Who holds the record for the longest gap between ODI appearances?

Chasing 40, Sui Northern Gas were all out for 37 in a recent match in Pakistan. Was this a first-class record? asked Ilyas Ahmed from Pakistan
The match you're referring to was in Pakistan's domestic President's Trophy in Karachi last week: Sui Northern Gas needed only 40 in the final innings to beat Pakistan Television, but were skittled for 37 to lose by two runs. Shan Masood, Pakistan's Test captain, was one of three batters to bag a duck: only wicketkeeper Saifullah Bangash (14) made it into double figures, while slow left-armer Ali Usman took 6 for 9.

It was indeed the lowest fourth-innings target not reached in first-class history. The previous record happened an awfully long time ago: at the original Lord's ground in August 1794, MCC needed just 41 to beat Oldfield, a team from Bray in Berkshire… but were bowled out for 34. In slightly more recent times, Border needed 42 to beat Eastern Province in a South African Currie Cup match in East London in March 1947, but were also bundled out for 34.

What's the highest second-innings total in a losing cause in each format? asked Usman Farhan from Pakistan
The highest total which was not enough to win when batting second in a one-day international is Sri Lanka's 411 for 8 in Rajkot in December 2009: India had scored 414 for 7, so hung on to win by three runs. In T20 internationals, India's 244 for 4 in Lauderhill (USA) in August 2016 was not quite enough to overhaul West Indies' 245 for 6.

In Tests, the highest second-innings total which still resulted in defeat is India's 510 against England at Headingley in 1967. That was in the third innings of the match: the highest fourth-innings total in defeat is New Zealand's 451 against England in Christchurch in March 2002.

In first-class cricket, Maharashtra made 604 in the fourth innings of the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Poona in March 1949 - but, since they'd been set a stratospheric target of 959 by Bombay, still lost heavily. The List A record is 429, by Glamorgan against Surrey (438 for 5) at The Oval in June 2002, while the overall T20 mark is 262 for 7, by Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Sunrisers Hyderabad (287 for 3) in Bengaluru in April 2024.

I noticed that Jaydev Unadkat missed 192 matches between consecutive one-day internationals that he played. Was this a record? asked Mahesh Ahluwahlia from India
India played 192 one-day internationals between left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat's seventh match, in November 2013, and his eighth and last, nearly ten years later in August 2023. It's not the record, as New Zealand contested no fewer than 271 ODIs between the fourth and fifth games of all-rounder Jeff Wilson. He played four matches in March 1993, when he was 19, and two more nearly 12 years later. He did have a reasonable excuse, as for most of the intervening period he'd been starring for the All Blacks on the rugby pitch.

Even more surprisingly, perhaps, Unadkat's 192 matches missed is not even the Indian record: Sairaj Bahutule missed 196 successive ODIs between January 1998 and November 2003.

Travis Head has scored four hundreds in consecutive Tests at Adelaide Oval. Is this a record? asked Keith D'Souza from Spain
You're right that Travis Head, who hails from Adelaide, has scored centuries in each of the last four Tests there: 175 against West Indies in December 2022, 119 vs West Indies in January 2024, 140 vs India by December 2024, and 170 vs England in December 2025.

This is quite a feat, but it's actually not terribly unusual: among Australians, Michael Clarke also scored hundreds in four successive Tests in Adelaide (2011-12 to 2014-15), while Don Bradman hit centuries in four consecutive Tests at both Melbourne and Lord's. If you discount the match against South Africa in 1931-32 in which he had a foot injury, Bradman made hundreds in seven successive Tests at the MCG in which he batted, between 1928-29 and 1936-37.

But there is another current player who has scored five hundreds in successive Tests on a particular ground: New Zealand's Kane Williamson has reached three figures in each of his last five Tests at Seddon Park in Hamilton, dating back to February 2019.

You mentioned in last week's column that Jacob Bethell has scored his maiden first-class hundred in a Test, and his first List A century in a one-day international. Has anyone else done this? asked Colin Wright from England
It turns out that four other men have managed this unusual feat. The most famous of them is the former Indian captain Kapil Dev, whose unbeaten 126 against West Indies in Delhi in January 1979 was his maiden first-class hundred. Then his famous 175 not out against Zimbabwe in Tunbridge Wells in June 1983 - which rescued India from a parlous 17 for 5 - was his first century in limited-overs cricket.

Two other current players have done this: Mehidy Hasan Miraz of Bangladesh, with 103 in a Test against West Indies in Chattogram in February 2021, and an unbeaten 100 against India in an ODI in Mirpur in December 2022, while Ireland's Curtis Campher made 111 in a Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in April 2023, and 120 in an ODI against Scotland in Bulawayo two months later.

The other man to have scored his maiden first-class hundred in a Test and first List A century in an ODI was Marlon Samuels of West Indies, with 104 in a Test against India in Kolkata in October 2002, and 108 not out in an ODI, also against India, in Vijayawada a month later.

Women generally play fewer first-class matches, which helps explain why there are six who fit the bill here: current players Maia Bouchier(England) and Laura Wolvaardt (South Africa), plus Enid Bakewell (England), Barb Bevege (New Zealand), Rachael Heyhoe Flint (England) and Lorraine Hill (Australia).

Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo's stats team helped with some of the above answers.