Bowler-captains, and the biggest Twenty20 innings

I was looking ahead to the Lord's Test and wondering whether Daniel Vettori was the first left-arm spinner to captain New Zealand? asked Andrew Fingleton from Barnes

As it turns out, Daniel Vettori is indeed the first specialist left-arm spinner to captain New Zealand in a Test (before the Lord's Test he had led the side on seven occasions). More than that, only two other specialist bowlers have ever captained them in Tests - fast bowler Harry Cave in nine matches in the 1950s, and Dion Nash, in the three-match home series against South Africa in 1998-99 when Stephen Fleming was injured. For a full list of New Zealand's Test captains, click here.

Was Brendon McCullum's innings in the first IPL match a record in any Twenty20 game? asked Samanth Jarobia from Delhi

Yes, the New Zealander Brendon McCullum's innings of 158 not out - from only 73 balls - for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Royal Challengers in Bangalore last month was the highest individual score in any top-grade Twenty20 match. The previous record was 141 not out, by the Australian Cameron White for Somerset against Worcestershire at Worcester in 2006.

I noticed that Alex Tudor made his Test debut at Perth in 1998-99 and then played his last Test (to date) at Perth again in 2002-03. How many other players have started and ended their Test careers on the same overseas ground? asked Godfrey from India

It turns out that there are 38 other players in the same boat as England's Alex Tudor, in playing their first and last Test on the same away ground. One of them is a current player, the West Indian Daren Ganga (first and last Tests to date both at Durban), who may get off this list if he plays against Australia soon. The list includes 15 players from the 19th century, but those since the Second World War (apart from Ganga and Tudor) are the South African Clive Halse (first and last Tests at Sydney), India's Sadu Shinde (Lord's), Bob Cowper of Australia (Headingley), and three New Zealanders - the aforementioned Harry Cave (Headingley), Bruce Edgar (The Oval) and Blair Pocock (Perth).

Who are the current top five cricketers behind Mark Ramprakash in terms of centuries scored? asked David Cosham

As I write, Mark Ramprakash stands poised, with 99 centuries, to become the 25th batsman to score 100 hundreds in first-class cricket. He may well be the last, too: his nearest current challengers are well behind, and all well advanced in their careers. Darren Lehmann, who appears to have retired, has 82, Justin Langer has 81, and his longtime opening partner Matthew Hayden 79, Stuart Law has 78, Ricky Ponting 68 and Sachin Tendulkar 65. Next on the list - and the nearest Englishman to Ramprakash - is John Crawley, who has so far made 53 first-class hundreds.

I am enjoying watching Somerset's new overseas player Zander de Bruyn. Has he played any Test matches for South Africa? asked Stephen Farrell from Bath

Zander de Bruyn, who is 32 and was born in Johannesburg, has won three Test caps. He scored 83 in his first Test, against India in Kanpur in 2004-05, but hasn't played since the first Test against England in Port Elizabeth later that season. de Bruyn joined Somerset as a Kolpak player in 2008.

What is the highest score an opening batsman has made in carrying his bat in a Test and first-class match? asked Ramsey Dickenson from the United States

Four men have scored a double-century while carrying their bat in a Test, but the highest score among them was 223 not out, by New Zealand's Glenn Turner against West Indies at Kingston in 1971-72. The other three double-centurions are Australia's Bill Brown (206 not out against England at Lord's in 1938), Len Hutton of England (202 not out v West Indies at The Oval in 1950), and Sri Lanka's Marvan Atapattu (216 not out against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 1999-2000). The highest score by anyone carrying his bat in a first-class match is 357 not out, by Surrey's Bobby Abel against Somerset at The Oval in 1899. For a complete list of batsmen to have carried their bat through a Test innings, click here.