Amir continues Trent Bridge's No.11 streak

Just what is it about No.11 batsmen and Trent Bridge?

For the fourth consecutive year, the final batsman to the crease in an international match at the Nottingham venue has defied both history and their lowly position in the batting order to produce a record-breaking performance.

Quick Single: England blast way into ODI history

The first instance in this streak of four is perhaps the one best remembered by Australian fans, the incredible innings of Test debutant Ashton Agar in the opening clash of the 2013 Ashes series.

A shock inclusion in Darren Lehmann's first match as Australia coach, Agar propped up the tourists' batting line-up and strolled to the crease with his side in a world of trouble at 9-117 in their first innings, trailing the hosts by 98 runs.

And the lithesome left-hander wiped off the deficit on his own, falling just two runs short of a century after a 163-run partnership with Phillip Hughes (81 not out) that had the record-keepers scrambling.

Agar's knock of 98 from 101 balls, including 12 fours and two sixes, remains the highest score by a Test No.11 and his stand with Hughes was, at the time, the highest ever for the tenth wicket in Tests.

That record lasted less than a year, when England duo Joe Root and Jimmy Anderson returned to Trent Bridge and combined for a 198-run union against India as Anderson posted a record score of 81 at No.11.

The pair not only set a new mark for the highest partnership for the tenth wicket (their 198 is also higher than the record stand for the ninth wicket), Anderson's Test best performance was the third highest score by a No.11 in history and the highest ever by an Englishman.

Not to be outdone, Anderson's opposing No.11 in that match, India's Mohammad Shami, notched a record of his own with an unbeaten 51, becoming just the second Indian No.11 to post a half-century in Tests as he and Bhuveneshwar Kumar put on 111 for the final wicket, the second-highest partnership from an Indian final-wicket pair.

Twelve months later and the Aussies returned to Nottingham for a match that will live long in the memory for all the wrong reasons.

Ripped out for a record low score of 60 before lunch on the opening day, Australia's hold on the Ashes urn was lost as England charged towards a series-clinching victory.

Amid the carnage, Australia's No.11 Nathan Lyon shared the longest and equal-highest partnership of the innings with No.10 Josh Hazlewood, a lowly 13 runs from 33 balls, which was 13 more deliveries than any of their teammates had managed up the order.

And just last night, Pakistan's Mohammad Amir became the latest No.11 to bat his way into the record books at Trent Bridge in an extraordinary match against England.

Coming to the crease with the game lost at 9-199 in reply to England's world record total of 444, Amir breezily slapped a 28-ball innings of 58 to at least push the victory margin below the 200-run mark.

The left-hander became the first batsman in ODI history to score a fifty batting at No.11, smashing Shoaib Akhtar’s previous record of 43, while his four sixes is the most ever by a No.11 batsman.

Quick Single: Incredible numbers from Trent Bridge

Having brought up his half-century in just 22 balls, Amir also recorded the joint-fastest ODI fifty by a Pakistan batsman not named Shahid Afridi, matching Abdul Razzaq's 22-ball effort against England in 2005.

And the 76-run stand Amir shared with No.10 Yasir Shah for the last wicket was the equal fourth-highest by a final-wicket pair in ODI history.

Agar, Anderson and Amir – a triple A performance at the new home of cricket's batting bunnies.