Ask Bearders #183

Am I right in thinking that, following AB De Villiers' recent duck against Bangladesh, James Anderson now has the longest test career without getting a duck? Also, I was recently amusingly told that Geraint Jones went his entire test career without getting a duck, until succumbing to a pair in his last appearance. Is this accurate?

Re Bradman's scoring rate (c/f from 182 Bearders)

Cricinfo have times for all of the Don's 80 test innings - 6996 runs scored in 11393 minutes, and numbers of balls faced for 69 of them - 9798 balls producing 5743 runs.

His fastest scores (50+) in terms of runs per hour (runs per 100 balls in brackets where known):
98.70 - 152 v WI, Melbourne, 1930-31
91.25 - 167 v SA, Melbourne, 1931-32
90.41 - 66 v E, Adelaide, 1932-33 (92.95)
87.80 - 334 v E, Leeds, 1930 (74.55)
81.58 - 226 v SA, Brisbane, 1931-32
77.21 - 244 v E, Oval, 1934 (90.03)
75.78 - 169 v E, Melbourne, 1936-37 (88.48)
75.12 - 299* v SA, Adelaide, 1931-32
75.08 - 223 v WI, Brisbane, 1930-31
74.48 - 254 v E, Lord's (67.55)
73.89 - 201 v E, Adelaide, 1946-47 (67.90)
73.19 - 71 v E, Sydney, 1932-33 (102.89)
72.25 - 112 v SA, Sydney, 1931-32
71.34 - 127* v I, Melbourne, 1947-48 (75.14)
70.69 - 304 v E, Leeds, 1934 (64.27)

His fastest scores (50+) in terms of runs per 100 balls (not noted above):
75.55 - 102* - v E, Lord's, 1938
72.64 - 77 - v E, Oval, 1934
72.00 - 270 - v E, Melbourne, 1936-37
70.54 - 103* - v E, Melbourne, 1931-32
64.70 - 132 - v I, Melbourne, 1946-47

I remember Glenn Turner scoring 141 out of a Worcestershire total, I believe, of 169. Similarly, I recall reading this was a record for the percentage of runs scored by a single player in a first-class innings. Who holds the equivalent record in test cricket?

Q3. Charles Bannerman in the 1st ever test still holds this record, but I can't remember or be bothered to look up the exact figures

I was surprised to see that Brett Lee's bowling figures of 9/171 were his career best figures. Is his total career wickets of 309 the most by a bowler to never have taken a ten for in a test match?

I have recently been watching a lot of archive footage of test cricket throughout the 70's and 80's. The one thing that startles me the most is the fact that the players had to sprint off the field the moment victory was sealed, as hoards of fans ran onto the pitch in an attempt to take a piece of Botham, Gower or Lamb home with them!

As a 20 year old viewer, this was obviously curtailed before I started watching test cricket. When were major efforts made to stop this from happening and how successful were initial efforts? Was there a landmark match where this was eliminated for the first time?

Thanks,
Simon
Dublin

#5 - Bob Willis currently holds this record, having taken 325 wickets without ever capturing 10 in a match. Lee might well overtake him soon.

#6 - This caused problems at least until 2001 when Pakistan fans invaded the pitch at Headingly despite the winning runs not having been scored. Rather than return to the pitch and place his team in danger, England captain Alec Stewart conceded the match.

Has any team's batting side been dismissed in the order of the batting line up, leaving the number 11 n.o. in any form of the game?

Re #6:

I remember that the 99 World Cup was a turning point. Steve Waugh made some comments about players potentially getting injured...I don't know if anyone ever was, but from then on, it certainly became an issue.

I remember 1985 when England won the first test v Australia and an Australian player (Lawson?) was impeded or distracted from taking a potential catch (Allan Lamb at the crease?) by fans who were already on the field celebrating the "winning runs".

Q. Has there ever been a case of a bowling picking up four or more wickets without conceding a run in any form? (So not just getting four wickets in four bals)

#4:

Many thanks. I have looked up the match figures and seen that Mr Bannerman scored 165 out of 245, or 67.35% of the runs. Extraordinary, that a stat from the very first test should still be a record. I ask because I once scored 74 for my school out of a total of 98 all out. It was a very strange couple of hours.

