A lot of lbws, but a lack of fifties

In the first Test between West Indies and Pakistan there were 20 lbws in all, out of the total of 40 wickets. Was this a record? asked Jawaid Khawar from India, and many others
The total of 20 lbws in that exciting match in Providence was indeed a record for Test matches, surpassing the 17 in another West Indies-Pakistan Test, in Port-of-Spain in 1992-93. For a full list, click here. I suspect that, with the decision-review system in almost universal use, there may be more cases like this one to come.

West Indies beat Pakistan in the first Test despite none of their batsmen reaching 50 in the match. How often has this happened? asked Christopher Lang from Bristol
The match in Providence provided the 27th instance of a side winning a Test match without recording at least one individual half-century. Eleven of those occurred before the First World War, and there have been only 12 in more than 1700 Test matches since the Second War, of which the most famous is probably the Edgbaston Test of the famous 1981 Ashes series, when England's highest score was 48, from their captain, Mike Brearley. One of the most remarkable wins of recent times came in Hamilton in 2002-03, when New Zealand beat India despite their highest individual score being 32, from Stephen Fleming. Back in 1888, when low scores on poor, often rain-affected, pitches were generally much lower, Australia beat England at Lord's by 61 runs, even though their highest score was a pair of 22s, from captain Percy McDonnell and wicketkeeper Jack Blackham.

Saeed Ajmal picked up the improbable figures of 11 for 111 in the first Test against West Indies. Has any bowler achieved "all the ones" in a Test before? asked Matthew Littlewood from New Zealand
Saeed Ajmal's match figures in Providence are indeed unique in this regard, although Ray Bright (for Australia v Pakistan in Karachi in 1979-80) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lanka v Bangladesh in Colombo in 2001) both came close, taking 10 for 111. There have, however, been 24 instances of a bowler taking 1 for 111 in a Test innings, the most recent by Peter Siddle for Australia in Sydney during the last Ashes series. On his Test debut for Sri Lanka against India in Colombo last July, Suraj Randiv had innings (and match) figures of 2 for 222, while Sunil Joshi also returned 2 for 222 in the match for India against Zimbabwe in Nagpur in 2000-01. No one has yet managed 3 for 333 (or worse).

Which batsman holds the record for being given out lbw most often in Tests and ODIs? And which bowler has claimed the most lbws? asked Hemant Kher via Facebook
Only two men have been trapped leg-before a half-century of times in Tests - Sachin Tendulkar leads the way with 52 such dismissals, while Graham Gooch had 50. Ricky Ponting is next with 41. In one-day internationals the clear leader is Sanath Jayasuriya, with 47, ahead of Inzamam-ul-Haq (39) and Tendulkar (38). The leading lbw-inflicter in Tests is Anil Kumble, with 156, just ahead of Muttiah Muralitharan (150). Six other bowlers (Shane Warne 138, Wasim Akram 119, Glenn McGrath 113, Kapil Dev 111, Waqar Younis 110 and Chaminda Vaas 100) have chalked up a century of lbw decisions in their favour in Tests. In ODIs Wasim leads the way with 92, ahead of Waqar (73) and Vaas (69).

I believe that there have been two instances of the same bowler bowling two consecutive overs in Tests. What were the circumstances behind this? Were the umpires oblivious to it? asked Maneesh Singh from India
The first such incident came during the fourth Test of the 1921 Ashes series, at Old Trafford. The England captain, Lionel Tennyson, tried to declare late on the second day of the scheduled three-day match - but the first day had been washed out, and Australia's skipper, Warwick Armstrong, pointed out a complicated rule in force at the time, which prevented a declaration in a two-day game (which the match had become) unless the side batting second had at least 100 minutes left to bat that evening, which was not the case. Around 25 minutes were lost while the captains and umpires debated the issue, and when the England innings eventually resumed Armstrong bowled the first over, having also delivered the last one before the attempted closure. Armstrong never divulged whether he had done this deliberately, although his biographer Gideon Haigh suspects that he liked people to think that he had. The only other documented instance of this in a Test came when England played New Zealand in Wellington in 1950-51, and the home side's legspinner Alex Moir bowled the last over before tea on the fourth day and the first one afterwards. I've never seen any suggestion that this was anything other than an honest mistake. It should be noted that there would have been several "legal" instances of this happening in the earliest Tests, as until 1889 a bowler was allowed to deliver two successive overs, as long as he didn't do it more than twice in the same innings. The Armstrong and Moir episodes are the only known examples since that law change.

I remember that a Test match in recent times was drawn with the scores level. Which match was this? asked Krishna from India
Leaving aside the two matches mentioned last week that were tied, there have been two further Tests that ended with the scores level. In Bulawayo in 1996-97, England just failed to win their first-ever Test against Zimbabwe when Nick Knight was run out going for the winning run off the last ball of the match. And, although the circumstances were rather different, the Test at Old Trafford in 1998 ended with both sides having scored the same number of runs, although this time it was England just avoiding defeat after hanging on with nine wickets down in their follow-on, just long enough to ensure that South Africa would not have time to bat again.