Clarke's catches, and Johnson's joy

In a recent county match, Rikki Clarke took seven catches in the first innings. Is that a record for someone who wasn't the wicketkeeper? asked Chris Hill from Australia
Those seven catches by Rikki Clarke in Warwickshire's Championship match against Lancashire in Liverpool earlier this month actually equalled the first-class record for catches in an innings by a non-wicketkeeper: Micky Stewart, later England's manager, caught seven in an innings for Surrey in Northampton in 1957, and Gloucestershire's Tony Brown matched that against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1966. Clarke's seven catches were actually in the second innings - most of them at second slip - and he also took two more (and dropped one) in the first, making him the first outfielder ever to take nine catches in a first-class match - although that's not the record, as Wally Hammond took 10 for Gloucestershire against Surrey in Cheltenham in 1928. For good measure Hammond also scored a century in each innings.

Mitchell Johnson took six wickets in his 100th one-day international last week. Is this the best performance by a bowler in his 100th match? asked Kyle Taylor from Brisbane
Mitchell Johnson's 6 for 31 against Sri Lanka in Pallekele last week was easily the best performance by a bowler in his 100th one-day international - no one had previously taken more than four wickets in their 100th match. The previous-best analysis was 4 for 32, by Waqar Younis of Pakistan against New Zealand in Port Elizabeth in 1994-95. Shaun Pollock (4 for 37 for South Africa v Australia in Johannesburg in 1999-2000) and Shakib Al Hasan (4 for 39 for Bangladesh v Zimbabwe in Mirpur in 2010-11) also took four wickets in their 100th ODI.

Wilfred Rhodes was the oldest cricketer to play Test cricket. But who was the oldest pace bowler to do so? asked Shriram from the United States
Wilfred Rhodes of Yorkshire and England was indeed the oldest man to play Test cricket - he was 52 in his final series, in the West Indies in 1929-30. The oldest pace bowler was Gubby Allen, who was 45 years and eight months old when he captained England in the final Test against West Indies in Kingston in 1947-48. I'm not sure quite how quick Allen was at that stage - he was certainly pretty sharp in his younger days - but he opened the bowling in both innings in Jamaica and dismissed Frank Worrell in the first innings. The most successful over-40 bowler of any pace in Tests was England's Sydney Barnes, who took 49 wickets at 10.93 in South Africa in 1913-14, when he was almost 41, bowling at a brisk medium pace and moving (he would have said spinning) the ball both ways.

Harbhajan Singh recently took his 400th Test wicket. Is he the youngest to reach this landmark? asked Amiesh Sharma via Facebook
Harbhajan Singh was just four days past his 31st birthday when he took his 400th Test wicket (Carlton Baugh) during the third Test against West Indies in Dominica in July. Harbhajan was the 11th man to reach this landmark - and the second-youngest: Muttiah Muralitharan was only 29 when he took his 400th Test wicket, early in 2002. Shane Warne (31 years 346 days old in 2001) is the only other one under 32. The oldest man to reach 400 was Richard Hadlee (38 in February 1990).

Is Greg Chappell the only player to score a century on Test debut and one in his final match? asked Stefan Hemmings from Trinidad
You're right, Greg Chappell did do this - he made 108 on debut, against England in Perth in 1970-71, and 182 in his final Test, against Pakistan in Sydney in 1983-84. But three others have also managed this double: Reggie Duff of Australia scored 104 on debut (against England in Melbourne in 1901-02) and 146 in his last Test (against England at The Oval in 1905); another Australian, Bill Ponsford, made 110 in his first Test (against England in Sydney in 1924-25) and 266 in his last (against England at The Oval in 1934); and India's Mohammad Azharuddin made 110 on his Test debut (against England in Calcutta in 1984-85) and 102 in his last match (against South Africa in Bangalore in 1999-2000). This excludes the two players (Andy Ganteaume of West Indies and the New Zealander Rodney Redmond) who made a century in their only Test, and a couple of current players who will presumably appear again.

I know the story of Andy Ganteaume, the West Indian who scored 112 in his only Test. But what about Victor Stollmeyer, who made 96 in his only Test? Why didn't he play again? asked Grant Barber from Bristol
Vic Stollmeyer from Trinidad made 96 in his only Test, for West Indies against England at The Oval in August 1939. The story (from a reasonably impeccable source - Vic's brother Jeff Stollmeyer, who later captained West Indies) goes that he had been told he was not playing, and went out on the town the night before the match, only to be called up late. Luckily West Indies didn't have to bat first. It was a good match for the tourists' two debutants: fast bowler Tyrell Johnson took a wicket with his first ball in a Test. The simple answer to why Vic Stollmeyer never played another Test is that this match at The Oval was the final Test before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was nearly nine years before West Indies played another Test match, by which time Stollmeyer had retired (he played his final first-class game early in 1946).