If a bowler bowls a no-ball and the ball is caught by a fielder, then in the unlikely event that the fielder threw the ball over the boundary while attempting to return the ball to the wicketkeeper, would it be a 6?
John Farmhouse, Lancashire

Which England team included the most current county captains? The first test I watched on TV (Old Trafford 1966 against West Indies) featured at least 3: Colin Cowdrey, MJK Smith and Fred Titmus.

Re 8 (paddy_murph)

There are many instances of Batsmen 1 to 10 being dismissed in sequence in first class and List A matches.

In tests, it has happened four times:
England (2nd inns) v South Africa, Cape Town, 1909-10
England (1st inns) v South Africa, Johannesburg, 1948-49
Australia (2nd inns) v West Indies, Georgetown, 1964-65
Pakistan (2nd inns) v England, Manchester, 2001

In ODI's, it has happened twice (in 33 days!):
India v Australia, Visakhaptnam, 2000-01
West Indies v South Africa, St George's, 2000-01

If a ball hits a batsman on the leg, which may or may not be deemed LBW, but later hits the bat and is caught, the batsman is out 'caught'. But if the ball hits a batsman on his leg which is well outside the line of stumps(no lbw possible), but gets deflected to his other leg which is plumb lbw, what is the official decision? Does the batsman regret having two legs?

Re the question - "Following Yuvraj Singh's recent heroics against England, I was wondering what is the highest number of runs scored in an innings by a batsman while using a runner?"

Saeed Anwar scored 194 for Pakistan against India in an ODI @ chennai during the Independance cup in 1997. Afridi was Anwar's runner from the 18th over onwards.

What's the percentage of bowlers (front-line and part-time) who have taken a test wicket on debut? I guess it's pretty high.

And, with the exceptions of 'first ever' matches and South Africa's 1st post-apartheid test, what is the highest amount of debutants to take a test wicket in a single game?

Trick, Taipei.

Re question 13.

I don’t now if it’s the record, but the England side in the first Test against South Africa at Edgbaston in 1960 contained five current county captains - Cowdrey, Dexter, Subba Row, MJK Smith and Barber.

Re 1

Yes Jimmy Anderson has the longest test career without a duck - 29 matches (41 innings). However, two other have batted in more test innings without a duck - Yasir Hameed (Pak) in 45 innings (23 matches) and JW Burke (Aus) in 44 innings (24 matches).

And you are right about Geraint Jones - 34 matches and 53 innings, and only the last two were ducks.

SimonCorcoran
In South Africa, the crowd used to surge on to field not only at the end of a game, which often resulted in the fielding side having to concede a four, but at every interval. The ground staff had to run on to cordon off the pitch and to save the stumps, and we would play cricket round the boundaries.
It was stopped in the early 90's, I believe after a pitch was sabotaged during a game, and an incident where a game was unfinished after a no ball was bowled and the crowd thought the game was over. As the session or the game neared its end, marshals (or possibly police) would come on with vicious guard dogs and surround the boundary, until eventually the practice was snuffed out.

#15 - Only the first impact is considered when judging LBW appeals, so in the situation you describe, the batsman would be not out.

Re 10 - Yes. You said in any form. In an inter-college match I played at uni, our skipper, at best a bowler of erratic slow-medium filth brought himself on to open up the scoring a bit as our opening bowlers had done such a good job at the top of the innengs. The batting team's eyes must have lit up, because after 3 overs he had four wickets for no runs, with the batting side nine wickets down. Unfortunately in his next over, as the field closed in for an unlikely 5fer, the batsman played a drop and run and one unlucky fielder had to make the choice between taking an easy run out to preserve the captains clean sheet or allowing the run in order to give him a chance at a career first (and probably only) five wicket haul. The former option was chosen, as it got us to the pub quicker.

What is the record for the number of instances of unchanged team (first playing eleven) for ODIs and tests. My 'pure guess' would be 'not more than 6 in both test and ODI '.

Do you keep track of coaches? what is the maximum number of coaches per team in an year? My guess for this 'changeability' would be pakistan. and what is the longest one went with the same team?

Bill

What do you (and others on here) concider to be

1. the most archaine law in cricket

and

2. what law in your oppinion should be added to the current list?

