Twin eighties, and young Lord's centurions
Also: hundreds in first and last ODIs, oldest Pakistan Test players, the biography of Bill Woodfull, and all the runs ever scored in international cricket
Steven Lynch
12-Jul-2011
Denis Compton: the youngest centurion at Lord's • Playfair Cricket Monthly
VVS Laxman was out twice in the eighties in the second Test against West Indies. I heard that he was only the second player to suffer this fate in a Test - who was the first? asked Nilesh Patel from Mumbai
I think what you might have heard was that VVS Laxman - who made 85 and 87 against West Indies in Bridgetown last week - was only the second Indian batsman to have done this in a Test. The other one was Rusi Modi, who made 80 and 87 against West Indies in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1948-49. There have been eight other instances in all Tests of a batsman getting out twice in what we should perhaps call the "enervating eighties". There were two in different Tests at Lord's last year, for a start: Andrew Strauss made 83 and 82 against Bangladesh in May, then Simon Katich hit 80 and 83 for Australia v Pakistan in July. The other instances were by Trevor Goddard (80 and 84 for South Africa v Australia at Sydney in 1963-64), Doug Walters (81 and 86 for Australia v England at Old Trafford in 1968), Alvin Kallicharran (a pair of round 80s for West Indies v England at The Oval in 1973), Allan Border (89 and 83 for Australia v England in Sydney in 1982-83), Graham Gooch (85 and 88 for England v India at The Oval in 1990) and Mark Greatbatch (87 and 88 for New Zealand v Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 1992-93). Saleem Malik made 82 and 84 - both not out - for Pakistan against England at Headingley in 1992.
I think what you might have heard was that VVS Laxman - who made 85 and 87 against West Indies in Bridgetown last week - was only the second Indian batsman to have done this in a Test. The other one was Rusi Modi, who made 80 and 87 against West Indies in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1948-49. There have been eight other instances in all Tests of a batsman getting out twice in what we should perhaps call the "enervating eighties". There were two in different Tests at Lord's last year, for a start: Andrew Strauss made 83 and 82 against Bangladesh in May, then Simon Katich hit 80 and 83 for Australia v Pakistan in July. The other instances were by Trevor Goddard (80 and 84 for South Africa v Australia at Sydney in 1963-64), Doug Walters (81 and 86 for Australia v England at Old Trafford in 1968), Alvin Kallicharran (a pair of round 80s for West Indies v England at The Oval in 1973), Allan Border (89 and 83 for Australia v England in Sydney in 1982-83), Graham Gooch (85 and 88 for England v India at The Oval in 1990) and Mark Greatbatch (87 and 88 for New Zealand v Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 1992-93). Saleem Malik made 82 and 84 - both not out - for Pakistan against England at Headingley in 1992.
Is Dinesh Chandimal the youngest batsman to score an international century at Lord's? asked Roshane from Canada
Sri Lanka's precocious batsman Dinesh Chandimal was just 21 years and 227 days old when he scored 105 not out in the third one-day international against England at Lord's last week. That made him only the ninth batsman to score an international century there before reaching the age of 22. It's a distinguished list which also includes the Australians Don Bradman (1930), Bill Brown (1934) and Victor Trumper (1899), Denis Compton (1939) and Alastair Cook (2006) of England, Nasim-ul-Ghani of Pakistan (1962), another Sri Lankan in Upul Tharanga (in a one-day international in 2006), and Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh in 2010. Of those, the youngest was Compton, who was just a month past his 21st birthday when he made 120 against West Indies at Lord's in 1939 (he shared a stand of 248 with Len Hutton, a veteran who had turned 23 the day before the match).
Sri Lanka's precocious batsman Dinesh Chandimal was just 21 years and 227 days old when he scored 105 not out in the third one-day international against England at Lord's last week. That made him only the ninth batsman to score an international century there before reaching the age of 22. It's a distinguished list which also includes the Australians Don Bradman (1930), Bill Brown (1934) and Victor Trumper (1899), Denis Compton (1939) and Alastair Cook (2006) of England, Nasim-ul-Ghani of Pakistan (1962), another Sri Lankan in Upul Tharanga (in a one-day international in 2006), and Tamim Iqbal of Bangladesh in 2010. Of those, the youngest was Compton, who was just a month past his 21st birthday when he made 120 against West Indies at Lord's in 1939 (he shared a stand of 248 with Len Hutton, a veteran who had turned 23 the day before the match).
Which players have made centuries in both their first and last one-day internationals? asked Firdaus Mohandas from India
Two men have scored hundreds in both their first and last one-day internationals. The first was England's Dennis Amiss, who made 103 against Australia at Old Trafford on his debut in 1972, and 108, against Australia again, in what turned out to be his last match, at The Oval in 1977. The other batsman to do it was Desmond Haynes, who hit 148 on his debut for West indies, against Australia in St John's in Antigua in 1977-78, and bowed out with 115 against England in Port of Spain in 1993-94. Only four other batsmen - Andy Flower, Martin Guptill, Colin Ingram and Saleem Elahi - have made centuries on one-day international debut, and four more (excluding current players) ended their ODI careers with a hundred - Feiko Kloppenburg, James Marshall, Clive Radley and Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk.
