Ashes first-ballers, and big differences in scores
Also, the most overs bowled by one man in a series, the most inexperienced attacks, and Tendulkar's World Cup records
Steven Lynch
30-Nov-2010
Mark Taylor declared Australia's innings after he had equalled the Don's 334 • Ben Radford/Getty Images
Andrew Strauss was out to the third ball of the series in Brisbane. Has anyone ever fallen to the first ball of an Ashes series? asked Brian Thompson from Cambridge
The only man to be dismissed by the first ball of an Ashes series is Derbyshire's Stan Worthington, who was caught behind by Bert Oldfield off the bowling of Ernie McCormick in the first Test in Brisbane in 1936-37. England went on to win that Test - and the next one too - but eventually lost the series 3-2. There were two earlier instances of a batsman being out to the first ball of an Ashes Test - it happened to England's Archie MacLaren in Melbourne in 1894-95, and Warren Bardsley of Australia at Headingley in 1926 - but neither of those was the first Test of a series.
The only man to be dismissed by the first ball of an Ashes series is Derbyshire's Stan Worthington, who was caught behind by Bert Oldfield off the bowling of Ernie McCormick in the first Test in Brisbane in 1936-37. England went on to win that Test - and the next one too - but eventually lost the series 3-2. There were two earlier instances of a batsman being out to the first ball of an Ashes Test - it happened to England's Archie MacLaren in Melbourne in 1894-95, and Warren Bardsley of Australia at Headingley in 1926 - but neither of those was the first Test of a series.
In the first Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Galle, Chris Gayle made 333, and the next-highest score in that innings was Brendan Nash's 64. Is the difference a record for a Test innings? asked Dinesh from the United States
The difference of 269 between West Indies' two highest individual scores in the recent Test in Galle is actually fourth on that particular list. Above it come differences of 276 by England v New Zealand in Auckland in 1932-33 (Wally Hammond 336 not out, Bob Wyatt 60), 293 by West Indies v England in St John's in 2003-04 (Brian Lara 400 not out, Ridley Jacobs 107 not out), and - leading the way - a round 300 by West Indies v England in St John's in 1993-94 (Lara 375, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 75 not out). In all there have been 15 Test innings that have featured one individual score more than 200 runs higher than anyone else's in the same innings.
The difference of 269 between West Indies' two highest individual scores in the recent Test in Galle is actually fourth on that particular list. Above it come differences of 276 by England v New Zealand in Auckland in 1932-33 (Wally Hammond 336 not out, Bob Wyatt 60), 293 by West Indies v England in St John's in 2003-04 (Brian Lara 400 not out, Ridley Jacobs 107 not out), and - leading the way - a round 300 by West Indies v England in St John's in 1993-94 (Lara 375, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 75 not out). In all there have been 15 Test innings that have featured one individual score more than 200 runs higher than anyone else's in the same innings.
Chris Gayle scored 333 at Galle, and Graham Gooch also scored 333 at Lord's in 1990. Is 333 the highest score that's been made twice in Tests? asked Jeremy Goldstein from London
Not quite: it's 334! That was the score made by Don Bradman for Australia against England at Headingley in 1934, and equalled by Mark Taylor (who was not out, and declared on himself) for Australia v Pakistan in Peshawar in 1998-99. The next score down from 333 that has been made twice in Tests is 299 (by Don Bradman, who was not out, and Martin Crowe, who was).
Not quite: it's 334! That was the score made by Don Bradman for Australia against England at Headingley in 1934, and equalled by Mark Taylor (who was not out, and declared on himself) for Australia v Pakistan in Peshawar in 1998-99. The next score down from 333 that has been made twice in Tests is 299 (by Don Bradman, who was not out, and Martin Crowe, who was).
In the recent first Test between West Indies and Sri Lanka there was no bowler playing who had 100 Test wickets to his name. How often has that happened since the Second World War? asked Mike Dixon via Facebook
There have been quite a few similar occurrences, usually involving "new" teams, who obviously take some time to possess a bowler who has taken 100 Test wickets. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have all played their first Tests since the Second World War, while South Africa returned with an entirely new team in 1992. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh still have only one bowler with 100 or more Test wickets (Heath Streak and Mohammad Rafique). The fewest wickets between two teams in any Test since the Second World War is 13, by the two inexperienced line-ups who represented West indies and England in their first post-war meeting in Bridgetown in 1947-48. And when Zimbabwe played Sri Lanka in Harare in October 1994, the two teams had only 22 wickets between them. A notable instance occurred last year, when West Indies (fielding a side with several inexperienced players after a contracts dispute) and Bangladesh started their first Test in St Vincent with a combined total of 53 wickets.