Cheers

Andy

Which Bowler has the most caught and bowled in Test and ODI cricket?

question 26 - Mid Morning Warning

in tests the top 3 are (unsuprisingly):

name - matches - wkts - ct and bwl -%

A Kumble -132 - 619 - 35 - 5.65
M Muralitharan -123 -756 -33 - 4.36
SK Warne -145- 708- 21- 2.96

the highest % (of bwlers taking 10 ct and bwl) is 13.95% (12 wkts) of 86 wkts by HJ Howath

in ODIs:

M Muralitharan 318- 490- 31- 6.32
CZ Harris 250 - 203- 29- 14.28
Saqlain Mushtaq 169- 288- 20- 6.94

the highest % (taking 10 at least) is, very surprisingly, 20.54% (15 wkts) of 73 wkts by AR Border!

As a result of this marvellous blog I have been looking up lots of scorecards that are mentioned and noticed that quite a few early tests were timeless. How many tests have been timeless and how many lasted more than 5 days? When did the 5 day format become the norm?

buzz1989, Cambs

Mike Atherton was famous for being Glenn McGrath's "bunny". But what were his stats in terms of total ducks, ducks per innings and average runs?

Which Englishman (and which player from any country) has the best record against him?

Which batsman has the worst record against a particular bowler?

question 29 - Sir Ian Blog

Atherton's record (of dismissals) against McGrath is the worst of any batsman against any bowler in tests

the top five read: matches-wkts-ave-ducks

GD McGrath (Aus) MA Atherton (Eng) 1994-2001 17 19 9.89 3
AV Bedser (Eng) AR Morris (Aus) 1946-1954 21 18 32.11 2
CEL Ambrose (WI) MA Atherton (Eng) 1991-2000 26 17 25.76 4
CA Walsh (WI) MA Atherton (Eng) 1991-2000 27 17 22.64 1
MD Marshall (WI) GA Gooch (Eng) 1980-1991 21 16 28.50 2

question 28 - Buzz 1989

There were 29 tests that lasted longer than 5 days from 1894 to 1939. There might have been others that just didn't go past 5 days.

Of these 29 only 2 were draws

The last ever timeless Test was the 5th Test between England and South Africa at Durban in 1939, which was abandoned as a draw after 10 days of play, although match day 8 had no play, spread over 12 days (2 rest days), because otherwise the England team would have missed the boat for home.

However, since 1946 there have been 54 tests of 6 days play, sometimes 6 scheduled days at the start, in the 40s, 50s and 60s, sometimes with an extra day added because no play was possible on one of the original 5 days (NOT rest days, thats different) in the 70s, 80s and the last SL vs WI in 1993

re 30

3 of the top 5! So who on earth DID Atherton score runs against?

At the age of 11, I finally got to play in my first proper club game with adults. I had for years patiently watched my club side and been an unofficial sub fielder when needed. Finally, the visiting side arrived with 10 players and I made up the numbers batting at 11.
The home team made 128 a/o but the visitors were in trouble at 45-9. I came up, very nervous and the captain told his bowler to give me a soft first ball so I could at least not get a golden duck. In my nerves I totally played and missed and was bowled, the captain called his bowler for a no-ball and I was let off. The decision badly backfired and I scored an unbeaten 31, leading the visitors to victory.
I still bump into the captain that day and he still laments the worse captaincy decision of his playing career-that defeat actually cost them the divisional title that season.
I wonder can anyone recall any 'worse' captaincy decisions?

question 32 - Sir Ian Blog

IND, NZ, SA and PAK against whom his average was higher than his overall average (57.41, 68.00, 43.83 and 41.44 against 37.69)

His real problem (if ever playing Test cricket can be called "problem") was playing 116 innings against AUS and WI (66 and 50 innings) when he only played 96 vs everybody else

RE message 31

I remember that the Oval Test against Australia in 1972 was scheduled for six days, possibly because it was the last Test of the series and it may have been thought desirable to increase the chances of a definite result. England must have been cursing this ruling as Australia took full advantage to win by 5 wickets on the sixth day and draw the series 2-2!

Re 23 (dipirna)

UNCHANGED TEAMS

TESTS

The record is six tests by England from 2007/08 (v NZ, 2nd test) to 2008 (v SA, 1st test).

