Who played the most Test matches without ever bowling?
And how many wicketkeepers have captained their teams in T20Is?
Steven Lynch
12-Jun-2018
England fielded two players under the age of 21 for the first time when they picked Dom Bess and Sam Curran for the Headingley Test against Pakistan • Getty Images
How often have England fielded a Test side containing two players under 21, as they did at Headingley? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England
England's two under-21s in the second Test against Pakistan at Headingley were Dom Bess, winning his second cap, and Sam Curran, who was making his debut. And, rather to my surprise, it seems that this was the first time England had ever selected two players under the age of 21 in the same Test side: there had been 59 previous matches in which England fielded one under-21, including two others this year - the first Test against Pakistan, at Lord's (Bess' debut), and the final Ashes Test in Sydney in January (Mason Crane).
England's two under-21s in the second Test against Pakistan at Headingley were Dom Bess, winning his second cap, and Sam Curran, who was making his debut. And, rather to my surprise, it seems that this was the first time England had ever selected two players under the age of 21 in the same Test side: there had been 59 previous matches in which England fielded one under-21, including two others this year - the first Test against Pakistan, at Lord's (Bess' debut), and the final Ashes Test in Sydney in January (Mason Crane).
Curran was only the seventh teenager to play for England in a Test, following Jack Crawford (1905-06), Ian Peebles (1927-28), Denis Compton (1937), Brian Close (1949), Ben Hollioake (1997) and Haseeb Hameed (2016-17). Curran actually left the teens during the match at Headingley, and on his 20th birthday (June 3), was out for 20. Andrew Samson, the Test Match Special statistician, saved me a lot of work by discovering that the only other player to score his age on his birthday during a Test was England's Geoff Pullar, when he was out for 26 against Australia at Old Trafford on August 1, 1961.
The overall record for under-21 players in the same Test side is six, by Bangladesh on four occasions, most recently against India in Chittagong in 2004-05. Bangladesh's match against Zimbabwe in Dhaka later that season featured a record nine players aged under 21 in all.
Who scored 96 in a one-day international without a boundary? asked Sunit Kumar from the United Arab Emirates
This was the usually un-stodgy New Zealander Adam Parore, against India in Baroda (now Vadodara) in a triangular one-day series in 1994-95. Parore came in at No. 3 and faced 138 balls, but couldn't manage a boundary, even though Wisden reported that it was a small ground. But he did share a stand of 180 with his captain, Ken Rutherford (whose 108 included 13 fours), which remained a New Zealand third-wicket record for more than 20 years.
This was the usually un-stodgy New Zealander Adam Parore, against India in Baroda (now Vadodara) in a triangular one-day series in 1994-95. Parore came in at No. 3 and faced 138 balls, but couldn't manage a boundary, even though Wisden reported that it was a small ground. But he did share a stand of 180 with his captain, Ken Rutherford (whose 108 included 13 fours), which remained a New Zealand third-wicket record for more than 20 years.
Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan v Australia in Melbourne in 1981-82) and Kim Barnett (England v Sri Lanka at The Oval in 1988) both made 84 in an ODI without the help of a single boundary. That was Barnett's debut, and he won the match award… but never played for England again.
Is MS Dhoni the only wicketkeeper to captain his side in a T20 international? asked Rishi Talukdar from India
Although MS Dhoni leads the way, having captained India in 72 T20Is between 2007 and 2016, there are 18 others who have captained while being the designated keeper in the same match. A long way behind Dhoni come Mushfiqur Rahim, who captained Bangladesh 24 times, and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (22).
Although MS Dhoni leads the way, having captained India in 72 T20Is between 2007 and 2016, there are 18 others who have captained while being the designated keeper in the same match. A long way behind Dhoni come Mushfiqur Rahim, who captained Bangladesh 24 times, and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (22).
The list includes three players who have led their teams this year: Pakistan's Sarfraz Ahmed, who is fourth, with 20, Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal, and Jos Buttler of England, who has done the job four times now.
Who was the oldest man to make his maiden Test century? asked Jamie Lewcock from England
The oldest man to reach three figures for the first time in a Test was Dave Nourse, who was 42 years 295 days old when he made 111 for South Africa against Australia in Johannesburg in 1921-22. Nourse had made his Test debut 19 years earlier, and was still around - aged 45 - when South Africa toured England in 1924. This was his only Test century.
The oldest man to reach three figures for the first time in a Test was Dave Nourse, who was 42 years 295 days old when he made 111 for South Africa against Australia in Johannesburg in 1921-22. Nourse had made his Test debut 19 years earlier, and was still around - aged 45 - when South Africa toured England in 1924. This was his only Test century.
Nourse is the only over-40, but four others have made their first Test hundred when past the age of 39. They include Peter Kirsten, another South African, who made 104 against England at Headingley in 1994. For the full list of the oldest maiden centurions in Tests, click here (note that this shows the players' ages at the start of the matches concerned).
Who played the most Test matches without ever bowling? asked Dennis Abbott from England
Top of this particular list is the Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy, who never got on to bowl in his 119 Tests - although this video suggests he knew what to do. Two other men have reached a century of caps without ever bowling, and rather surprisingly neither of them was a wicketkeeper: Stephen Fleming, who played 111 Tests for New Zealand, and Andrew Strauss, who had exactly 100 for England.
Top of this particular list is the Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy, who never got on to bowl in his 119 Tests - although this video suggests he knew what to do. Two other men have reached a century of caps without ever bowling, and rather surprisingly neither of them was a wicketkeeper: Stephen Fleming, who played 111 Tests for New Zealand, and Andrew Strauss, who had exactly 100 for England.
If you include those who had a very occasional trundle but never claimed a Test wicket, Kumar Sangakkara leads the way, with 134 caps. There are 11 other players who played 100 Tests and never took a wicket, none of them regular wicketkeepers apart from Alec Stewart (133 Tests, in 82 of which he was the designated keeper).
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Steven Lynch is the editor of the updated edition of Wisden on the Ashes