	35/ 55
Australia	296	13,483	46.81	36/ 58
South Africa	299	13,279	46.75	33/ 56
England	361	15,569	44.73	46/ 61
West Indies	271	10,859	40.97	28/ 49
New Zealand	219	7736	36.49	16/ 31
Zimbabwe	48	1185	24.68	1/ 8
Bangladesh	199	4455	22.50	4/ 24

When Younis and Yousuf got together, they were more prolific than any other middle-order pair, averaging more than 100 runs per completed partnership. In the 24 innings they batted together, they added at least 50 runs on 15 occasions, and went on to a century stand seven times. The Indian bowling attack was clearly their favourite: in nine innings against them, the pair added a whopping 1372 runs and averaged 171.50, with six century stands. They're the only Pakistan pair in the top eight, though; Australia and Sri Lanka have two representatives each.

Best pairs for wickets 3-5 in Tests since 2005 (Qual: 1000 runs)

Pair	Innings	Runs	Average stand	100/ 50 p'ships
Mohammad Yousuf-Younis Khan	24	2358	107.18	7/ 8
Michael Clarke-Marcus North	13	1026	78.92	5/ 0
AB de Villiers-Jacques Kallis	28	1967	78.68	9/ 5
Mahela Jayawardene-Thilan Samaraweera	26	1808	72.32	8/ 2
Michael Clarke-Ricky Ponting	16	1082	72.13	3/ 3
Mahela Jayawardene-Kumar Sangakkara	43	2839	66.02	6/ 13
Sourav Ganguly-Sachin Tendulkar	19	1175	61.84	4/ 5
Paul Collingwood-Kevin Pietersen	40	2404	61.64	8/ 9

While Pakistan's strength over the last five-and-a-half years has been their batsmen at positions three to five, their opening combinations and their No. 6 batsmen have hardly kept pace. At No. 6, Pakistan's batting average is an ordinary 32.04, and only West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh have done worse. Pakistan have tried 11 batsmen at that position, but most of them have struggled. Shoaib Malik's 19 innings have fetched only one century, and an average of 34, while Faisal Iqbal's 10 innings brought him meager returns of 184 runs.

Team-wise stats of No. 6 batsmen in Tests since 2005

Team	No. of players	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
India	9	55	3323	45.52	6/ 23
Sri Lanka	10	45	2745	44.27	6/ 12
South Africa	12	59	3307	39.36	5/ 18
Australia	13	60	3316	38.11	8/ 18
England	11	70	3886	38.09	11/ 21
Zimbabwe	4	8	490	35.00	1/ 2
Pakistan	11	40	2083	32.04	4/ 11
West Indies	15	50	2517	29.96	2/ 14
New Zealand	15	42	1845	28.82	4/ 4
Bangladesh	9	34	1496	24.12	2/ 4

Post Script: Stats and Excerpt taken from Cricinfo.com