Stranded on 99, and Australians born in England

Has anyone been stranded on 99 not out in a Test? asked Jaganath Desai from Indore

This has happened five times now. The first man to be marooned on 99 in a Test was England's Geoff Boycott, against Australia at Perth in 1979-80. The next one was also at the WACA, in 1994-95, when Steve Waugh was left on 99 after a mix-up with his running partner - his twin brother Mark, who was out there as a runner for the injured Craig McDermott. The third man - and the only one whose highest Test score remains 99 not out - was Alex Tudor, for England against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1999 after going in as nightwatchman. And the list is completed by two South Africans, who achieved this unwanted feat in the space of nine months - Shaun Pollock, against Sri Lanka at Centurion in November 2002, and Andrew Hall, against England at Headingley in August 2003. Moving up the scale, Andy Flower was stranded on 199 for Zimbabwe against South Africa at Harare in 2001-02, while Don Bradman was stuck on 299 - he ran the last batsman "Pud" Thurlow out - for Australia against South Africa at Adelaide in 1931-32. For a full list of Test 99s, click here.

I see that Andrew Symonds was born in England - who was the last "Pom" before him to represent Australia? asked Chris Broadley from Adelaide

Andrew Symonds was born in Birmingham in 1975, and had a brief stint of county cricket as an English-qualified player before deciding that he was a fair-dinkum Aussie (he was taken to Australia when he was around two years old). Before that Ken MacLeay, a member of Australia's World Cup squad in 1983, was born in Bradford-upon-Avon in Wiltshire. MacLeay, a medium-pacer from Western Australia who took 6 for 39 in a convincing victory over the eventual champions India in that World Cup at Trent Bridge, won 16 one-day caps but never played in a Test. He later played for Somerset thanks to his English birth qualification. The last English-born man to play in a Test for Australia before Symonds was Tony Dell, the Queensland fast bowler who won two caps in the early 1970s: he was born in Lymington in Hampshire, on the edge of the New Forest.

Was England's 391 against Bangladesh last week a record ODI total? asked Phil Granville from Lincoln

It was the second-highest in all one-day internationals, below only Sri Lanka's 398 for 5 against Kenya at Kandy in the 1995-96 World Cup. But it was a record score for England - their previous-best was 363 for 7 in 55 overs against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 1992 - and the highest against a Test-playing country. For a longer list of the highest ODI totals, click here.

Bazid Khan's father and grandfather both played Test cricket - is this unique? asked Arif Uddin from Wembley

Bazid Khan, whose father Majid captained Pakistan while his grandfather Jahangir Khan played for India before Partition, is only the second third-generation Test cricketer so far. The first one was Dean Headley, who played 15 Tests for England in the 1990s. He followed his father Ron and grandfather George, who both played for West Indies. Chris Tremlett, who made a successful one-day debut last week, is the grandson of a Test player - Maurice Tremlett, who played three Tests for England in the 1940s. Chris's father, Tim, had a successful county career with Hampshire, but never won a Test cap.

Who were the top runscorer and wicket-taker in Tests in 2004? asked Bernard Dacre of King's Lynn

The leading Test runscorer last year was Justin Langer, with 1481 runs in 14 matches at an average of 54.85. Another Australian, Damien Martyn, was second with 1353. In all 11 men passed 1000 runs for the year: click here for details. Turning to the bowlers, Anil Kumble led the way in 2004 with 74 wickets in 12 matches, just ahead of Shane Warne (70) and Steve Harmison (67). For a full list, click here.

Did anyone play for South Africa either side of their long ban from international cricket? asked Johann Strydom from Johannesburg

Not quite, no. Clive Rice, who captained South Africa in their first official one-day internationals when they returned to international cricket in 1991-92, was selected for the South African tour of Australia 20 years before, but that was cancelled. The nearest anyone came was John Traicos, the Egyptian-born offspinner, who played in South Africa's last three Tests before their excommunication in 1969-70, and was still around, at 45, to play in Zimbabwe's first four matches when they achieved Test status in 1992-93.