Runs of 5 tests have been achieved eight times:
England, 1884/85 (whole series v A)
South Africa, 1905/06 (whole series v E)
Australia, 1989
West Indies, 1990/91 (whole series v A)
South Africa, 1993/94 - 1994
Australia, 2001 - 2001/02
South Africa, 2007/08
South Africa, 2007/08 - 2008

The longest period a team has gone unchanged is 228 days by Australia (2001/02-2002/03, 4 tests).

There are 15 instances of only one change in a 5-match series and 2 of only one change in a 6-match series (I-P, 1979/80 and A-E, 1989).

England v India (2007, 3 match series) is the only instance of unchanged teams by both teams in a series of three or more tests.

ODIs

The record is seven internationals by Pakistan in the 2001/02 Sharjah Cup tournament.

Runs of 6 have been achieved twice by South Africa in the 1999 World Cup in England and by West Indies in their series away to South Africa in 2003/04.

The longest period a team has gone unchanged is 172 days by West Indies 1979-1979/80, 5 ODIs).

Bangladesh v Ireland (2007/08, 3 match series) is the only instance of unchanged teams by both teams in a two-team event of three or more internationals.

Int Twenty20

The record is four matches by Bangladesh in South Africa in 2007/08 and by Ireland at home in 2008.

28/31
I'm glad and i'm sure Bearders is satisfied that no one mentioned a certain game scheduled for 6 days, from 14-19 Oct 05.
It was played at the SCG, only lasted 4 days, and was certainly NOT a test match! (Cricinfo lists it as Test no. 1768)

In response to Andy (question 25), I think that if a fielder attempting a run out returns the ball to the stumps and hits them and then the ball flies off somewhere, but the batsmen have both made their ground, the ball should be considered dead. As the laws stand at present, batsmen can scamper another run or two as the ball is re-retrieved, and that to me is unfair. It happens regularly, and why should the fielding side be penalised for a smart piece of work in the field by conceding a further run or two?

Re 25 and 38.

I would have thought that the most archaine law would be the one that gives five runs if the ball hits a disembodied hat (or helmet). I understand, originally, this was to prevent fielders actually using their hats to catch the ball, but in all my years playing and watching the game I have never seen any fielder attempt to use their hat in such a manner.

Another law that seems to me to be a little archaine is the free-hit that follows a no-ball. OK, OK, so it's only recently appeared, but I already think it's been around far too long.

I disagree with Micky the Blue regarding the overthrows; and I do so on the following grounds:

- Firstly, it may seems unfair that a ricochet from the stumps will yeild additional runs; but I wouldn't describe it as, "archaine".

- Secondly, I don't actually think it's that unfair. Taking a shy at the stumps is a calculated risk that may result in the batsman's dismissal, but may actually cost runs.

- Thirdly, it would be normal, in situations you describe, to have more than one person backing up - to cater for the ricochet. If the fielding side fail in this regard then that's their look out.

Re 25/38
Disagree with 38 - it was clearly a poor piece of work in the field if no-one was backing up properly!

IMO as a left arm over bowler, the LBW law needs drastic revision. I think that it should be revised so that if you are hit in line with the stumps with the ball going on to hit the wicket, it shouldn't matter where the ball pitches. The needing to be hit in line with the stumps stops the "aiming at people's legs" tactic that the pitching outside leg stump rule was targeted against.

Either that or make it fairer by saying the ball has to pitch in line (i.e. it can't pitch outside off stump either), but the rules are already weighted too much in favour of the batsman anyway.

Rule to get rid of - that a ball hitting the bat and becoming trapped in the batsman's clothing/helmet/pads becomes dead. It should stay live and available to be caught until the ball hits the floor. If the batsman isn't able to work with his own equipment, why should the fielding team be penalised?!

39 - you must penalise the fielding team for ball hitting unworn equipment, otherwise the fielders would just strew their spare jumpers, caps, helmets etc around the field to act as debris preventing the ball reaching the boundary!

What is the biggest deficit faced by a team following on, that has actually gone on the win.

In how many teat matches has a team following on gone on to win?

Pete, Cyprus

re 42 - please excuse my typos!

In the far-off days of my youth, Test Matches usually started on a Thursday and finished on Tuesday, with a rest day on Sunday. When was the last time this happened ?

I know that Shane Warne is the person who's scored the most Test runs without ever getting a century (his nearest challengers, Vaas and Kumble, both got centuries recently).

but which batsman has scored the most runs without ever getting a fifty?

also, which batsmen have the highest averages (10 innings minimum) without a century or a fifty?

