Twin Test nineties, and most sixes in an innings

I spotted that Gordon Greenidge of West Indies was out for 91 and 97 in a Test in New Zealand in 1979-80, and wondered if that somewhat unenviable record was unique to him? asked Hamish Douch

That record is unique to Greenidge, but not quite in the way you mean. That match at Christchurch was actually the second time it had happened to him - he also made 91 and 96 against Pakistan at Georgetown in 1976-77. There were two earlier instances of this: at Adelaide in 1901-02 Clem Hill was out for 98 and 97 (he'd actually been out for 99 in the innings before that, a triple near-miss), while at Lord's in 1921 Frank Woolley made 95 and 93 against Australia.

Does John Reid still hold the record for most sixes in a first-class innings? asked Robin Johnson from Auckland

Reid did hold that record for more then 30 years, after smashing 15 sixes in his 296 for Wellington against Northern Districts at the Basin Reserve in 1962-63. But the mark was eclipsed in 1995, when Andrew Symonds hit 16 in his unbeaten 254 for Gloucestershire against Glamorgan at the Pen-y-Pound ground in Abergavenny. Wisden reported that the 16th six "landed on a tennis court about 20 feet over the boundary", and added that "though he was undoubtedly helped by the short boundaries, it would have been a hugely effective innings on any ground in the world". Symonds added four more sixes in the second innings, to beat the old record of 17 in a match, set by Warwickshire's Jim Stewart against Lancashire at Blackpool in 1959. For a fuller list click here.

Hamish Marshall scored 740 runs in his first 20 one-dayers, which seems pretty good. Is it anywhere near a record, for New Zealand or anyone? asked Chris Barraclough from New Zealand

Hamish Marshall, who has only featured in one Test (a rain-affected one in December 2000, in which he scored 40 not out), actually comes in a very respectable 19th overall in that one-day list. On top is Viv Richards, who plundered 994 runs in his first 20 ODIs, while Yasir Hameed of Pakistan, with 917, is the only other man to manage more than 900. Next, rather surprisingly for a man thought of primarily as a Test player, is England's Chris Broad, with 891: he's just ahead of the top New Zealander, Glenn Turner (886). Next come Allan Lamb (852), Greg Chappell (843) and Zaheer Abbas (827). There are two other New Zealanders between Turner and Marshall: Andrew Jones (821) and John Wright (745).

Following on from the recent question about Hanif Mohammad sharing four century stands in the same Test innings, has anyone featured in more than one double-century stand in the same innings? asked Andy Franks from Southampton

This feat has actually been achieved six times in Tests now, most recently by Brian Lara during his 400 not out against England in Antigua earlier this year, when he put on 232 with Ramnaresh Sarwan and an unbroken 282 with Ridley Jacobs. The other instances involved Len Hutton (364) for England v Australia at The Oval in 1938; Tom Graveney (258) for England v West Indies at Trent Bridge in 1957; Bobby Simpson (311) for Australia v England at Old Trafford in 1964; Grant Flower (201*) for Zimbabwe v Pakistan at Harare in 1994-95; and Matthew Hayden (380) for Australia v Zimbabwe at Perth in 2003-04.

Who is the only player to be out for 99 in a World Cup match? asked Sharath Narayan

There have been 29 individual scores in the nineties in the World Cup, some of them not-outs, but the only dismissal for 99 came in the last World Cup, in 2003. At Centurion Adam Gilchrist was one short of three figures when he was run out by Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka.

Matthew Hayden just scored his 20th century in only his 55th Test. Obviously Don Bradman must have been faster to 20 tons - but is Hayden second? asked Jason Keane from Sydney

You're right, Don Bradman is first - he scored his 20th century in just his 35th Test. Matt Hayden is third, just behind Sunil Gavaskar, whose 20th hundred came up in his 50th match. Sachin Tendulkar and Garry Sobers both got there in 69 Tests, Neil Harvey in 70, and Wally Hammond in 72. Slowest to 20 centuries was Steve Waugh, in 119 Tests, just ahead of ... Mark Waugh (116).