Most tons on one ground, and Senator Crowe

Don Bradman scored nine of his 29 Test centuries at the MCG, a record © Getty Images Enlarge

Mahela Jayawardene scored his ninth Test century at the SSC in Colombo recently. Has anyone scored more Test centuries on a single ground? asked Navdeep Singh from Delhi
Mahela Jayawardene's hundred in the Test against India last week was indeed his ninth Test century at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club. This equals the Test record for a single ground, held by the great Australian Don Bradman, who scored nine at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The next-most on any one ground is six, by the England pair of Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan at Lord's, and by Australia's Matthew Hayden at the MCG.

Did Martin Crowe make an uncredited appearance in his cousin Russell Crowe's Oscar-winning movie, Gladiator? asked Shailendra Rao from India
This rang a very faint bell, but I couldn't find any trace of it, so asked Martin Crowe himself. He's now an executive producer for Sky TV in New Zealand, and here's what he said: "Yes, along with father Dave, brother Jeff, uncle Alex and cousin Terry, we all got dressed up as senators and featured during a day's shooting in the Coliseum, although we were never to be seen in the final edit. This was while we were visiting Russell while shooting in Malta. This was done in between cricket matches between the Crowe XI (made up of five Crowes and other actors) and the Maltese national team. We lost both close-fought games, even despite my fighting century and five-wicket haul in the first game! I failed miserably in the second match due to poor preparation the night before. All good fun."

Which international cricketer started his Test career with the wicket of David Gower and ended by claiming two wickets in his final match - Brian Lara in each innings? asked David Reinecke from South Africa
This sounds a bit like a quiz question, so I apologise in advance if I'm spoiling it for somebody else. The mystery man is the Australian left-armer Mike Whitney, who made a surprise Test debut against England at Old Trafford, when his first victim was David Gower. And in his last Test, against West Indies in Melbourne in 1992-93, Whitney took one wicket in each innings - Brian Lara both times. Whitney finished up with 39 Test wickets at 33.97.

In Test cricket, what is the lowest strike-rate of a batsman to reach a century? asked Haris Bantvawala from the Netherlands
The slowest century in Test cricket took 557 minutes, by Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar against England in Lahore in 1977-78. It beat (if that's the right word) Jackie McGlew's 545-minute hundred for South Africa against Australia in Durban in 1957-58. Mudassar reached three figures in 420 balls. For a full list, click here.

The mention in last week's column of Peter Philpott reminded me that I thought he took a wicket with his first ball in a Test - but he doesn't appear on Cricinfo's list. Am I right? asked George Sparr from Adelaide
You're not quite right, I'm afraid. The Australian legspinner Peter Philpott actually took a wicket with his secondball in Test cricket, having the West Indian opener Conrad Hunte caught behind in the first Test in Kingston in 1964-65. Philpott wrote: "My second ball turned just a little to find the outside edge of a lazy Hunte defensive shot and allowed Wally Grout to do the rest. My figures were 1 for 0, and I could believe that life begins at 30." For the list of bowlers who took a wicket with their first ball in a Test, click here.

Who has made the most runs in one-day internationals without making a hundred? asked Deb Bhatt from Mumbai
The man on top of this particular list is also the leading ODI wicket-taker - Wasim Akram. In addition to his 502 wickets he also scored 3717 runs, with a highest score of 86 against Australia in the first World Series final in Melbourne in 1989-90. Another Pakistani lies second: Moin Khan made 3266 runs in ODIs, with a highest score of 72 not out. They are the only two to have made more than 3000 runs without a century - Zimbabwe's Heath Streak comes next with 2943. For the full list, click here.