Also. I know Bob Willis has taken the most wickets without ever getting 10 in a match (with Lee threatening to overtake him), but who was the bowler who took the most Test wickets without ever getting a 5-for in an innings? Was it Mike Hendrick?

and which bowlers have the lowest bowling average (with some reasonable minimum - say, 100 overs bowled) without ever having taken 5 in an innings, or 10 in a match?

question 25/38/40

i have to disagree with everything

a) forgiving fielders indiscretions with equipment would, as 40 states, just allow the "blocking" of boundaries with "excess" sweaters, hats, glasses, etc

b) not calling a dead ball if the ball gets stuck in equipment would, amongst other things, allow a batsman to run and run and run and....ad infintum (fielders tackling the batter would be against law 42 point 5, interfering with running)

c) the lbw law is fine as it stands, if the ball pitches outside either stump the umpire has a problem with "line", maybe (just maybe) the law should be the same for both on and off side, but at least the umpire can see the stumps if the ball is on the bat side and so if no stroke is made he can "judge" the flight of the ball, much more difficult on the leg side

i'm not sure there are any "arcane" laws, maybe an extra one or two are needed, or in need of clearing up (the "unfair" play part is a bit vague)

question 42 - devon frattoniser

only 3 tests have been won by a side following on:

1894-1895
AUS 586 and 166
ENG 325 and 437 ENG Won by 10 Runs

1981
AUS 401/9 dec and 111
ENG 174 and 356 ENG Won by 18 Runs

2000-2001
AUS 445 and 212
IND 171 and 657/7 dec IND Won by 171

in all tests there have been 278 follow-ons, 210 won by the "leading" side 65 drawn and the 3 losses above

question 45 - Jonathan Ellis

Batting

the highest batting average with a century but 10 or more innings is AG Fairfax of AUS with 51.25 from 12 innings, his highest score being 65

the highest with a score of more than 50 is A D'Sousa of PAK with an average of 38 from 10 innings, his best being 23 not out

W Younis PAK holds the record for the most runs, 1010, without a 50, his highest being 45 and his average just over 10

question 45 - bowling

Yes, Mike Hendrick took 87 wickets but his best bowling was 4/28.

The best average for a bowler not taking 5-in-an-innings or 10-in-a-match is 17.13 for AH Gray (WI) who took 22 wickets for 377 runs with a best of 4/39

Nick

question 45 - Jonathan Ellis

Bowling

taking 100 overs as a minimum the best average without 10 in a match belongs to AE Trott (ENG and AUS) who took 26 wkts in 948 balls at 15.00, his best match figures being 9 for 110

A Grey of the WI took 22 wkts in 888 balls at 17.13 his best innings figures being 4 for 39

and you are correct Hendrick took 87 test wkts without five in an innings, 12 in front of BM McMillian who is next on 75 (the closest current player is Mashrafe Mortaza on 71)

Re 46b)
No need to worry about that - the batsmen are intefering with the field! You can't pick up the ball to avoid its being fielded; why on earth would you be allowed to run away from the fielders with it stuck in your pad, claiming sanctuary under the running law?

re 46c) If the umpire can't see what's going on he can't give it out - benefit of the doubt etc. That's fine, it's one of the overriding principles of cricket in action. But why give the batsman the extra advantage enshrined in law? Let the umpire use his judgement.
One might comment that he is called in the laws a batsman, and not a padsman - if he doesn't have the skill to play the ball with his bat, why should an artificial law exist to protect him in his shortcomings? The bowler doing his job well (bowling at the stumps to hit them) is being foiled by a batsman using other than his bat to defend his wicket. It is clear who is playing the game with the greater skill and therefore has the moral victory. It's a shame on the sport that it doesn't recognise this.

post 51 - I Love My Denham

a) the batsman must WILFULLY interfere, a ball striking him and coming to rest in his pads is not WILFUL, a fielder tackling him is WILFUL and therefore not permitted...the best solution is the one in the laws...DEAD BALL

b) i feel we will never agree on this, another point i can make is that bowling at legs is rather negative (not a good point i agree) and its the same for right handed bowlers against left handed batters - i'd also like to point out that the batsman doesn't "use" his legs to stop the ball hitting the wicket, they are there anyway, if he had to move them out of the way a right handed batsman to a left handed over the wkt bowler would have to take a guard outside leg stump, he'd have to stand a long way outside the line...not the same case as moving his front leg to "block" a ball that pitched outside the his off side, which is unfair

(by the way there is no "benefit of the doubt" in any of the laws, you are in or out, if the umpire doesn't (or can't) see it is NOT OUT)

Hello,

Fantastic column as ever.

