Bradman's strike rate, and most first-class wickets in a year

Angelo Mathews hit ten sixes the other day against India. Was this a record for Sri Lanka? asked Richard Ayling from Switzerland
Angelo Mathews' ten sixes in his unbeaten 139 against India in Ranchi earlier this month was actually one short of the Sri Lankan record. That was set by Sanath Jayasuriya, who belted 11 sixes in his 65-ball innings of 134 against Pakistan in Singapore in April 1996. There have now been 14 instances of a batsman hitting ten or more sixes in an ODI innings, headed by Rohit Sharma's 16 in his 209 against Australia in Bangalore in November 2013. For the full list, click here.

What was Don Bradman's strike rate in Tests? And did he ever have a lean patch with the bat? asked Waqar Ahmed Afridi from Pakistan
Don Bradman's batting strike rate isn't shown on ESPNcricinfo, as the database doesn't have full details for some of his innings. But BJ Wakley's forensic examination of his career, in his 1959 book Bradman the Great, says the Don scored his 5028 runs against England from 8586 balls, an average of 58 per 100 balls - and scored at 36 runs per hour in all Tests (34 v England). As for a lean patch, one of the amazing things about Bradman's career was that he never had what anyone else would recognise as a bad trot. The longest he went between Test centuries was 11 innings, spread over seven Tests in the 1932-33 Bodyline series and in England in 1934 - and he was feeling below par for much of that England tour, suffering with what turned out to be appendicitis. It didn't stop him ending that mini-drought with an innings of 304 in the fourth Test at Headingley (and adding 244 in the final Test at The Oval)!

How often have New Zealand lost a Test after posting a total of more than 400, as they did in Dubai? asked Cameron McDonald from New Zealand
New Zealand survived this time in Dubai, but there have been seven occasions when a total of 400 or more wasn't enough to insure them against defeat. Their highest total in a losing cause remains 451, against England in Christchurch in 2001-02 - that was the match in which, after being set 550 to win, New Zealand were 333 for 9 before Nathan Astle, who hurtled to a rapid double-century, and Chris Cairns put on 118 for the last wicket in less than 11 overs. Another notable instance came at Trent Bridge in 1973, when New Zealand were set 479 to win by England and, led by 176 from captain Bev Congdon, reached 440.

Rohit Sharma passed 250 in his 125th one-day international. How many batsmen played 125 Tests yet were unable to reach 250 in an innings? asked Randolf Perkins from Trinidad
Twenty men have played more than 125 Tests, and only six of them have managed a score of 250 or more - Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, VVS Laxman, Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting. Of the others, three (all bowlers) never reached three figures: Shane Warne (highest score 99), Muttiah Muralitharan (67) and Courtney Walsh (30 not out). Five of them never reached 200, the specialist batsmen being Alec Stewart (highest score 190) and Mark Waugh (153 not out). And six of them made double-centuries, but didn't quite crack 250: Steve Waugh (highest score 200), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (203 not out), Allan Border (205), Jacques Kallis (224), Sunil Gavaskar (236 not out) and Sachin Tendulkar (248 not out).

Was Meg Lanning the first player to score a hundred at the Bradman Oval? And is she also the youngest player to captain Australia in international cricket? asked Maria Gibson from Australia
Meg Lanning's 135 not out for Australia Women against West Indies Women earlier this month was the first century in international cricket at the Bradman Oval. The ground in Bowral has staged one women's Test (in 2007-08, when Australia's Lisa Sthalekar had a near-miss, being out for 98) and five women's ODIs. There has been one senior men's one-day game at the ground, in the ING Cup in 2002-03: Brad Hodge made 101 for Victoria, but was trumped by Simon Katich's undefeated 136 for New South Wales. There was also one Under-19 ODI, in 1995-96, when Chris Gaffaney - now a Test umpire - hit 113 for New Zealand against an Australian side containing Chris Rogers and Brad Haddin. Lanning was 21 years and 300 days old when she captained Australia for the first time, in a one-day international against England inMelbourne in January 2014: that's about eight months younger than the youngest male captain, Ian Craig, who died recently. He was 22 years 194 days old when he captained in a Test against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1957-58.

Who has taken the most first-class wickets in a calendar year? asked Solaiman Palash from Bangladesh
I think the answer to this one is the Kent and England legspinner Tich Freeman, who claimed no fewer than 356 first-class wickets in 1928. A record 304 of them came in the English season - he played 37 matches, and took ten or more wickets in 15 of them, including five games in a row in June and July. Freeman also took 35 wickets on tour with England in South Africa at the start of the year, and 17 on the Ashes tour of Australia at the end of it. Over the eight English seasons from 1928 to 1935, Freeman took a mind-boggling 2090 wickets in first-class cricket.