A case of obstruction, and stopping Laker taking all 20

Inzamam-ul-Haq was out "obstructing the field" the other day. How often has this happened in Tests and ODIs? asked Rahul Shetty from Bangalore

Inzamam's unusual dismissal in the first one-dayer against India at Peshawar was only the third instance of a batsman being given out obstructing the field in ODIs. The first was another Pakistani, Rameez Raja, against England at Karachi in 1987-88. He knocked a fielder's return away when trying to complete the second run which would have taken him to 100 from the last ball of the match. Two years later, India's Mohinder Amarnath was the second man to go this way. He kicked the ball away from the bowler to avoid being run out against Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad in 1989-90. The only man to be out obstructing the field in a Test match is England's Len Hutton, against South Africa at The Oval in 1951. Hutton top-edged a sweep against the offspinner Athol Rowan, and the ball looped upwards. Worried that the ball would bounce onto his stumps, Hutton knocked it away, but in doing so prevented the wicketkeeper, Russell Endean, from making a catch. In a weird coincidence Endean, who was making his Test debut at The Oval, was also involved in Test cricket's next peculiar dismissal: he was out "handled the ball" against England at Cape Town in 1956-57.

When Jim Laker took 19 wickets in a Test against Australia, who took the other one? asked Mahesh Pimputkar from India

The man who spoiled Laker's chances of taking all 20 wickets at Old Trafford in 1956 was his Surrey spin-twin Tony Lock. He dismissed the Australian opener Jim Burke in the first innings - it was the third wicket to go down - and then had to watch while Laker piled up the wickets from the other end. Lock toiled through 69 overs in the match - 55 of them in the second innings for 0 for 69 - and finished with match figures of 1 for 106 to set alongside Laker's amazing 19 for 90. Trevor Bailey, who also played in that match, had a theory about the big difference: "Tony tried too hard and bowled too fast, while Jim just exploited the conditions superbly."

What is the best second-innings return for someone who did not bowl in the first innings of the same Test? asked Aaron More from New Zealand

Two bowlers have taken seven wickets in the second innings of a match after not bowling in the first innings. The first was Australia's Hugh Trumble, with 7 for 28 against England at Melbourne in 1903-04. It was Trumble's last Test, and he finished in style, with a hat-trick towards the end of the innings. He hadn't bowled in the first because he wasn't needed - England collapsed to 61 all out. The second man to do it was the Yorkshire slow left-armer Johnny Wardle, with 7 for 56 against Pakistan at The Oval in 1954, in a match more famous because Pakistan won it, on their first tour of England. Four others have taken six wickets in the second innings, having not bowled in the first, including Michael Clarke, with an eye-popping 6 for 9 for Australia against India at Mumbai in 2004-05. The others are the Australians George Giffen (1894-95) and Bruce Yardley (1981-82), and Alf Valentine of West Indies (1951-52).

I recall Scott Styris making 140-odd against Sri Lanka in the last World Cup and losing - is that the highest score by someone who finished on the losing side? asked Rob Cochrane from New Zealand

Styris actually scored 141 in that match at Bloemfontein in 2002-03, out of a New Zealand total of only 225. But the highest ODI score by someone who ended up losing is 167 not out, by Robin Smith at Edgbaston in 1993 - he had to watch Australia overhaul England's total of 277 with nine balls to spare.

Zaheer Khan outdid Sachin Tendulkar in a record tenth-wicket stand © Getty Images

I see that Glenn McGrath's highest Test score is 61. Is that also the highest individual score by a No. 11 batsman? asked Nishant Bhargava from the United States

The highest score by a No. 11 was improved recently - but it wasn't McGrath who surpassed the record set by Richard Collinge of New Zealand in 1972-73, when he made 68 not out against Pakistan at Auckland. In December 2004 Zaheer Khan slapped 75 from No. 11 against Bangladesh at Dhaka: he actually outscored Sachin Tendulkar (248 not out) in an Indian-record tenth-wicket partnership of 133. For a list of the highest individual scores from each batting position, click here.

Who called his autobiography Playing for Keeps? asked Sam Toseland from Worcester

Well, I've got two books of that name, by two men who played an awful lot against each other: Ian Healy, the Australian wicketkeeper, gave that subtitle to his first volume of autobiography, published in 1996, then Alec Stewart reprised it for his 2003 life story. Cliff Thorburn, the 1980 snooker world champion, called his book that too