The five collapses in the past two years which expose Australia’s fragile middle order and Asia weakness

WATCHING batsman after batsman trudging back to the sheds amid another collapse was an all-too-familiar sight for Australian cricket fans — who have seen this movie plenty in the past two years.

Australia's captain Steve Smith reacts as he walks back to the pavilion after his dismissal by India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar during the third day of the fourth and last Test cricket match between India and Australia at The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on March 27, 2017. ----IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE----- / GETTYOUT---- / AFP PHOTO / PRAKASH SINGH / ----IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE----- / GETTYOUT

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AUSTRALIA’s pitiful collapse on Tuesday, losing 10-60 after a promising opening stand, was simply the latest chapter in an all-too-familiar book on a feeble middle order.

Struggles with spin, especially in Asia, have led to Australia developing a reputation for having a brittle batting lineup that can’t handle the pressure.

There’s no doubt the Australian team is missing the class and leadership of banned duo Steve Smith and David Warner — but even their two best batsmen haven’t been able to prevent shocking collapses in the past two years.

Here’s the five worst.

Aaron Finch impressed on debut — but his exit sparked was quickly followed by nine more. Picture: AFP

AUSTRALIA’S CRUMBLING FORTUNES IN ASIA

* DUBAI 2018 (First Test v Pakistan) Tim Paine’s men looked to be well-placed in their first innings with Test debutant Aaron Finch and Usman Khawaja both scoring half-centuries. But Finch’s dismissal soon after lunch set off a disastrous collapse. The tourists lost 10 wickets for just 60 runs to leave Pakistan in the box seat at stumps on day three. Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne both made debut ducks.

* DHAKA 2017 (First Test v Bangladesh) Australia’s batsmen again proved to be fragile on a tough turning track, losing 8-86 either side of lunch on day four to hand Bangladesh a famous 20-run victory. David Warner dug in for an inspired century but Khawaja, Peter Handscomb and Matthew Wade all fell cheaply. Cricket Australia’s high-performance chief Pat Howard labelled the loss “embarrassing”.

Cricket Unfiltered podcast: We give our take on how Aussies will fare against Pakistan for new coach Justin Langer, focus on the JLT Cup big hitters and wrap-up the spicy women’s T20 series against the Kiwis.

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Steve Smith has seen it all before. Picture: Getty

* BANGALORE 2017 (Second Test v India) Australia crumbled in a collapse of 6-11 on a pitch playing plenty of tricks. The visitors failed to capitalise on Nathan Lyon’s record-breaking haul of 8-50 and Steve Smith was embroiled in a fiery dispute with counterpart Virat Kohli over his lbw dismissal as India levelled the series.

* DHARAMSALA 2017 (Fourth Test v India) A scintillating and spiteful series was capped off by India retaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy after Australia lost 7-50 on the way to a second- innings total of 150. Indian spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin each claimed three wickets.

Australia;s Usman Khawaja looks on after being bowled against Sri Lanka at Galle, 2016.

* GALLE 2016 (Second Test v Sri Lanka) A horror show for Australia with the match over early on day three. The visitors only faced 501 balls for the loss of 20 wickets and were all out for 106 in the second innings as Sri Lanka’s spinners ran riot. The result paved the way for a 3-0 series whitewash.

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