Monkey, Fat Cat, and a triple-hundred against Australia

Who was the last person to score a triple-century in a Test against Australia? asked Mike Mueller from Australia

The only person to score a Test triple-century against Australia is England's Len Hutton, with 364 at The Oval in 1938. The nearest anyone else has come was also an Englishman - 287 by Reginald "Tip" Foster, on his debut, at Sydney in 1903-04. Next comes VVS Laxman's 281 for India in Kolkata in 2000-01. For a full list of the highest Test scores, click here.

Leaving all the monkey controversies aside, I heard that there was once a player called Monkey. Was it his real name? asked Aditya Anchuri from the United States

The player known as "Monkey" was Albert Hornby, who had a long career with Lancashire: he was their captain for 20 years towards the end of the 19th century. Hornby played three Tests for England, captaining them twice. He captained England at rugby too. He seems to have earned the nickname as he was small and slight (his Wisden obituary estimates that he weighed only about six stone at the start of his career) but almost hyperactive in the field. His Lancashire players, though, usually called him "The Boss".

What is the highest score for the third victim of a hat-trick? asked Brian Thompson from New Zealand

Considering that the third man in a hat-trick usually makes 0, it's rather a surprise to discover that the highest score by the third hat-trick victim in a Test is 237. This was by Pakistan's Saleem Malik, against Australia at Rawalpindi in 1994-95, when he became the third man in Damien Fleming's Test-debut hat-trick. For a full list of Test hat-tricks, click here.

Which former cricketer has the nickname "Fat Cat"? asked Riki Malhotra from India

This is the former Queensland batsman Greg Ritchie, who played 30 Tests for Australia in the 1980s. The comfortably built Ritchie got his nickname for his supposed resemblance to "Fat Cat", a character on Australian children's television (a man dressed in a well-padded catsuit).

What is the highest difference between a batsman's first-innings score and his second-innings score in the same Test match? asked Lachlan France from Australia

The biggest difference between two individual scores in the same Test is 320, by Pakistan's Hanif Mohammad against West Indies at Bridgetown in 1957-58. After making 17 in the first innings, Hanif made a monumental 337 - at 970 minutes, the longest innings in Test history - in the second. Next comes Australia's Bobby Simpson, with 307: against England at Old Trafford in 1964 he made 311 in the first innings - his first Test century - and had time to make four not out in the second innings of the match, which was drawn.

What type of bat did Sir Don Bradman use? asked Quinten Scarbourah from Australia

For most of his career Don Bradman used bats made by the Yorkshire firm William Sykes, who started manufacturing the "Don Bradman Autograph" bat in 1930. The Sykes company was taken over by Slazenger during the Second World War, and the new owners continued making the Bradman Autograph model until around 1950. By coincidence the first new bat Bradman ever owned - a present from his parents after he made a triple-century in a club game - was also a Sykes, bought at the Mick Simmons shop in Sydney where he was later to work.