The run machines

Two Test matches begin in the southern hemisphere on Thursday, in Perth and in Centurion, and in both those games, the visiting side from the north is entering the contest in formidable batting form. England scored totals in excess of 500 in each of the first two Ashes Tests, while India have made more than 300 in at least one innings of their previous 24 matches. This week's column is about teams that have scored above (and below) a certain level in the most consecutive Tests.

If England make more than 500 again at the WACA, they will equal their longest streak of consecutive Tests with 500-plus totals. They've managed to do it three times in a row on two occasions, both in the 21st century. Against Sri Lanka in 2002, England made 529 at Lord's, 545 at Edgbaston and 512 at Old Trafford. They drew the first game and won the next two. The next time they did it was in the Caribbean in 2009, when they made 566 in Antigua, 600 in Barbados and 546 in Trinidad. All those Tests were drawn.

So far on the tour of Australia, England have made 517 in Brisbane and 620 in Adelaide. Should they make 500-plus in Perth, they'll have a shot at equaling the longest streak of matches with such totals when they go to Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test. No team has done it in more than four consecutive matches. If England make 600 at the WACA, though, it will be the first time they are stringing together totals of 600-plus in two consecutive Tests. It's been done eight times before - by Australia, West Indies, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Australia are on a roll too, a roll of smaller scores though. They managed to scrape past 300 during the second innings of the defeat in Adelaide, which extended their present unbroken stretch of at least one 300-plus total in a Test to 26 matches . They've won 13 of those games but lost nine. Australia also hold the record - 34 consecutive Tests with 300 or more in each of them.

India's present run of 24 Tests began against Australia in Bangalore in 2008, and they've won 13 of those matches and lost only two. If India make 300 at Centurion, they'll draw level with South Africa, who had a score of 300 in at least one innings of 25 Tests between March 2002 and August 2004.

India's streak also contains the longest stretch of matches in which a team has scored more than 400 in at least one innings. Between December 2008 and January 2010, India made more than 400 in nine straight matches, equaling Australia's run in 1989 and South Africa's in 1999-00. The innings defeat to South Africa in Nagpur in February ended that spell, but India began a new one in Sri Lanka in July, and have scored more than 400 in seven consecutive Tests since.

Most consecutive Tests with a score greater than or equal to 300

Team	Mat		Start Match	Opposition	Scorecard		End Match	Opposition	Scorecard
Australia	34		Aug 16, 2001	v England	Test 1556		Mar 24, 2004	v Sri Lanka	Test 1691
Australia	26		Nov 28, 2008	v New Zealand	Test 1896		Dec 3, 2010	v England	Test 1983
South Africa	25		Mar 8, 2002	v Australia	Test 1593		Aug 4, 2004	v Sri Lanka	Test 1709
India	24		Oct 9, 2008	v Australia	Test 1887		Nov 20, 2010	v New Zealand	Test 1978
Australia	22		Nov 18, 2004	v New Zealand	Test 1721		Mar 24, 2006	v South Africa	Test 1792
Australia	17		Apr 9, 2006	v Bangladesh	Test 1797		Oct 9, 2008	v India	Test 1887
Pakistan	15		Aug 22, 1974	v England	Test 744		Dec 14, 1977	v England	Test 810
England	15		Apr 10, 2004	v West Indies	Test 1696		Jun 3, 2005	v Bangladesh	Test 1753
Australia	13		Dec 14, 1928	v England	Test 177		Feb 13, 1931	v West Indies	Test 205
West Indies	13		Mar 16, 1984	v Australia	Test 983		Dec 22, 1984	v Australia	Test 1005
Australia	13		Jan 26, 1989	v West Indies	Test 1113		Jan 19, 1990	v Pakistan	Test 1135
England	12		Jun 23, 1928	v West Indies	Test 173		Jul 27, 1929	v South Africa	Test 184
Australia	12		Jul 27, 1961	v England	Test 510		Feb 7, 1964	v South Africa	Test 555
India	12		Feb 11, 1977	v England	Test 795		Dec 29, 1978	v West Indies	Test 839
South Africa	12		Dec 26, 1998	v West Indies	Test 1437		Jan 2, 2000	v England	Test 1482
England	11		Jul 23, 1964	v Australia	Test 564		Jul 22, 1965	v South Africa	Test 594
England	10		Jan 11, 1930	v West Indies	Test 187		Jul 11, 1930	v Australia	Test 196
West Indies	10		Mar 19, 1971	v India	Test 684		Mar 9, 1973	v Australia	Test 716
Australia	10		Aug 10, 1972	v England	Test 702		Dec 29, 1973	v New Zealand	Test 728
India	10		Aug 30, 1979	v England	Test 854		Dec 16, 1979	v Pakistan	Test 865
Australia	10		Jun 3, 1993	v England	Test 1223		Dec 26, 1993	v South Africa	Test 1242
Australia	10		Sep 28, 1994	v Pakistan	Test 1268		Apr 8, 1995	v West Indies	Test 1295
Australia	10		Nov 23, 2000	v West Indies	Test 1516		Jul 19, 2001	v England	Test 1552
Sri Lanka	10		Dec 15, 2006	v New Zealand	Test 1822		Mar 22, 2008	v West Indies	Test 1869

