'If six specialist batsmen haven't done the job for you, then what're the chances that the seventh will?' That's the argument often put forward by those who advocate playing only six specialist batsmen - including the wicketkeeper - in a one-day side, and going with five frontline bowlers. That might be sound logic in a normal one-day game on a normal flat pitch, but in World Cup 2011, conditions haven't been as perfect for batting as was earlier expected, and there's been enough evidence to suggest that a seventh batsman has a key role to perform.

In some of the vital games of the tournament, the runs scored or not scored by the No.7 batsman has gone a long way in deciding the outcome. India have experienced the benefit of changing their personnel at that position in the last two knockout matches. In both matches, Suresh Raina came in to bat at exactly the same score - 187 - at almost the same stage of the innings - after 37.3 overs against Australia in the quarter-final, and after 37 overs against Pakistan. In the first game, there was the danger of a run-chase that seemed in control going completely awry at the end; in the semis, the team could have collapsed for around 230, which would have been a hugely below-par score. On both occasions, Raina kept his composure under pressure, showed superb shot-selection, and batted right till the end to bail India out.

Luke Wright, Colin Ingram and David Hussey are some of others who've made important contributions at No.7. Wright's 44 off 57 on a difficult pitch in Chennai ensured England had enough runs in a must-win game against West Indies. Ingram rescued South Africa after they'd slid to 117 for 5 against Ireland, while Hussey's 38 off 26 balls against India at least Australia a reasonable total to defend.

Batting at No.7 is a tough enough job in ODIs, but it's become even tougher in this tournament because of the nature of the pitches. The turn and the lack of pace has made it extremely difficult for batsmen to get on with the job of run-scoring from the moment they arrive at the crease. In the tournament so far, the No.7s from the nine Test-playing teams have averaged a mere 17.41 runs per wicket, with Ingram's 46 against Ireland being the highest, and Wright's 44 the only other 40-plus score. That's a drop of more than 31% from the average of the No.7 batsman in the couple of years preceding it. Also, there were 23 fifty-plus scores in 357 innings during that period - that's an average of one such score every 15 innings. The difference between the numbers in the last two World Cups are even more prominent - a drop of almost 39%.

No.7s in World Cup 2011, and before*

Period	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s
Jan 2009 - Feb 18, 2011	357	6950	25.45	87.85	2/ 21
In the 2011 World Cup	51	714	17.41	84.39	0/ 0
In the 2007 World Cup	54	967	28.44	87.11	0/ 6

* for the nine Test-playing teams only

The stats by batting position in the 2011 World Cup shows what you'd expect to see - high averages and strike rates for the first four slots, but lower averages and scoring rates for Nos.5 and 6, which indicate that scoring gets tougher against the softer and older ball. Not surprisingly, the overall average and run-rates in the last ten overs in this tournament are only 16.48 and 6.98, down from 21.42 and 7.17 in the couple of years preceding the World Cup.

Stats by batting positions for the top nine teams in World Cup 2011

Position	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s
Openers	5096	42.82	85.30	11/ 27
No.3	2374	41.64	76.65	2/ 18
No.4	2177	41.07	85.87	6/ 11
No.5	1529	33.97	78.77	0/ 13
No.6	1091	24.79	79.75	0/ 4
No.7	714	17.41	84.39	0/ 0

The team-wise stats for No.7 batsmen show that, in terms of runs scored, the two finalists are at the two ends of the spectrum: India's No.7 batsmen have scored the most runs, and Sri Lanka's the least. In five innings, Sri Lanka's No.7 batsmen - Chamara Silva, Angelo Mathews and Chamara Kapugedera - have managed only 41 runs at an average of 10.25. Pakistan have been similarly poor, with Shahid Afridi contributing only 62 in five innings. India's numbers look especially good thanks to Raina, who has scored 70 in 67 balls without being dismissed.

Team-wise stats of No.7 batsmen

Team	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike rate	Highest score
India	7	139	46.33	93.28	36*
New Zealand	6	111	18.50	83.45	35
England	6	98	19.60	82.35	44
Australia	4	91	45.50	118.18	38*
South Africa	6	78	15.60	77.22	46
Pakistan	6	65	10.83	118.18	20
West Indies	6	47	7.83	65.27	24
Bangladesh	5	44	11.00	47.82	21*
Sri Lanka	5	41	10.25	85.41	18

The middle-order problems in this World Cup extend to the No.5 slot as well. In the 2007 World Cup, there were four batsmen who scored more than 200 from the No.5 position: Sri Lanka's Chamara Silva was in excellent form and scored 350 runs at an average of almost 44, while Paul Collingwood and Ramnaresh Sarwan had excellent numbers as well. In this World Cup, Misbah-ul-Haq is the only batsman with more than 200. JP Duminy's 99 against Ireland has been the highest by a No.5 batsman in this World Cup, followed by Kieron Pollard's 94 against the same team. In 2007, Brad Hodge had scored a century, while there were 18 other scores of fifty or more.

Surprisingly, though, the stats for the No.6 position are pretty similar in the two World Cups - in fact, both the average and the strike rates are slightly higher in this tournament than in the previous one. That, though, seems to be an exception in a World Cup that has been a tough one for the lower-middle-order batsmen.

Nos. 5 and 6 in the last two World Cups*

	Innings	Runs	Average	Strike rate	100s/ 50s
No.5 in 2007 World Cup	69	2281	43.86	85.55	1/ 18
No.5 in 2011 World Cup	59	1529	33.97	78.77	0/ 13
No.6 in 2007 World Cup	60	1096	21.49	77.29	0/ 4
No.6 in 2011 World Cup	53	1091	24.79	79.75	0/ 4

* for the nine Test-playing teams only