Which visiting bowler has the most wickets in a Test series in Australia?

Who hit seven sixes in an over in a List A match? asked Jigna Devalia from the United States
This seemingly impossible feat came about because the over contained a no-ball - and Ruturaj Gaikwad hit it and the other six deliveries bowled at him for six, during Maharashtra's Vijay Hazare Trophy quarter-final against Uttar Pradesh in Ahmedabad in November 2022. The 49th over of the innings cost 43 in all, including the one-run penalty for the illegal delivery: the unfortunate bowler was slow left-armer Shiva Singh, whose other eight overs cost just 45.

Gaikwad roared on to 220 not out, with 16 sixes, as Maharashtra reached 330 for 5. UP managed a respectable total of 272 (which coincidentally had been the score before Gaikwad's 49th-over onslaught); poor Shiva was out for 1. Gaikwad said he'd wanted to speak to him after the match, but wasn't able to. "He must have been dejected," he said, "but all I would like to remind him is to remember that Stuart Broad went for six sixes in an over (in the 2007 T20 World Cup) and had an outstanding career."

For a table showing the most runs scored in one List A over, click here.

Ismat Alam scored a century and also bagged a duck on his Test debut for Afghanistan the other day. How many people have done this in their first Test? asked Rifat Hussain from Pakistan
Ismat Alam followed a duck in the first innings of his Test debut, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last week, with 101 in the second innings. He was the fifth man to do this particular double on Test debut, following Gundappa Viswanath (India vs Australia in Kanpur in November 1969), Andrew Hudson (South Africa vs West Indies in Bridgetown in April 1992), Mohammad Wasim (Pakistan vs New Zealand in Lahore in November 1996) and Keaton Jennings (England vs India in Mumbai in December 2016).

On his debut for New Zealand in Calcutta in March 1965, Bruce Taylor made 105 and 0 not out. And note that a woman did this for the first time in December 2024: Maia Bouchier scored 126 and 0 for England against South Africa in Bloemfontein.

Jasprit Bumrah took 32 wickets in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Where does this stand for visiting bowlers in Australia? asked Mithun Ahmed from India
Jasprit Bumrah's haul in the recent series was a new record for an Indian bowler in Australia: Bishan Bedi took 31 in 1977-78.

Overall, Bumrah lies joint fourth in the table of most wickets by a visiting bowler in a series in Australia. The England seamer Maurice Tate leads the way, with 38 in the 1924-25 Ashes, during which he bowled nearly three times as many deliveries as Bumrah. Another Englishman, Sydney Barnes, took 34 wickets in 1911-12, while three men have managed 33: Harold Larwood (in the 1932-33 Bodyline series), Richard Hadlee (in just three Tests in 1985-86) and Curtly Ambrose (1992-93).

The only Australian to take more wickets in a home series than Tate was Rodney Hogg, with 41 in the six-match Ashes of 1978-79. Bill Whitty took 37 against South Africa in 1910-11, and Mitchell Johnson 37 in the 2013-14 Ashes.

Who carried his bat twice in a first-class match but finished on the losing side? asked Jamie Stewart from South Africa
The feat of an opener carrying his bat through both innings of a first-class match has been done on only six occasions - and four of the men who did it ended up on the losing side. The first was the "Surrey Stonewaller" Harry Jupp, who played in the first Test of all in March 1877: he carried his bat twice against Yorkshire at The Oval in 1874, but Surrey still lost by four wickets.

Jimmy Cook did it for Somerset against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in July 1989, and still lost by an innings. Cecil Wood (Leicestershire vs Yorkshire in Bradford in June 1911) and Sudhakar Reddy (Andhra vs Kerala in Kozhikode in December 1991) both tasted defeat too.

The only occasion it has led to a win was when Vijay Merchant carried his bat through both innings for the Indian tourists against Lancashire in Liverpool in July 1936. When Sep Kinneir did it for Warwickshire vs Leicestershire in Leicester in July 1907, the match was drawn.

We know about hundreds before lunch on the first day in Tests, but what are the best bowling figures before lunch on the first day? asked Neil Maitland from England
The best pre-lunch bowling figures on the first day of a Test match are 8 for 15, in a stunning spell by Stuart Broad for England against Australia at Trent Bridge in August 2015. In a scarcely believable passage of play, Australia were shot out for 60 in 18.3 overs, the shortest opening innings in Test history: England were batting themselves before lunch.

There appear to be four other cases of a bowler taking six wickets before lunch on the first day of a Test, the most recent by Mohammed Siraj (6 for 15) as India skittled South Africa for 55 in Cape Town in January 2024. The earlier instances were by Tom Richardson (England vs Australia at Lord's in 1896), Graham McKenzie (Australia vs India in Melbourne in December 1967) and Trent Boult (New Zealand vs England in Auckland in March 2018).

And just in case there's anyone who doesn't know about hundreds before lunch, there's a list here.