I have been wondering about Ian Botham record when playing for Queensland in the late Eighties. Did he score any 100's, take any 5-fors and what were his averages? Also, did he play for them for one season only?

Thanks.

How do the methods of dismissal of the current top three test wicket takers (Muralitharan, Warne and Kumble) differ from each other? ie who had more batsmen bowled or lbw etc. Do they differ from the top spinbowlers of the past? And if they do - why?

question 53 - David Gunner

Botham played 11 Sheffield Shield matches and 2 McDonalds Cup 1 dayers for Queensland in 1987/8 (so just the one season)

in the Sheffield Shield he scored a total of 685 runs at an average of 36.05 with seven 50s and no 100s while taking 29 wkts for 805 runs, an average of 27.76, no 5 fors, his best being 3 for 12

in the one dayers he scored 15 runs at 7.50 and took 2 wkts at 38.5, however the 77 runs came in 20 overs, so only 3.85 an over

Re 44 (RichWA)

From 1951 onwards 309 out of 320 tests played in England have started on a Thursday; nine of those which didn't have been in the past three years.

Regarding rest days on Sundays, they were there up to and including 1990 except for
1981 v A (Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester)
1982 v I (Manchester)
1982 v P (Birmingham, Lord's)
1983 v NZ (Oval, Nottingham)
From 1991 there were no rest days except for
1991 v WI (Nottingham)
1992 v P (Manchester)
1993 v A (Nottingham)
1994 v NZ (Manchester)
1996 v I (Nottingham)

Name - Bwl - Ct - Ct* - LBW - St - HW

Warne -115-345 -73 - 139 - 36 - 0
as % - 16.2- 48.7-10.3-19.6-5.1-0

Murali - 160-364 -43 - 144 - 44 - 1
as % -21.2-48.1-5.7-19.0-5.8- 0.1

Kum. - 94 - 313 - 32 - 156 - 24 - 0
as % - 15.2 -50.6- 5.2- 25.2 -3.9 - 0

ct* is caught by keeper as opposed to ct by fielder

from this Kumble appears to get more lbws, Murali bwled and Warne ct behind

if you want other players data may i suggest trying

https://www.howstat.com/cricket/home.asp

clicking through the menu on the left will get any stats on any Test or ODI player (or match)

rats i missed a title on the last post!

it should be

question 54 - Sir Ian Blog

I noticed today (4/5 December) that the England 22-man squad travelling back toward India includes NOT ONE Surrey county cricketer.
Is this some kind of record or what?
Even Yorkshire is barely represented, but Durham seems to be providing half the team.
What on Earth is going on?
Best regards to you Bearders,
Steve,
Kiel, Germany

well-I-never
The answer may be something to do with the fact that Durham are champions...

PortoIan @ 51

a) Running up and down between the wickets is surely nothing but wilful - you can't accidentally do it!
In my version of the rule the batsman wouldn't be out for having the ball rest on his person (he would be for running around with it), but he would have to get it to ground to avoid being caught.

b) I agree to disagree. Bowlers are still better than batsmen though.

And at the risk of pedantry I would refer you to Law 27(6) "If,
after consultation, there is still doubt remaining the decision shall
be Not out." That is at most a paraphrase of "the batsman has the benefit of the doubt". The exact words may not be used, but the sentiment is clear.

that'll teach me not to seach for "benefit" in future =)

Re: 55 Portoian.

Thanks for that.

Re: 182:25 -- England teams born overseas:

The late 80s, early 90s are the best stomping ground for answers to your question. For example, in test 1171, more than half of the England team were born overseas:

Lamb and Smith RA (RSA)
Hick (ZIM)
DeFreitas and Malcolm (WI)
Pringle (KEN)

You might find more: Philippe Edmonds, Gladstone Small, Chris Smith, Dermot Reeve, Chris Lewis, Nasser Hussain were all born overseas...

