An average question, and a lot about ducks
Plus, opening the batting and the bowling, and waiting the longest for your maiden Test wicket
Steven Lynch
02-Nov-2010
Double opener: Manoj Prabhakar opened the batting and bowling in 22 Tests and 45 ODIs • Getty Images
Several current players have Test batting averages over 50 - Sachin Tendulkar leads the way with 56.96. But is he still in front if you disregard matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe? asked Shiran Samarawickrama via Facebook
Sachin Tendulkar (56.96) and Kumar Sangakkara (56.85) lead the way for current players in the list for the highest Test batting average with no restrictions. But if you discount Tests against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe then there is a change: among current players Virender Sehwag takes over at the top with an average of 53.97, just ahead of Ricky Ponting (53.92) and Tendulkar (53.89). Sangakkara drops to 53.69, with Mahela Jayawardene on 52.78, while Jacques Kallis - who averages 169.75 against Zimbabwe (and 503.00 in Zimbabwe) - falls from 55.07 to 52.22.
Sachin Tendulkar (56.96) and Kumar Sangakkara (56.85) lead the way for current players in the list for the highest Test batting average with no restrictions. But if you discount Tests against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe then there is a change: among current players Virender Sehwag takes over at the top with an average of 53.97, just ahead of Ricky Ponting (53.92) and Tendulkar (53.89). Sangakkara drops to 53.69, with Mahela Jayawardene on 52.78, while Jacques Kallis - who averages 169.75 against Zimbabwe (and 503.00 in Zimbabwe) - falls from 55.07 to 52.22.
Who made the quickest pair in Test history? asked Kevin Scott from Doncaster
The man usually credited with owning this mournful record in Tests is Pakistan's MEZ "Ebbu" Ghazali, who completed his pair on the third day against England at Old Trafford in 1954 inside two hours. In the first innings Ghazali's dismissal left Pakistan at 66 for 5, chasing England's 359: they were soon all out for 90 and asked to follow on. Ghazali was soon called upon again with the score at 10 for 3, and was again out immediately. Between lunch and the close of that third day Pakistan lost 14 wickets for 155 runs on a rain-affected pitch: the good news for them was that the rain returned to wash out the final two days' play and they escaped with a draw. Ghazali, though, never played another Test.
The man usually credited with owning this mournful record in Tests is Pakistan's MEZ "Ebbu" Ghazali, who completed his pair on the third day against England at Old Trafford in 1954 inside two hours. In the first innings Ghazali's dismissal left Pakistan at 66 for 5, chasing England's 359: they were soon all out for 90 and asked to follow on. Ghazali was soon called upon again with the score at 10 for 3, and was again out immediately. Between lunch and the close of that third day Pakistan lost 14 wickets for 155 runs on a rain-affected pitch: the good news for them was that the rain returned to wash out the final two days' play and they escaped with a draw. Ghazali, though, never played another Test.
I noticed that Neil Johnson of Zimbabwe often opened the batting and bowling in the same match. Who has done this most often in Tests? asked Srivathsan Kumar via Facebook
This all-round feat is slightly more common than it might sound - it has happened on 145 different occasions in Tests now, although several of those occurrences aren't entirely genuine as quite frequently an opener has taken the new ball in the second innings when there was a small target or not much time remaining for play. Actually Neil Johnson never did do it in a Test for Zimbabwe, although he did do so on no fewer than 25 occasions in one-day internationals. The most frequent double opener - in both Tests and ODIs - is Manoj Prabhakar, who went in first and also took the new ball in 22 Tests and 45 ODIs for India. Next in Tests is another Indian, ML Jaisimha, who did it on 13 occasions, four more than Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar.
This all-round feat is slightly more common than it might sound - it has happened on 145 different occasions in Tests now, although several of those occurrences aren't entirely genuine as quite frequently an opener has taken the new ball in the second innings when there was a small target or not much time remaining for play. Actually Neil Johnson never did do it in a Test for Zimbabwe, although he did do so on no fewer than 25 occasions in one-day internationals. The most frequent double opener - in both Tests and ODIs - is Manoj Prabhakar, who went in first and also took the new ball in 22 Tests and 45 ODIs for India. Next in Tests is another Indian, ML Jaisimha, who did it on 13 occasions, four more than Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar.
