Four for 23, and farewell tons

Four Indian bowlers conceded 23 runs against Bangladesh in the recent Asia Cup match - has this ever happened before? asked Siva Kumar from India - and many others!
India's symmetrical bowling performance against Bangladesh in Mirpur last week - Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and R Ashwin all bowled four overs for 23, while Ravindra Jadeja ruined everything by going for 25 - was a first for T20Is. But there was a domestic game in India in which five bowlers all conceded the same number of runs: in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Services in Rohtak in March 2013, four Himachal Pradesh bowlers sent down four overs for 13, while Nikhil Gangta conceded 13 from 1.5 overs. Himachal Pradesh won by one run. In the IPL match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai in May 2015, Lasith Malinga, Mitchell McClenaghan and Harbhajan Singh all had figures of 4-0-31-1 for Mumbai Indians. There has been a one-day international in which four bowlers leaked the same number of runs: for West Indies against New Zealand in Christchurch in January 2009, Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Kieron Pollard and Nikita Miller all conceded 26, from varying amounts of overs. (Thanks to Charles Davis for some of this information.)

Was the India-Pakistan game in Bangladesh the first T20 international without a single six? asked Abhishek Jaiswal from India
The Asia Cup match in Mirpur at the weekend was actually the sixth completed T20I not to contain a single hit over the ropes. In only one of those - Kenya v Ireland in Mombasa in February 2012 - did both sides receive the full 20 overs, although the match between Pakistan (126 for 4) and England (129 for 5 in 17.1 overs) in Cardiff in 2010 featured the most runs (255) without a six.

Both India's openers fell for ducks against Pakistan. How often has this happened? asked Murad Baig from Malawi
The dismissals of Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane for ducks - both inflicted by Mohammad Amir - in Mirpur at the weekend was the ninth occasion in all T20Is that both openers were out for 0. But it was only the fourth time it had happened to a Test-playing nation, following Bangladesh (Imrul Kayes and Mohammad Ashraful) against Australia in Bridgetown in the World T20 in May 2010, New Zealand (Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill) v Pakistan in Christchurch in December 2010 - the top four all fell for ducks in this innings, and Pakistan (Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal) against West Indies, also in Mirpur, in the World T20 in April 2014. Remarkably, it happened again the following day, when Sri Lanka nabbed Bangladesh's openers Mohammad Mithun and Soumya Sarkar for ducks.The other instances were by Kenya, Bermuda, Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands.

How many people have scored a century in their last Test, like Brendon McCullum? asked Andy Price from England
Brendon McCullum was the 34th batsman to score a century in what turned out to be his final Test match (this excludes other current players, and assumes no change of heart by McCullum). The highest score in a player's final Test was 325, by Andy Sandham for England against West Indies in Kingston in 1929-30; a few years before that AC "Jack" Russell of England made 140 and 111 in his final Test, against South Africa in Durban in 1922-23. Bill Ponsford, Seymour Nurse, Aravinda de Silva and Jason Gillespie all made double-centuries in their last Tests.

How many captains other than Brendon McCullum have made a century in their last Test? asked Mark McDonald from New Zealand
This is a remarkably short list: no other captain has scored a century in his final Test (excluding current players; Steven Smith also made a hundred in Christchurch). The previous highest by a captain in his last career appearance was 93, by Richie Richardson for West Indies against England at The Oval in 1995. McCullum's total of 170 runs in Christchurch was also a record for a captain playing his final Test, beating another West Indian in Karl Nunes, who made 158 runs (66 and 92) against England in Kingston in 1929-30.

Which bowler has taken the most wickets in Tests without a five-wicket haul? Or four, or three? asked Piyush Pal from India
The leader in this particular table is the nagging England seamer Mike Hendrick, who took 87 wickets in 30 Tests between 1974 and 1981, with a best return for 4 for 28 against India at Edgbaston in 1974, one of five times he took a four-for. In second place on the list is Mashrafe Mortaza, who has taken 78 wickets in 36 Tests, with a best of 4 for 60 against England in Chittagong in 2003-04. Mashrafe still captains Bangladesh in one day internationals, but hasn't played a Test match since July 2009. Brian McMillan (South Africa) took 75 Test wickets without a five-for, Dayle Hadlee (New Zealand) 71, and Barry Knight (England) 70. Nathan Astle took 51 wickets for New Zealand with a best of 3 for 27; Viv Richards took 32 for West Indies with a best of 2 for 17. The most wickets by anyone who never took more than one in a Test innings is nine, by Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

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