After a bit of further thought, it struck me that one could almost pick a balanced XI of contemporary international players, eg:

RA Smith
Hussain
Lamb (capt)
Hick
Reeve
Pringle
DeFreitas
Lewis
Small
Malcolm
+ a WK

Can anyone think of a `keeper to fill the gap in this team?

Can someone help me with answer to question below.
If a batsman strikes the ball and they complete 5 runs before the ball crosses the boundary. How many runs should be allocated to the Batsman?

On overseas born players - 64.

With the call up to the England squad of Amjad Khan:
1) Has there ever been a Danish born test player?
2) do you have a breakdown of numbers of test players by country of birth?

question 65 - Red Whittingham

the batting side scores 5, see law 19 "boundaries"

5. Runs scored
When a boundary is scored,
...
(b) the batting side, ..., shall additionally be awarded whichever is the greater of
(i) the allowance for the boundary.
(ii) the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they have crossed at the instant the boundary is scored.

question 66 - Alan Glaum

Danish Kaneria?

(sorry)

to make up for that last post here is a list of all Danish born cricketers that have played 1st class cricket (no test players though)

Amjad Khan (Kent and ENG?)
Thomas Hansen (Hamps)
Soren Henriksen (Lancs)
Frederik Klokker (Warks, Derbys and sub fielded for ENG)
Johan Malcolm (Loughborough)
Ole Mortensen (Derbys)

To complete your over seas born english cricketers you needed a wicket keeper. Geraint Jones was born 14 July 1976 in Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea)
So there you go, one completed over seas team

question 66 - Alan Glaum

the following is the number of ALL Test players born in a country (note NOT the number who have played for that country)

the West Indies have been treated as different countries (as they are), and Wales as seperate from England, even though it is the England and Wales Test team - which makes for a total of 43 countries:

England 597
Australia 400
South Africa 294
India 249
New Zealand 235
Pakistan 195
Sri Lanka 107
Zimbabwe 84
Barbados 73
Jamaica 65
Trinidad and Tobago 59
Bangladesh 48
Guyana 41
Wales 14
Antigua & Barbuda 10
Saint Vincent 6
St Kitts and Nevis 5 (see St Kitts further down)
Dominica 4
Grenada 3
Anguilla 1
St. Lucia 1

and non-test playing countries

Scotland 8
Ireland 5
Kenya 3
Zambia 2
Germany 2
USA 2
Hong Kong 1
Bermuda 1
Indonesia 1
Panama 1
Peru 1
Malaysia 1
Swaziland 1
Mozambique 1
Portugal 1
Italy 1
Afghanistan 1
Brazil 1
Egypt 1
St. Kitts 1 (if Nevis is counted as seperate)
Kuwait 1
Papua New Guinea 1

Also Frederick Klokker of Denmark was a substitute fielder during the Lord's test match in May 2004.

by the way Paradino2 the question was for a contemporary wicket keeper with Lamb, Reeve, etc....Geraint Jones is not really their playing contemporary, although he was alive then

PortoIan, I'm sure you'd be able to come up with a foreign born England wicketkeeper!!

In light of the above,
Before Geraint Jones who was the last England wicketkeeper born overseas?

...and
Which foreign country has provided most foreign-born England test cricketers?
(my rough guess is South Africa)
Aaron van die ou Transvaal

questions 73 and 74 - Aaron Geordie

there have been 64 designated ENG test wicket keepers, 7 born outside ENG (with last year they played tests):

L Hone - Dublin Ireland - 1879
G MacGregor - Ed.Scotland - 1893
RA Young - India - 1907
NC Tufnell - India - 1910
G Jones - PNG - 2006
M Prior - SA - 2007
T Ambrose - AUS - 2008

of countries that have "supplied" ENG test players the leading 5 are:

Wales - 14
Aus - 10
Scotland - 8
SA - 8
Ireland - 4

Re 71 & 75

If Scotland have provided 8 test cricketers, then only 7 of them are English because Archie Jackson (Australia) was born in Rutherglen, Scotland.

post 76 - Johnson 1975

that's true

it appears i have been using two different ways of deciding nationality...where someone is born, and their actual nationality

sorry

the best thing is to look at

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_cricketers_born_in_non_Test_playing_nations

its a start anyway

RE 66 number 2) etc

It looks like this is a stat that is not easily available. The question is:

Other than England what is the country of birth of the largest number of England test cricketers?

