A hundred and a 99, a hundred and a duck
Falling one short of two centuries in a Test, the biggest last-innings scores to lose, and the highest current overall batting average
Steven Lynch
06-Jan-2009
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Ricky Ponting managed to score a century and 99 in the same Test. Is this the first time this has happened? asked Sumanth Kumar
Ricky Ponting achieved this bittersweet feat in the recent Test in Melbourne, scoring 101 in the first innings and 99 in the second. It has only happened once before in Tests - in Port-of-Spain in 1973-74 when Geoff Boycott made 99 and 112. His match had a happier end than Ponting's, though - England won, beating West Indies by 26 runs.
Ricky Ponting achieved this bittersweet feat in the recent Test in Melbourne, scoring 101 in the first innings and 99 in the second. It has only happened once before in Tests - in Port-of-Spain in 1973-74 when Geoff Boycott made 99 and 112. His match had a happier end than Ponting's, though - England won, beating West Indies by 26 runs.
In their recent first Test against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh scored 413 in the final innings yet ended up losing. Is this the highest fourth-innings total to lose? asked Niraj Kheria from India
Bangladesh's brave effort in Mirpur last week was actually the sixth-highest fourth-innings total made by the team which ended up losing a Test. Three of the bigger totals were made by New Zealand, including the highest of the lot - 451 against England in Christchurch in 2002-02 (the innings in which Nathan Astle blasted 222 from just 168 balls, with 11 sixes). For a full list of the highest fourth-innings totals in Tests, click here.
Bangladesh's brave effort in Mirpur last week was actually the sixth-highest fourth-innings total made by the team which ended up losing a Test. Three of the bigger totals were made by New Zealand, including the highest of the lot - 451 against England in Christchurch in 2002-02 (the innings in which Nathan Astle blasted 222 from just 168 balls, with 11 sixes). For a full list of the highest fourth-innings totals in Tests, click here.
Does anybody with five Test centuries have a worse average than Mohammad Ashraful? asked Michael Clark
The short answer to that is no: after his fifth Test century in the match in Mirpur against Sri Lanka last week, Mohammad Ashraful had a batting average of 23.82. Only one other batsman who scored as many hundreds averaged less than 30 - Zimbabwe's Grant Flower, who actually made six Test centuries (one of them a double) yet finished with a batting average of 29.54.
The short answer to that is no: after his fifth Test century in the match in Mirpur against Sri Lanka last week, Mohammad Ashraful had a batting average of 23.82. Only one other batsman who scored as many hundreds averaged less than 30 - Zimbabwe's Grant Flower, who actually made six Test centuries (one of them a double) yet finished with a batting average of 29.54.
Who has the best overall batting average among current international players - I mean including Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals? My guess would be Matthew Hayden or Ricky Ponting, asked Murtaza Hussain from Canada
Well, the highest current international batting average is actually 68.33, by Pakistan's Fawad Alam, who has played 11 one-day internationals and six Twenty20s. If we impose a qualification of 50 international innings then the leader is Australia's Michael Hussey, with 55.95 (59.01 in Tests, 57.13 in ODIs, and 22.83 in T20s). He's the only player above 50 at the moment, although Jacques Kallis (49.10) and Ricky Ponting (48.94) are close.
Well, the highest current international batting average is actually 68.33, by Pakistan's Fawad Alam, who has played 11 one-day internationals and six Twenty20s. If we impose a qualification of 50 international innings then the leader is Australia's Michael Hussey, with 55.95 (59.01 in Tests, 57.13 in ODIs, and 22.83 in T20s). He's the only player above 50 at the moment, although Jacques Kallis (49.10) and Ricky Ponting (48.94) are close.
Which player called his autobiography Spin Punch? asked Rajesh Prasad from Chennai
My first thought was that it was the great West Indian Frank Worrell, but when I looked, his 1959 autobiography was actually called Cricket Punch. The author of Spin Punch turns out to be the Indian slow left-armer Dilip Doshi, whose life story was published by Rupa & Co. in India in 1991.
My first thought was that it was the great West Indian Frank Worrell, but when I looked, his 1959 autobiography was actually called Cricket Punch. The author of Spin Punch turns out to be the Indian slow left-armer Dilip Doshi, whose life story was published by Rupa & Co. in India in 1991.
How many people have scored a century and a duck in the same Test, as Rahul Dravid managed recently? asked Ram Kumar from India
This turns out to be rather a long list - Rahul Dravid's 136 and 0 against England in Mohali was the 131st instance of a batsman scoring a century and a duck in the same Test. Earlier the same day Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who made 126 not out and 0 for West Indies against New Zealand in Napier, had become the only man to have done it three times. For the full list, click here.
This turns out to be rather a long list - Rahul Dravid's 136 and 0 against England in Mohali was the 131st instance of a batsman scoring a century and a duck in the same Test. Earlier the same day Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who made 126 not out and 0 for West Indies against New Zealand in Napier, had become the only man to have done it three times. For the full list, click here.
Steven Lynch is the editor of the Cricinfo Guide to International Cricket (reviewed here)