Pretty old and young things

During the 2011 World Cup 40-year-old John Davison opened the batting in one game with a 16-year-old partner. Is this the greatest difference in ages for team-mates in a one-day international? asked Mark Blake from London
You're talking about Canada's match against Zimbabwe in Nagpur, when Davison (who was indeed 40) opened the batting with Nitish Kumar, who was not 17 until May 2011. I think the difference of more than 24 years must be the biggest between batting partners in an ODI - not that they were together for long, as Davison perished for a duck to the ninth ball of the innings - but I have found an instance of a greater age difference between team-mates. In the 1996 World Cup, Nolan Clarke - at 47 the oldest man ever to play an ODI - played in all the Netherlands' five matches alongside Bas Zuiderent, who celebrated his 19th birthday during the tournament, and was thus more than 28 years Clarke's junior. They didn't bat together, though.

Was Elena Joy Tice, who played for Ireland recently, the youngest person to appear in an ODI and a Twenty20 international? asked Michael Audley from Liverpool
Elena Tice is a legspinner from the Merrion club in Dublin who made her debut for Ireland against the Netherlands in Utrecht earlier this month aged 13 years and 274 days (she was born on November 16, 1997). She is actually the second-youngest person - male or female - to play in an official one-day international: Sajjida Shah of Pakistan was aged just 12 years and 171 days when she played against Ireland in Dublin in July 2000. But Elena is the youngest to appear in a Twenty20 international - she made her debut two days before her first ODI - beating her current team-mate Kim Garth, who was 14 years 174 days old when she made her debut against Pakistan at Potchefstroom in October last year. Sajjida Shah (12 in 2000) also holds the Test record.

Alastair Cook faced 545 balls in his marathon innings of 294 against India in the third Test. Who faced the most number of balls in a Test innings? asked Khurram Malik from Pakistan
The longest innings in terms of balls faced, where these details are known, is Len Hutton's 364 for England against Australia at The Oval in 1938 - the match in which England made 903 for 7 - which lasted for 847 balls and 797 minutes. Next comes Glenn Turner's 259 for New Zealand against West Indies in Georgetown in 1971-72, which occupied 759 balls (704 minutes), while Bob Simpson's 311 for Australia v England at Old Trafford in 1964 lasted 740 balls. I should stress here that we don't have the full balls-faced details for several long innings: we don't know, for example, exactly how many Hanif Mohammad faced during his 337 for Pakistan against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58, which is the longest Test innings in terms of time, at 970 minutes. If Hanif received half the available deliveries during his innings - which lasted around 300 overs - he would have faced 900 balls. For the full list, as far as it is known, click here.

Ian Bell's highest Test score before his recent double-century was 199. Is there anyone else who shares this misfortune? And what about a highest score of 99? asked "LCG" from the United States
Ian Bell made 199 against South Africa at Lord's in 2008 - but obviously left that behind with his 235 against India at The Oval earlier this month. The only two players to finish their Test careers with a highest score of 199 were Mohammad Azharuddin of India (against Sri Lanka in Kanpur in 1986-87) and Australia's Matthew Elliott (v England at Headingley in 1997). Those who ended up with a highest score of 99 are Martyn Moxon, Alex Tudor and Norman Yardley of England, the New Zealanders John Beck and Dipak Patel, the Pakistan pair of Asim Kamal and Maqsood Ahmed, Australia's Shane Warne, and Rusi Surti of India. Tudor was left stranded with 99 not out when England completed victory over New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1999.

I read recently in an ESPNcricinfo column about George Gunn and Younis Ahmed, who had gaps of 17 years between appearing in Test matches. What is the record by an Indian player? asked Sanjay Sharma from Delhi
The largest interval between Test appearances for India is 12 years and 146 days, by Lala Amarnath between 1933-34 and 1946. Amarnath's long gap was caused partly by the war and partly because he was sent home from the 1936 tour of England for alleged insubordination. He beats by a few months the senior Nawab of Pataudi, who played three Tests for England, the last in 1934, and then captained India in their three Tests in England just over 12 years later, in 1946. The overall record, by the way, was set by John Traicos, who went 22 years and 222 days between the last of his three Test appearances for South Africa in 1969-70, and the first of his four for Zimbabwe in 1992-93. For the full list, click here.

How many people have played one-day internationals for two countries? asked Andrew Barton from Manchester
So far six men have appeared in official one-day internationals for two countries. They include the current pair of Ed Joyce (England then Ireland) and Eoin Morgan (Ireland then England). The others are Dougie Brown (England then Scotland), Anderson Cummins (West Indies then Canada), Clayton Lambert (West Indies then the USA) and Kepler Wessels (Australia then South Africa). Brown coached a third country (Namibia) at the World Cup in between his appearances for England and Scotland. For a full list of these two-country men, click here.