Matches in which teams have been dismissed for scores less than 100 in the modern day are pretty rare. Consecutive matches are rarer so Pakistan's twin implosions against England at Trent Bridge and Edgbaston in August make the list. No team is ever going to beat Australia's 19th-century run of sub-100 scores though. Between August 1886 and 1888, they were dismissed for less than 100 in seven consecutive Tests. They lost six of those matches to England but won at Lord's by 61 runs.

Australia also endured a period between 1885 and 1890 in which they were dismissed for less than 200 in at least one innings of 12 consecutive Tests. That remained the longest such streak for more than 100 years, until Bangladesh joined the fraternity and were skittled for sub-200 totals in 14 consecutive Tests between 2001 and 2003.

Most consecutive Tests with a score less than 200 (when all out only)

Team	Mat		Start Match	Opposition	Scorecard		End Match	Opposition	Scorecard
Bangladesh	14		Dec 18, 2001	v New Zealand	Test 1577		Jul 25, 2003	v Australia	Test 1652
Australia	12		Mar 21, 1885	v England	Test 21		Aug 11, 1890	v England	Test 34
South Africa	8		Mar 12, 1889	v England	Test 31		Apr 1, 1899	v England	Test 59
New Zealand	8		Jun 5, 1958	v England	Test 454		Dec 8, 1961	v South Africa	Test 515
West Indies	8		Jun 29, 2000	v England	Test 1503		Dec 26, 2000	v Australia	Test 1525
Bangladesh	8		May 25, 2007	v India	Test 1833		Feb 29, 2008	v South Africa	Test 1865
Australia	7		Dec 1, 1978	v England	Test 834		Mar 10, 1979	v Pakistan	Test 849
England	7		Feb 21, 1986	v West Indies	Test 1036		Jun 19, 1986	v India	Test 1047
Australia	6		Feb 26, 1904	v England	Test 81		Jul 24, 1905	v England	Test 86
South Africa	6		Feb 17, 1911	v Australia	Test 114		Jul 15, 1912	v Australia	Test 125
South Africa	6		Aug 12, 1912	v England	Test 128		Feb 27, 1914	v England	Test 134
Australia	6		Feb 12, 1932	v South Africa	Test 216		Feb 23, 1933	v England	Test 224
England	6		Jan 2, 1999	v Australia	Test 1439		Nov 25, 1999	v South Africa	Test 1471
England	5		Jan 29, 1898	v Australia	Test 56		Jun 1, 1899	v Australia	Test 60
England	5		Jan 2, 1906	v South Africa	Test 88		Mar 30, 1906	v South Africa	Test 92
Pakistan	5		Jun 10, 1954	v England	Test 387		Jan 1, 1955	v India	Test 394
South Africa	5		Feb 7, 1958	v Australia	Test 449		Jul 7, 1960	v England	Test 494
England	5		Jun 19, 1997	v Australia	Test 1370		Aug 21, 1997	v Australia	Test 1377
India	5		Dec 10, 1999	v Australia	Test 1476		Mar 2, 2000	v South Africa	Test 1486
Zimbabwe	5		Dec 27, 2001	v Sri Lanka	Test 1581		Feb 28, 2002	v India	Test 1591
Bangladesh	5		Jun 4, 2004	v West Indies	Test 1703		Dec 17, 2004	v India	Test 1727
West Indies	5		Jun 3, 2005	v Pakistan	Test 1754		Nov 17, 2005	v Australia	Test 1771
Bangladesh	5		May 26, 2005	v England	Test 1751		Feb 28, 2006	v Sri Lanka	Test 1784