The Don's average, and the cricketing Bolt

I know that Sir Don Bradman finished his career with a Test average of 99.94. But would he have finished above 100 if he had not played his last Test? asked Dhanushka Edussuriya from Sri Lanka
This is an appropriate question, since it is the 100th anniversary of Sir Donald Bradman's birth tomorrow (August 27). The Don went in to his final Test, against England at The Oval in 1948, with an average of 101.39, after having scored 33 and 173 not out (his 29th and last century, in his 51st Test) in the previous match at Headingley, where he led "The Invincibles" to a remarkable seven-wicket victory after they were set 404 to win. Statistics weren't so instant in those days, so I doubt whether Bradman actually knew he needed four runs to maintain his three-figure average. He also didn't know for sure that it would be his last innings - his famous second-ball duck, at the hands of the Warwickshire legspinner Eric Hollies, came in Australia's first innings and made the score 117 for 2. Since the Aussies had already bowled England out for 52, an innings victory was on the cards, but it was by no means certain that Bradman would not have to bat again (he would have needed to make 104, or 4 not out, to average 100 if he had gone in a second time).

Someone told me that the Olympic sprint gold medallist Usain Bolt was a keen cricketer. Is this true? asked Ashok Deshpande from India
Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter who set world records in winning both the 100- and 200-metre sprints at the Beijing Olympics, admitted in one of his victory press conferences that he "batted and bowled" in his teens before making the move to athletics. He also said that he enjoyed watching cricket - especially Chris Gayle (a fellow Jamaican) and Sachin Tendulkar, who he named as his two favourite batsmen, and the Australians Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden. Earlier in the year Bolt told the BBC: "I started playing cricket when I was young, then my cricket coach saw me running and decided that I should try track and field. In the cricket season I help my brother out training, but otherwise I don't play now."

Sourav Ganguly scored a century in his debut Test, Rahul Dravid scored one in his 100th Test. But has anyone scored centuries in both his first and 100th Tests? asked Tulasi Ram Reddy from India
So far six men have scored a hundred in their 100th Test match. England's Colin Cowdrey - the first man to play in 100 Tests too - was the first, against Australia at Edgbaston in 1968. He has been followed by Javed Miandad (145 for Pakistan v India in Lahore in 1989-90; Gordon Greenidge (149 for West Indies v England in St John's in 1989-90); Alec Stewart (105 for England v West Indies at Old Trafford in 2000); Inzamam-ul-Haq (184 for Pakistan v India in Bangalore in 2004-05); and Ricky Ponting (120 and 143 not out for Australia v South Africa in Sydney in 2005-06). Rahul Dravid didn't do it: he made 52 and 9 in his 100th Test, against England in Mumbai in 2005-06. Of these, only Greenidge, with 107 (after 93 in the first innings) against India at Bangalore in 1974-75, and Javed Miandad, with 163 against New Zealand in Lahore in 1976-77, also made a century in their first Tests. For the full list of batsmen who have scored a century on Test debut, click here.

Which team has scored the most runs on one day of a Test match, and where did this happen? asked Alexei from Jamaica
The most runs by one side on any day in a Test match is 509, by Sri Lanka against Bangladesh at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium in Colombo in 2002 - they started the second day at 32 for 0, finished it with 541 for 9 and declared. The previous record was 503, by England against South Africa at Lord's in 1924 - they started the second day at 28 for 0, and declared before the end with 531 for 2. South Africa made 19 without loss before the close, meaning that 522 runs in all were scored in the day by both sides. That lies second on the all-time Test list to the second day of the England-India match at Old Trafford in 1936, when a grand total of 588 runs were scored - England took their score from 173 for 2 to 571 for 8 declared, then India scored 190 for 0. For a full list, click here.

Further to last week's question about the most ODI runs on a single ground, who holds the corresponding record for bowlers? asked Asad Chawla from Kolkata
The leader here is Wasim Akram, who took 122 wickets in ODIs in Sharjah, eight more than his long-time new-ball partner, Waqar Younis managed there. Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan lies third and fourth on this list, with 82 in Sharjah and 64 at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Murali occupies the first three places on the Test list, with 160 wickets at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, 117 in Kandy and 96 in Galle. For the full ODI list, click here.

On how many occasions has a batsman carried his bat in a Test innings, without completing a century? asked Muhammad Zubair from Pakistan
This is actually more common that you might think. There have been 42 instances in Tests of a batsman carrying his bat (click here for the full list), and on 19 of those occasions the batsman concerned finished up with less than 100. Perhaps the most famous instance - and certainly the nearest miss - came in Perth in 1979-80, when England's Geoff Boycott was left stranded on 99 not out when the last man (Bob Willis) was out.