There have been quite a few similar occurrences, usually involving "new" teams, who obviously take some time to possess a bowler who has taken 100 Test wickets. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have all played their first Tests since the Second World War, while South Africa returned with an entirely new team in 1992. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh still have only one bowler with 100 or more Test wickets (Heath Streak and Mohammad Rafique). The fewest wickets between two teams in any Test since the Second World War is 13, by the two inexperienced line-ups who represented West indies and England in their first post-war meeting in Bridgetown in 1947-48. And when Zimbabwe played Sri Lanka in Harare in October 1994, the two teams had only 22 wickets between them. A notable instance occurred last year, when West Indies (fielding a side with several inexperienced players after a contracts dispute) and Bangladesh started their first Test in St Vincent with a combined total of 53 wickets.
What is the most overs by a bowler in a three-Test series? As I write Daniel Vettori must be approaching it? asked Jared Nash via Facebook
Daniel Vettori finished the recent three-Test series in India having bowled 200.3 overs. Top of the list remains Muttiah Muralitharan, who sent down 236 overs in Sri Lanka's three-match home series against England in 2000-01. That's 1416 balls: Lance Gibbs delivered more than that (1538, in 192.2 eight-ball overs) in three Tests of the 1960-61 Australia-West Indies series, but that was a five-Test rubber and he didn't play in the other two matches. Murali broke the previous record for a three-Test series by just eight balls: Abdul Qadir whirred down 234.4 overs at home against England in 1987-88.
Daniel Vettori finished the recent three-Test series in India having bowled 200.3 overs. Top of the list remains Muttiah Muralitharan, who sent down 236 overs in Sri Lanka's three-match home series against England in 2000-01. That's 1416 balls: Lance Gibbs delivered more than that (1538, in 192.2 eight-ball overs) in three Tests of the 1960-61 Australia-West Indies series, but that was a five-Test rubber and he didn't play in the other two matches. Murali broke the previous record for a three-Test series by just eight balls: Abdul Qadir whirred down 234.4 overs at home against England in 1987-88.
Sachin Tendulkar should play in his sixth World Cup in 2011. Has anyone else played in six? And who hold the records for most matches, runs and wickets in the World Cup? asked Kalaikovan Ramamurthy from India
The only man to have played in six World Cups so far is Javed Miandad of Pakistan, who took part in each of the first six between 1975 (he made his debut the day before his 18th birthday) and 1995-96. Sanath Jayasuriya has, like Tendulkar, played in the last five World Cups. The current record for most appearances in World Cup matches is 39, shared by the Australians Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting: Tendulkar currently has 36, behind Jayasuriya and Wasim Akram on 38. But Tendulkar is in front as the leading individual run-scorer in the World Cup: he has so far made 1796, comfortably ahead of Ponting (1537) and Brian Lara (1225). Nine others have scored more than 1000 World Cup runs, including Jayasuriya (1165) and Herschelle Gibbs (1067), who might add to their tallies in 2011. McGrath remains the leading World Cup wicket-taker with 71, ahead of Wasim Akram (55), Muttiah Muralitharan (53) and Chaminda Vaas (49).
The only man to have played in six World Cups so far is Javed Miandad of Pakistan, who took part in each of the first six between 1975 (he made his debut the day before his 18th birthday) and 1995-96. Sanath Jayasuriya has, like Tendulkar, played in the last five World Cups. The current record for most appearances in World Cup matches is 39, shared by the Australians Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting: Tendulkar currently has 36, behind Jayasuriya and Wasim Akram on 38. But Tendulkar is in front as the leading individual run-scorer in the World Cup: he has so far made 1796, comfortably ahead of Ponting (1537) and Brian Lara (1225). Nine others have scored more than 1000 World Cup runs, including Jayasuriya (1165) and Herschelle Gibbs (1067), who might add to their tallies in 2011. McGrath remains the leading World Cup wicket-taker with 71, ahead of Wasim Akram (55), Muttiah Muralitharan (53) and Chaminda Vaas (49).
Steven Lynch is the editor of the Cricinfo Guide to International Cricket. And Ask Steven is now on Facebook