Umpiring hundreds, and gaps between one-dayers

Has anyone umpired in 100 Test matches? asked Sally Waugh from Perth, Australia

No, not yet - but someone is about to. Steve Bucknor has so far stood in 99 Test matches, and he's due to hit the century when he officiates in the second Test between India and Pakistan which starts in Kolkata on March 16. He's going to receive a special ICC "Golden Bails" award to mark the occasion. Second to Bucknor on the list at the moment is England's David Shepherd, who has stood in 86 Tests. For a full list, click here. "Shep" leads the way in ODIs, though - so far he's stood in 165 of them, well ahead of Rudi Koertzen (132) and Bucknor (131). Click here for that list.

Jeff Wilson recently reappeared in New Zealand's one-day side after almost 12 years out. Does any player come close to this gap in caps? asked N Mayo

No, no-one comes terribly close in ODIs to the record of Jeff Wilson, who played his first four one-dayers against Australia in 1992-93, when he was only 19, before embarking on his very successful international rugby career. Wilson played his fourth ODI on March 28, 1993 at Auckland, and his fifth one at Christchurch on February 22, 2005. The previous record was nine years and nine months, by England's Wayne Larkins between 1979-80 and 1989-90. Next comes Errol Stewart, the South African wicketkeeper, with about eight years seven months between his fifth ODI - against Australia at Sydney in 1993-94 - and his sixth and last one, against Bangladesh at Potchefstroom in 2002-03.

Who holds the record for the fastest Test century? asked Muhammad Ali from Canada

There are two ways of looking at this - the fastest in terms of time, and the fastest by balls faced, which is the usual yardstick these days. The problem is we don't have accurate balls-faced information for some of the earlier innings. However, it's generally agreed that the fastest hundred, by balls received, was by Viv Richards, for West Indies against England in his native Antigua in 1985-86. That took him just 56 balls, 11 faster than the next on the list, Jack Gregory's 67-ball century for Australia against South Africa at Johannesburg in 1921-22. That one, at 70 minutes, is the fastest in terms of time. For a longer list, and details of the fastest doubleand triple-centuries in Tests, click here.

Who has hit the most sixes in Test history? asked Judith Henry

The leader now is Chris Cairns of New Zealand, who hit 87 sixes in his 62-Test career - that's 522 of his total of 3320 runs, or 15.73%. Last year Cairns passed the previous record-holder, Viv Richards, who hit 84 sixes in 121 Tests. Next come Clive Lloyd (70), Brian Lara (69), Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden (68) and Ian Botham (67). Down the list a little comes Michael Holding, who hit 36 sixes - but only scored 910 runs in Tests, which means that 23.74% of his Test runs came in the form of over-the-boundary hits. For a full list of Test cricket's top six-hitters, click here. In one-day internationals it's Pakistan's Shahid Afridi who leads the way, with 192 in 199 matches, just ahead of Sanath Jayasuriya (188). Click here for the ODI list.

Has anyone ever taken 100 ODI wickets in a calendar year? asked Leroy Miller from Bridgetown, Barbados

No, the most one-day wickets that any bowler has managed in a calendar year is 69, by Saqlain Mushtaq of Pakistan in 1997. He played in 36 matches, and averaged 18.73. He broke the previous record of 65, set the year before by ... himself. The record for someone who isn't Saqlain is 62, by Shane Warne in 1999. Three bowlers have taken 61 ODI wickets in a year - Pakistan's Abdul Razzaq and Shaun Pollock of South Africa in 2000, and India's Anil Kumble in 1996. For a full list, click here.

Who has been run out the most in Tests? Is it Inzamam-ul-Haq? asked David Cohen from Australia

The leader in Tests is Allan Border, who was run out 12 times in his 265 innings. Carl Hooper and Garry Sobers were both run out 10 times. The leader in terms of percentages, of those who had at least 20 completed innings, is a current player, in the Sri Lankan Thilan Samaraweera - his 27 dismissals include five run-outs (18.75%). Inzamam-ul-Haq has a very respectable record in Tests - only three of his 144 dismissals to date (2.08%) have been via run-outs. It's a slightly different story in ODIs, though, where Inzamam has been run out 37 times so far - just one behind the leader in the clubhouse, Wasim Akram. Sri Lanka's Marvan Atapattu has been run out 34 times to date.