Run out for 199, and some other near-misses

Younis Khan was run out for 199 in the Test against India at Lahore - is this unique? asked Gulfraz Ali from Delhi

Younis Khan was the seventh person to be out for 199 in a Test match, but he was the first one to be run out. An unlucky thirteen people have been run out for 99 in Tests (for a full list of 99s - and 199s - click here). During the 2005 English domestic season, Jason Gallian of Nottinghamshire was run out for 199 twice, an unwanted feat that is unique in first-class cricket.

I recently heard that Michael Slater made nine 99s in Tests. This seems like a lot - is it a record? asked Mark Berger from Australia

Fortunately for Michael Slater, he didn't make nine 99s in Tests - but he was out nine times in the nineties (i.e. between 90 and 99), which is indeed a record. Steve Waugh, Slater's sometime team-mate and captain, recorded ten scores in the nineties, but two of those were not outs. As this list shows, among current players Rahul Dravid has had eight Test scores in the nineties and Inzamam-ul-Haq seven, both with one not-out.

Is Jeetan Patel, New Zealand's new offspinner, related to Dipak Patel, who played for them in the 1980s? asked Bob Andrews from Stourbridge

Jeetan Patel, who was born in Wellington in 1980, made his debut for New Zealand last August, and has so far played four one-day internationals for them. As far as I know he is not related to Dipak Patel, who was born in Kenya, was talked of as an England prospect when he played for Worcestershire, and later moved to Auckland. He played 37 Tests and 75 ODIs for New Zealand, with a highest score of 99 at Christchurch in 1991-91 - when he was run out by England's Derek Pringle, who was also born in Kenya.

I remember Kapil Dev taking nine wickets in a Test innings, how many people have missed out on the "Perfect Ten" by just one wicket? asked Mukul Naik from Bangalore

There have been 15 instances of a bowler taking nine wickets in a Test innings: Muttiah Muralitharan is the only man to have done it twice. Jim Laker, who took 9 for 37 for England against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956, went one better in the second innings and took all 10 for 53. The only other bowler to capture all ten wickets in a Test innings is Anil Kumble, for India against Pakistan at Delhi in 1998-99. The unluckiest of the nine-for men was arguably Richard Hadlee, against Australia at Brisbane in 1985-86: he took the first eight wickets to fall, then caught the ninth one off the bowling off Vaughan Brown (it was his only Test wicket). For a full list of bowlers taking nine or ten wickets in an innings, click here.

Who was the bowler who dismissed Don Bradman for 0 in his final Test innings? asked Terry Beale from Aberdeen

The man who brought The Don`s Test career to an end a boundary short of an average of 100 was the legspinner Eric Hollies. It was Bradman's second ball at The Oval in 1948, and Hollies was bowling over the wicket (not round it, as some newsreel films suggest). Bradman groped a little for a googly and was bowled - he later denied that he had "tears in his eyes at the thought that this was his last Test match. Hollies had a long career - he played for Warwickshire from 1932 to 1957, and still heads their wicket-taking lists with 2201 at 20.45. He first played for England in 1934-35, and took 44 wickets in 13 Tests in all. He died in 1981, aged 68.

Has anyone been stranded on 99 in a one-day international when the overs ran out? asked Johnny Boxall from Adelaide

This annoying fate has befallen four batsmen. The first was Bruce Edgar of New Zealand, who was one short of his hundred against India at Auckland in 1980-81 when the overs ran out. At Adelaide in 1984-85 it happened to Dean Jones, for Australia against Sri Lanka (Allan Border did reach three figures, though). Andy Flower was stranded on 99 for Zimbabwe against Australia at Harare in 1999-2000, and so was Ramnaresh Sarwan for West Indies against India at Ahmedabad in 2002-03. In slightly different circumstances, Richie Richardson of West Indies had reached 99 not out when the winning run was scored in a match against Pakistan at Sharjah in 1985-86. A similar bitter-sweet fate awaited Alistair Campbell, for Zimbabwe against New Zealand at Bulawayo in 2000-01. For a full list of batsmen scoring 99 in an ODI, click here.