No ducks, no run-outs, no sixes

Lindwall: possibly the quickest bowler to have made a Test century © PA Photos Enlarge

Who is the fastest bowler to score a Test century? I know Larwood made a 98, Ray Lindwall scored two centuries, and Hadlee, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan all scored some too - is there anyone faster who has managed one? asked Thomas Hainsworth from Australia

That's an interesting one, and I don't suppose we'll ever know the precise answer. The only name I would add to the ones you mention is the Australian Jack Gregory, who reputedly bowled very fast in England in 1921. He also scored two centuries, one of them the fastest in Test history in terms of time, in just 70 minutes in Johannesburg in 1921-22. I think my vote as the fastest bowler ever to have made a Test century would be between him and Ray Lindwall, who also made two. If Harold Larwood had managed two more in the innings you mention - he scored 98 after going in as night-watchman in the last Test of the 1932-33 Bodyline series, in Sydney - then we'd probably have a more definitive answer. And I suspect that Brett Lee is a good enough batsman to score a Test century one day, which would end the argument ... probably.

Who has played the most ODIs and Test matches without ever bowling a single delivery? asked Manoo Bassi from Canada

A pair of Australian wicketkeepers lead the way here. Adam Gilchrist played 287 one-day internationals without ever bowling, and his predecessor Ian Healy appeared in 119 Test matches without bowling either. Among non-wicketkeepers the records are held by Stephen Fleming, who played in 111 Tests without bowling, while Herschelle Gibbs has so far played 227 ODIs without ever turning his arm over.

AB de Villiers holds the current record for the most Test runs without a duck. Who holds the corresponding record in one-day internationals? asked Keith D'Souza from Nigeria

This particular record seems to be a South African speciality. Three men have scored over 1000 runs in ODIs without ever being dismissed for a duck: Jacques Rudolph made 1174 runs and Peter Kirsten 1293, but the runaway leader, with 3367 runs and no ducks, is Kepler Wessels, who played 54 ODIs for Australia and 55 for his native South Africa. In Tests, AB de Villiers leads the way with 2571 runs and no ducks. Six other players have made more than 1000 Test runs without ever being out for 0: the only current one is Pakistan's Yasir Hameed (1450 runs in 23 Tests).

How many batsmen have played over 100 innings in either ODIs or Tests, without being run out? asked Khurram Aziz from Austria

Four men managed to go through an entire Test career of more than 100 innings without ever being run out. The England pair of Peter May and Graeme Hick had 106 and 114 innings respectively, while Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar had 116 Test innings without ever being run out. But the clear winner is India's Kapil Dev, who had 184 innings in Tests without ever being run out. No one has ever managed 100 innings in ODIs without being run out: the record was held by England's Nasser Hussain, with 69 before he was finally caught short of his ground. This general subject was covered in a recent The List column on Cricinfo.

Which player has scored the most runs in ODIs without ever hitting a six? Was it Manoj Prabhakar? asked Kaustubh from India

According to Statsguru, only three players have made more than 1000 runs in one-day internationals without managing a six. England's Geoff Boycott made 1082, and the Zimbabwean Dion Ebrahim managed 1443. But the clear winner here is, as you suspected, the Indian allrounder Manoj Prabhakar, who scored 1858 runs in ODIs without ever hitting a six. There is one caveat: we don't have the full details for the match against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad in 1989-90. Prabhakar scored 11 not out in that game, so it's just possible he managed to clear the ropes that day.

Regarding last week's question about people making their Test debut on their birthday, Graeme Hick played his first ODI on his birthday in 1991. How many more are there? asked Chris Wilson from Melbourne

Neatly, just as there were 11 people who made their Test debut on their birthday, there's a complete XI for those making their one-day international debut on their birthday too. Graeme Hick is one of three England players, alongside Chris Lewis and Ian Salisbury. The others are Bev Congdon and Martin Snedden from New Zealand, India's Gursharan Singh (his only ODI), Murray Bennett of Australia, Pakistan's Asif Mujtaba, Grant Paterson of Zimbabwe, the Bangladeshi Morshed Ali Khan, and South Africa's Vernon Philander, who marked his 22nd birthday last year by taking 4 for 12 against Irelandin Belfast.