Are New Zealand's four golden ducks against Sri Lanka a T20I record?

New Zealand had four golden ducks against Sri Lanka last week. Was this a record for a T20Is? asked Martin Surgenor from New Zealand
There were four first-ballers in New Zealand's innings against Sri Lanka in Pallekele last week, three of them inflicted by Lasith Malinga during his stunning burst of four wickets in four balls, and the other one by Akila Dananjaya. This was the second time this had happened: West Indies also lost four batsmen first ball against Bangladesh in the World T20 in Mirpur in 2013-14 - that included Lendl Simmons, who was stumped off a wide.

The record for the most ducks in a T20I innings was also broken recently, on August 30. The previous mark was six but, playing against the Czech Republic in the Romania Cup in Ilfov, eight of Turkey's batsmen failed to score as they limped to 21 all out, a new record low for men's T20Is. Turkey had set the previous mark of 28 the day before, against Luxembourg.

How many runs does Steve Smith need at The Oval to set a record for four Tests in a series? asked Michael Day from Australia
Following his 211 and 82 at Old Trafford, Steve Smith goes to The Oval with 671 runs in the current series, having missed one of the matches. He needs 159 runs in the final Test to set a new record: Viv Richards made 829 in four Tests for West Indies in England in 1976 (when he sat out one of the five matches in the series because of illness). Sunil Gavaskar missed the first of India's five Tests in the West Indies in 1970-71, but scored 774 runs in the next four.

Smith already holds the record for a four-Test series, with 769 against India in Australia in 2014-15.For the full list showing most runs in a Test series. click here

When Australia scored 497 in the fourth Test, no bowler conceded more than 100 runs. Was this the highest such total? asked Neil Treeby from the United States
Australia's 497 for 8 declared at Old Trafford turns out to be the fifth-highest total in which no individual bowler conceded 100 runs or more (Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer both went for 97). The highest remains Australia's 551 against England at The Oval in 1884, when Ted Peate conceded 99 runs and George Ulyett 97.

The other totals higher than this year's Old Trafford score were Australia's 542 against South Africa in Cape Town in 1966-67 (Tiger Lance took 1 for 95), England's 538 against Australia at The Oval in 1975 (Ashley Mallett 0 for 95 from 64 overs), and England's 500 for 8 declared against India in Bombay in 1961-62 (Salim Durani 1 for 91). The first-class record appears to be 636 for 4 declared, by Leicestershire at Grace Road in 2003, when Surrey used nine different bowlers, and Ian Salisbury finished with 2 for 92.

Was the late Abdul Qadir Pakistan's leading wicket-taker when he finished his Test career? asked Hamed Mustafa from Pakistan
Abdul Qadir, who sadly died last week at the young age of 63, finished his career with 236 wickets from 67 Tests. When he played his last Test, in December 1990, the only man ahead of him was Imran Khan, with 362; next among spinners was slow left-armer Iqbal Qasim, on 171. Today, Qadir is fifth on the list.

Was Shannon Gabriel the first man to bat at No. 12 in an international match, or did someone do it while Supersubs were allowed in one-day internationals? asked TM Murari from India
The West Indian fast bowler Shannon Gabriel missed the chance to set a new record the other day in Kingston, by failing to register a score after becoming the first man to go in at No. 12 in a Test (he finished with 0 not out). He gained this distinction after Darren Bravo retired hurt after being hit on the head, and Jermaine Blackwood went in instead as a concussion substitute, only the second such case in international cricket after Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne in the recent Ashes Test at Lord's (but they did not bat in the same innings).

There were no such instances during the brief experiment with tactical substitutions in one-day international cricket, between July 2005 and April 2006. Most of those involved a batsman being replaced by a bowler for the second innings of the match.