Graeme Smith holds the record for the most runs in Twenty20 internationals without a duck (958). Who holds the corresponding records in Tests and one-day internationals? asked Keith D'Souza from Nigeria
The Test record is currently held by New Zealand's Ross Taylor, who has so far scored 1941 runs in 25 matches (46 innings) without ever being dismissed for a duck. If he does eventually succumb without scoring, the record will revert to Dave Houghton of Zimbabwe, who made 1464 runs in 22 Tests without ever failing to score. In one-day internationals the record is held by Kepler Wessels, whose 3367 runs in 109 matches for Australia and South Africa without a duck leaves him well clear of the nearest challenger, currently Hashim Amla of South Africa (1615 runs). Peter Kirsten is third (1293), and yet another South African, Jacques Rudolph (1174), is the only other batsman to have scored more than 1000 runs in ODIs without a duck.
The Test record is currently held by New Zealand's Ross Taylor, who has so far scored 1941 runs in 25 matches (46 innings) without ever being dismissed for a duck. If he does eventually succumb without scoring, the record will revert to Dave Houghton of Zimbabwe, who made 1464 runs in 22 Tests without ever failing to score. In one-day internationals the record is held by Kepler Wessels, whose 3367 runs in 109 matches for Australia and South Africa without a duck leaves him well clear of the nearest challenger, currently Hashim Amla of South Africa (1615 runs). Peter Kirsten is third (1293), and yet another South African, Jacques Rudolph (1174), is the only other batsman to have scored more than 1000 runs in ODIs without a duck.
When India played Zimbabwe in the 1983 World Cup - the match in which Kapil Dev struck a memorable 175 not out - both their openers were out for ducks. How often has this happened in one-day internationals? asked Colin Staunton from Cardiff
This has happened 31 times now in one-day internationals, the most recent instance coming when Salman Butt and Khalid Latif both made ducks for Pakistan against Australia in Perth in January 2010. The match you mention, at Tunbridge Wells in 1983, was one of only three instances of this in the World Cup: it happened a few days earlier in 1983, when Mohsin Khan and Mudassar Nazar both made 0 for Pakistan against New Zealand at Edgbaston. When Scotland played Pakistan at Chester-le-Street in 1999 both their openers - Bruce Patterson and Ian Philip - were out for ducks as well.
This has happened 31 times now in one-day internationals, the most recent instance coming when Salman Butt and Khalid Latif both made ducks for Pakistan against Australia in Perth in January 2010. The match you mention, at Tunbridge Wells in 1983, was one of only three instances of this in the World Cup: it happened a few days earlier in 1983, when Mohsin Khan and Mudassar Nazar both made 0 for Pakistan against New Zealand at Edgbaston. When Scotland played Pakistan at Chester-le-Street in 1999 both their openers - Bruce Patterson and Ian Philip - were out for ducks as well.
Who played the most Test matches before taking his first wicket? asked Jasdev Singh via Facebook
The answer to this one is South Africa's Mark Boucher, who took his first (and so far only) wicket in his 84th Test, when he dismissed Dwayne Bravo of West Indies in Antigua. Another wicketkeeper, Syed Kirmani, lies second: his only wicket (Azeem Hafeez of Pakistan in Nagpur in 1983-84) came in his 72nd Test match. Two outfielders are tied for third spot: Gundappa Viswanath and Zaheer Abbas both took a wicket in their 60th Tests, while Rahul Dravid took one in his 59th. Zaheer was the only one of those mentioned who took more than one wicket - he ended up with three, all of them taken after he became captain quite late on in his career, suggesting that his previous skippers were rather less impressed with Zaheer's bowling than he was!
The answer to this one is South Africa's Mark Boucher, who took his first (and so far only) wicket in his 84th Test, when he dismissed Dwayne Bravo of West Indies in Antigua. Another wicketkeeper, Syed Kirmani, lies second: his only wicket (Azeem Hafeez of Pakistan in Nagpur in 1983-84) came in his 72nd Test match. Two outfielders are tied for third spot: Gundappa Viswanath and Zaheer Abbas both took a wicket in their 60th Tests, while Rahul Dravid took one in his 59th. Zaheer was the only one of those mentioned who took more than one wicket - he ended up with three, all of them taken after he became captain quite late on in his career, suggesting that his previous skippers were rather less impressed with Zaheer's bowling than he was!
Steven Lynch is the editor of the Cricinfo Guide to International Cricket. And Ask Steven is now on Facebook