Gilbert, Gillespie, and a missed hat-trick

Who was the bowler of Aboriginal origin who bowled very fast to Bradman but was later rubbed out of cricket due to his alleged chucking? Was this a racial issue? asked Knut from Australia
The bowler in question was Eddie Gilbert, who took 87 wickets in 23 matches for Queensland between 1930 and 1936. On a sporting Brisbane pitch against New South Wales in November 1931, Gilbert first flicked off Don Bradman's cap with a rising delivery, then knocked his bat out of his hands, and finally had him caught behind. Bradman later described the six balls he received as the fastest he ever faced. But from the start there were worries about Gilbert's bowling action. His obituary in Wisden says: "Lightly built and only a little over 5ft 7ins in height, Gilbert possessed exceptionally long arms and could bowl at great pace off a run sometimes no longer than four paces. It was this, allied with a somewhat whippy forearm action, which led to suggestions that his right arm bent on occasions during a pronounced arc action which finished with his hand almost touching the ground and his head at knee level. Strong advocacy for Gilbert's Test selection was nullified by the suspect action, a view several times shared and acted on by senior umpires." As far as his race was concerned - he was an Aboriginal from the Cherbourg Settlement in Queensland - I don't suppose we'll ever know if this played a part. But those were very different times, and I think it's not impossible that there was some discrimination involved.

Has Jason Gillespie got the lowest average for any player to have hit a Test double-century? asked Shafi Chowdhury
Yes, Jason Gillespie's final Test batting average of 18.73 is indeed the lowest to include a double-century - the 201 not out he made as a nightwatchman in what turned out to be his final innings, against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2005-06. Next come Wasim Akram of Pakistan (22.64, with a highest score of 257 not out) and the Australian Syd Gregory (24.53, HS 201). The lowest Test average by someone who made a hundred is Saqlain Mushtaq's 14.48, a fraction ahead of the South African Xen Balaskas (14.50) and Jack Badcock of Australia (14.54).

Which bowler took a hat-trick on Test debut - only for his captain to indicate that the catch he'd taken for the third "dismissal" was taken on the bounce, so the umpire's original decision was reversed? asked Pete Church via Facebook
This was the high-stepping Yorkshire offspinner Geoff Cope, against Pakistan in Lahore in 1977-78. Wisden reported: "Cope was almost credited with a hat-trick in his maiden Test. Having dismissed Abdul Qadir and Sarfraz Nawaz with successive deliveries, he had Iqbal Qasim given out caught at slip by Mike Brearley off the next ball. The batsman was on his way when Brearley, uncertain of the validity of the catch, recalled him." Cope, who was dogged throughout his career by accusations that his bowling action was illegal, played only two more Tests (the remaining ones of this series), finishing with eight wickets. In a long first-class career (1966-80) he claimed 686 victims.

Has a Test or first-class match ever been tied? asked Iram Azam from Canada
Since 1948, when the definition of a tie was changed to include only matches where the scores were level with all the wickets down in the fourth innings, there had been 32 ties in first-class cricket by the end of 2010. Two of those were in Tests: Australia and West Indies tied a pulsating match in Brisbane in 1960-61, with a side-on run-out in the last possible over sealing the result; then in Madras (now Chennai) in 1986-87, India's last man Maninder Singh was out with the scores level against Australia. Bob Simpson, who had played in the first tied Test, was Australia's coach for the second one.

Who is the only man to captain England at cricket and football? asked James Tiver via Facebook
This versatile chap was Reginald "Tip" Foster, who scored 287 - still a record for a debutant - in his first cricket Test, against Australia in Sydney in 1903-04. He played in the remaining four Tests of that tour but, despite his brilliant start, won only three more caps - all as captain - against South Africa in 1907. Before his Test career started Foster had also played five times for the England football team, captaining them in his last match, against Wales in March 1902. Foster died in 1914, of complications arising from diabetes, aged only 36.

What is the lowest total in one-day internationals to include an individual century? asked Mark McCann from London
The lowest is England's 159 for 3 in Swansea in 1973, which included exactly 100 from Dennis Amiss. He put on 96 for the first wicket with Geoff Boycott (who made 20), and was out with the score on 135 as England closed in on victory, having earlier dismissed New Zealand for just 158. Next come two totals of 164: in the Champions Trophy in Jaipur in 2006-07, West Indies overhauled Bangladesh's modest 161 without losing a wicket, and Chris Gayle thumped 104 not out; and in Auckland in 1989-90, Australia passed New Zealand's 162 for the loss of two wickets, with Dean Jones scoring 102 not out. The highest completed (all out) ODI innings to contain an individual hundred is Australia's 191 against New Zealand, also in Auckland, in 1999-2000, which included 116 not out from Damien Martyn, who carried his bat.