Dilshan's Lord's record, and a ten-for but not much more

I know that Tillakaratne Dilshan surpassed Sidath Wettimuny's score for Sri Lanka at Lord's. But is Wettimuny's innings still the longest ever played there? asked Nilton de Silva from Colombo
Yes, Tillakaratne Dilshan's fine innings of 193 against England last week did surpass Sidath Wettimuny's 190 in 1984 as the highest individual innings for Sri Lanka in a Lord's Test. But Dilshan batted for "only" 433 minutes, well down the list for the longest known Test innings seen at Lord's (he's 24th). Wettimuny - who defied England's attack for 642 minutes - still sits atop that particular table: Graham Gooch's 333 against India in 1990 is next, at 628 minutes, ahead of Graeme Smith's 259 in 574 minutes for South Africa in 2003, and Jonathan Trott's 184 in 554 minutes against Pakistan last year.

Zulfiqar Ahmed of Pakistan took 10 wickets in a Test match, yet took only 18 wickets in his entire Test career. Is that the record for lowest number of wickets by someone who took ten in a Test? asked Irfan Khan from the United States
Actually the lowest number is 11, by the England legspinner Charles "Father" Marriott, who played one Test against West Indies in 1933 and took 11 for 96 at The Oval; this was matched by the South African fast bowler Sydney Burke, who took 11 for 196 on his Test debut - against New Zealand in Cape Town in 1961-62 - but played only one more Test (against England in 1964-65) in which he failed to take a wicket. Zulfiqar Ahmed (who actually took 20 wickets in nine Tests, including 11 for 79 against New Zealand in Karachi in 1955-56) is joint seventh on this particular list.

Has any bowler taken a five-wicket bag against every other Test nation? asked Vince McLeod from New Zealand
The name of the only man to achieve this is not exactly a surprise: Muttiah Muralitharan's record number of 67 five-wicket hauls actually included at least five five-fors against all the other nine Test sides (with 11 against Bangladesh and South Africa). Shane Warne just missed out, as he failed to take a five-for against Zimbabwe (he only played them once); Anil Kumble also came close, failing only to record a five-for in four matches against Bangladesh. Dale Steyn has taken only 16 five-fors so far, but that includes at least one against all eight opponents he has faced (he has not yet had a chance to play Zimbabwe). Richard Hadlee and Ian Botham both took five-fors against all six sides they opposed, but never played against Bangladesh, South Africa or Zimbabwe. Murali actually managed ten wickets in a match against all the other nine Test sides too.

What is the highest number of successive dot balls faced by a batsman during a Test innings? asked Richard Cotton from London
The same man occupies the first two places on his particular table, and his name probably isn't the first one you'd think of (Trevor Bailey, who might have been, lies third with a barren spell of around 80 balls against South Africa at Headingley in 1955). But Bruce Mitchell, a phlegmatic South African batsman, once went an estimated 95 balls without adding to his score of 45 against Australia in Brisbane in 1931-32. And against England in Johannesburg in 1938-39, Mitchell remained on 56 for 85 deliveries. The most balls faced while on 0 is 79 by the England wicketkeeper John Murray against Australia in Sydney in 1962-63 (he did have an excuse - an injured shoulder), while the longest Test duck belongs to Geoff Allott of New Zealand, who was dismissed for 0 by the 77th ball he faced against South Africa in Auckland in 1998-99.

Parthiv Patel recently went more than six years without playing a one-day international. Was his gap a record? asked Sanjay Naik from Mumbai
Parthiv Patel went six years and 133 days between one-day international appearances, from July 2004 to December 2010. Two other Indians have had longer gaps: Amit Mishra (six years 160 days between April 2003 and September 2009) and Robin Singh (seven years 230 days between March 1989 and November 1996). But the longest gap of all is 11 years 331 days, by the New Zealand allrounder Jeff Wilson, who did not play a one-day international between March 1993 and February 2005 (during most of that time he was playing rugby union for the All Blacks instead). Anderson Cummins also went more than 11 years between his last one-day international appearance for West Indies (in 1995-96) and his first one for Canada (in 2006-07). For a full list, click here.

Sri Lanka were bundled out for 82 in Cardiff, in just 24.4 overs. What is the shortest completed Test innings? asked Kris Amar via Facebook
There have been 22 shorter completed Test innings (in terms of balls bowled) than Sri Lanka's in Cardiff (for a list, click here). The shortest of all lasted only 75 balls - 12.3 overs - when South Africa were bowled out for 30 by England at Edgbaston in 1924. Wisden says the innings lasted only three-quarters of an hour, which must I think be the shortest completed Test innings of all time (although we do not have full details for many early matches). This was early on the second day, on a pitch on which England had just made 438: Wisden says that there was "nothing in the condition of the wicket to excuse such a heavy collapse". South Africa fared much better in their second innings, making 390 and just failing to make England bat again.