Two men have scored hundreds in both their first and last one-day internationals. The first was England's Dennis Amiss, who made 103 against Australia at Old Trafford on his debut in 1972, and 108, against Australia again, in what turned out to be his last match, at The Oval in 1977. The other batsman to do it was Desmond Haynes, who hit 148 on his debut for West indies, against Australia in St John's in Antigua in 1977-78, and bowed out with 115 against England in Port of Spain in 1993-94. Only four other batsmen - Andy Flower, Martin Guptill, Colin Ingram and Saleem Elahi - have made centuries on one-day international debut, and four more (excluding current players) ended their ODI careers with a hundred - Feiko Kloppenburg, James Marshall, Clive Radley and Klaas-Jan van Noortwijk.
Last week ESPNcricinfo had an interesting interview with Azhar Mahmood, in which he said he still hoped to play for Pakistan. Azhar is now 36 - how many people older than that have played a Test for Pakistan? asked Alpesh Mughal from London
So far 11 men have played Test cricket for Pakistan after their 36th birthday, including the current captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who was 37 in May. Zaheer Abbas won the most caps - 20 - while Imran Khan played 15 Tests after turning 36, and Inzamam-ul-Haq 13. The oldest of all was Miran Bakhsh, who was almost 48 when he won his only two Test caps, against India in 1954-55. An offspinner, he took 2 for 82 from 48 overs on his debut in Lahore - including Vijay Manjrekar for a duck - but failed to strike in his other Test.
So far 11 men have played Test cricket for Pakistan after their 36th birthday, including the current captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who was 37 in May. Zaheer Abbas won the most caps - 20 - while Imran Khan played 15 Tests after turning 36, and Inzamam-ul-Haq 13. The oldest of all was Miran Bakhsh, who was almost 48 when he won his only two Test caps, against India in 1954-55. An offspinner, he took 2 for 82 from 48 overs on his debut in Lahore - including Vijay Manjrekar for a duck - but failed to strike in his other Test.
How many runs have been scored in Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 internationals since their inception? asked Mark Long from the UK
Statsguru informs me that, as we home in on the 2000th Test - at Lord's at the end of the month - the two millionth Test run is also on the horizon. After the second Test between West Indies and India, there had been a grand total of 1,958,692 runs scored in Test cricket. The tally in one-day internationals, after the third match of the England-Sri Lanka series, was 1,321,050, plus 55,539 in Twenty20 internationals, making a grand total for all men's international cricket of 3,335,101 runs (as at July 4, 2011).
Statsguru informs me that, as we home in on the 2000th Test - at Lord's at the end of the month - the two millionth Test run is also on the horizon. After the second Test between West Indies and India, there had been a grand total of 1,958,692 runs scored in Test cricket. The tally in one-day internationals, after the third match of the England-Sri Lanka series, was 1,321,050, plus 55,539 in Twenty20 internationals, making a grand total for all men's international cricket of 3,335,101 runs (as at July 4, 2011).
Which Test cricketer's life story is called Gentleman and Scholar? asked Ranvir Ahmed via Facebook
This is the recent biography of the former Australian batsman Bill Woodfull, written by Alan Gregory and published in Australia. Woodfull captained in 25 of his 35 Tests. That included the ill-tempered Bodyline Ashes series of 1932-33, during which he is credited with coining one of cricket's most famous quotes: after he was hit about the body during the Adelaide Test, Woodfull was having a massage when the England manager, Plum Warner, came in to see how he was. Woodfull announced: "There are two teams out there, one is playing cricket. The other is making no attempt to do so." Warner, as they say, made his excuses and left. Woodfull retired after regaining the Ashes in 1934, and concentrated on his teaching career: he rose to become headmaster of Melbourne High School. I've heard good things about the book but haven't seen it yet - maybe a friendly Australian publisher can send us a copy!
This is the recent biography of the former Australian batsman Bill Woodfull, written by Alan Gregory and published in Australia. Woodfull captained in 25 of his 35 Tests. That included the ill-tempered Bodyline Ashes series of 1932-33, during which he is credited with coining one of cricket's most famous quotes: after he was hit about the body during the Adelaide Test, Woodfull was having a massage when the England manager, Plum Warner, came in to see how he was. Woodfull announced: "There are two teams out there, one is playing cricket. The other is making no attempt to do so." Warner, as they say, made his excuses and left. Woodfull retired after regaining the Ashes in 1934, and concentrated on his teaching career: he rose to become headmaster of Melbourne High School. I've heard good things about the book but haven't seen it yet - maybe a friendly Australian publisher can send us a copy!
Steven Lynch is the editor of the Wisden Guide to International Cricket 2011. Ask Steven is now on Facebook