Who is the youngest bowler to take an ODI five-for?
And, who has taken the most Test wickets without ever managing ten in a match?
Steven Lynch
06-Mar-2018
New Zealand lost four wickets to run-outs in their six-wicket loss to England in Mount Maunganui • Getty Images
Was Mominul Haque the first to score two centuries in the same Test for Bangladesh? And who was the first for the other countries? asked Humana Hossain from Bangladesh
That splendid double by Mominul Haque recently - 176 and 105 against Sri Lanka in Chittagong - was indeed the first such double for Bangladesh. It was the 83rd instance in all Tests of a feat first achieved by Australia's Warren Bardsley in 1909, when he made 136 and 130 against England at The Oval.
That splendid double by Mominul Haque recently - 176 and 105 against Sri Lanka in Chittagong - was indeed the first such double for Bangladesh. It was the 83rd instance in all Tests of a feat first achieved by Australia's Warren Bardsley in 1909, when he made 136 and 130 against England at The Oval.
The first to score twin centuries for the other Test-playing countries were as follows: England - AC "Jack" Russell in 1922-23; West Indies - George Headley in 1929-30; South Africa - Alan Melville in 1947; India - Vijay Hazare in 1947-48; Pakistan - Hanif Mohammad in 1961-62; New Zealand - Glenn Turner in 1973-74; Sri Lanka - Duleep Mendis in 1982-83; Zimbabwe - Grant Flower in 1997-98.
My high school teacher always said, of ODIs, "three run-outs and you're sure to lose". When a team is chasing a big target, you can probably expect more run-outs - but how often do teams batting first win if they have at least three? asked David Norman from New Zealand
The difference is perhaps not quite as big as you might expect. As I write there have been 214 one-day internationals in which the team batting first suffered three or more run-outs. Of those, the majority did lose - 125 - but 89 of the teams still won. By chance both these scenarios occurred in successive games in England's current one-day series in New Zealand. In the second match, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand lost after having four run-outs in the first innings of the match. But in the next game, in Wellington, England won by four runs despite three men being run out. This was the first such instance since November 2015.
The difference is perhaps not quite as big as you might expect. As I write there have been 214 one-day internationals in which the team batting first suffered three or more run-outs. Of those, the majority did lose - 125 - but 89 of the teams still won. By chance both these scenarios occurred in successive games in England's current one-day series in New Zealand. In the second match, in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand lost after having four run-outs in the first innings of the match. But in the next game, in Wellington, England won by four runs despite three men being run out. This was the first such instance since November 2015.
Don Bradman scored a record 974 runs during the 1930 Ashes. Is it true that he did not hit a six during that series? asked Ibrahim Kamara from Sierra Leone
Yes, it's true: Don Bradman's 974 runs in England in the five Tests in England in 1930 - still a record for any Test series - did not include any sixes. He did hit 98 fours though, a record at the time. It's since been surpassed by Viv Richards (112 fours in England in 1976) and Brian Lara (121 in England in 1995).
Yes, it's true: Don Bradman's 974 runs in England in the five Tests in England in 1930 - still a record for any Test series - did not include any sixes. He did hit 98 fours though, a record at the time. It's since been surpassed by Viv Richards (112 fours in England in 1976) and Brian Lara (121 in England in 1995).
Bradman actually hit only six sixes in the 52 Tests of his 20-year career, preferring to keep the ball on the ground. Four of those came in England in 1934: two during his 304 at Headingley, and one in each innings at The Oval, where he scored 244 and 77. He had hit his first Test six during the 1932-33 Bodyline series, off Hedley Verity in Adelaide, and added another more than 13 years later during his 201 against India in Adelaide in 1947-48. Four of those sixes came after he had passed 200.
Who's the youngest bowler to take five wickets in an innings in an ODI? asked Hemant Narayan from India
This record changed hands recently, when Afghanistan's offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 5 for 50 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah last month. Mujeeb, who was born in March 2001, was 16 years 325 days old at the time.
This record changed hands recently, when Afghanistan's offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman took 5 for 50 against Zimbabwe in Sharjah last month. Mujeeb, who was born in March 2001, was 16 years 325 days old at the time.
He claimed the record previously held by his Afghanistan team-mate Rashid Khan, who was 18 years 178 days when he took 6 for 43 against Ireland in Greater Noida in March 2017. Wasim Akram was 18 years 266 days when he took 5 for 21 for Pakistan against Australia in Melbourne in 1984-85.
Mujeeb will be 17 by the time Afghanistan play their first Test, so will miss out on the chance of becoming the youngest to take a five-for in a Test: Nasim-ul-Ghani was aged 16 years 307 days when he took 5 for 116 for Pakistan against West Indies in Georgetown in 1957-58.
Who has taken the most Test wickets without ever managing ten in a match? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa
So far two men have taken more than 300 Test wickets without the aid of a ten-for. Bob Willis claimed 325 for England with a best match return of 9 for 92 against New Zealand at Headingley in 1983, while Brett Lee took 310 for Australia, including 9 for 171 against New Zealand in Adelaide in 2008-09. That was the only time Lee took nine a match: Willis did it four times.
So far two men have taken more than 300 Test wickets without the aid of a ten-for. Bob Willis claimed 325 for England with a best match return of 9 for 92 against New Zealand at Headingley in 1983, while Brett Lee took 310 for Australia, including 9 for 171 against New Zealand in Adelaide in 2008-09. That was the only time Lee took nine a match: Willis did it four times.
As I write (after South Africa's first Test against Australia), Morne Morkel has 297 wickets in 84 Tests, with a best match return of 8 for 196 against Australia in Adelaide in 2012-13. For the full list of bowlers without ten-fors, click here.
Steven Lynch is the editor of the updated edition of Wisden on the Ashes