Is there anyone out there who has the energy to go through 600 odd records?

SA will be high - especially in modern times but I reckon it could be India as a lot of England players were born there in the days of the Raj (MC Cowdrey) plus a few recent ones too (N Hussain)

question 78 - Sir Ian Blog

its actually quite easy to find...the difficulty is putting it in a form that doesn't "jam up" this blog

for all cricketers that have played for ENG and their places of birth see :

https://users.skynet.be/hermandw/cricket/testplen.html

esp. look at the bottom fifth for players where there is a breakdown of ENG cricketers by country and those born abroad but nationals of those countries

(my previous problems were related to born abroad vs national)

re 79 etc

Hi Porto Ian - yes I see your problem. This source is a bit confusing - eg Mullally, McCague and Jones shown as Australian though they were not born there. Adjusting for this (and trusting the rest of the info) I think the answer is as follows:

England test players by country of birth:

England 553
India 16
Wales 14
West Indies 11
Australia 10
SA 10
Scotland 8
Ireland 5
Other 13

Total 640

The others are Germany, Italy, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Peru, Northern Rhodesia, Hong Kong and New Zealand

Denmark next?

I notice that Broad (Oakham) Patel (Worksop College) Cook (Bedford School) and Wright (Ratcliffe College) all went to minor public schools in the Midlands and are all 23 years old. Did they play against each other as schoolboys?

Can any one tell me how many countries have hosted test matches ?

question 82 - Ross en Dale

there have been 99 test grounds used in test history, these break down into:

ENG - 8 grounds
AUS - 9 grounds
SA - 11 grounds
IND - 20 grounds
PAK - 16 grounds
BANG - 6 grounds
SL - 7 grounds
NZ - 7 grounds
United Arab Emirates - 1 ground
ZIM - 3 grounds
WI - 11 grounds

the trouble is WI is divided into various countries (St Kitts, Antigua x2, Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana x2, Grenada, Barbados, St Lucia, St Vincent) which, with my very limited geography, i make 9

so the total is 19 countries

20 soon when Wales is given a test

Who played a test in the UAE?

question 84 - Aaron Geordie

3 teams over 4 different tests

31 Jan 2002 PAK vs WI
7 Feb 2002 PAK vs WI
11 Oct 2002 PAK vs AUS
19 Oct 2002 PAK vs AUS

PAK won the first 2 and AUS the last 2

Re: 69
Johan Malcolm is actually English born, but Danish and has also played for Leicestershire in 2008 under the guise of Richard Hansen (stranger still was his selection as he had a torrid time in 2nd XI just prior to his selection).

Who has scored the highest percentage of their test runs and ODI runs in boundaries? And in sixes?

re 87

I think we've had a question a bit like this before. The highest I can find for sixes are:

Shoaib Akhtar 544 career runs - 22 sixes - 24.26% MA Holding 910 - 36 - 23.74% and AME Roberts 762 - 22 - 17.32%

But the winner is TG Southee 108 - 12 - 66.67%

question 87 - Nick6591

in tests there have been at least 4 players who scored all their runs in 4s, 100%, they only scored 4 and it was a boundary:

JAK Cochran SA
GR Loveridge NZ
AM Smith ENG
S Young AUS (took 27 balls over his one scoring stroke)

AC Lock ZIM scored 8 with 2 boundaries, so this is 100% too (there may well be others but they won't beat 100%)

the same (4 runs one 4) is the case for at least 5 ODI players:

MI Black WI
PS Eaglestone IRE
CK Hooper CAN
S Ajmal PAK
GS Trimble AUS

however the "best" in my opinion is in an international 20/20 where M Asif (PAK) has only scored 4 in a boundary, not out, in one ball

Just noticed Graeme Swann has 432 FC wickets. Is this the most wickets taken by a bowler prior to a test debut?

question 90 - Andruid

no

i don't know if this is the record but James Southerton had taken at least 1200 first class wickets before his test debut, in the very first test, in 1876/7

another, more recent, bowler who took 1000+ wickets is Ian Thomson who debuted for ENG in the winter of 64/65 having taken more than 1400 first class wickets before, including 12 years with more than 100 wkts each

there must be others, but the answer to your question is NO

Re 90 & 91

OK. What is the record for the least number of first class wickets before test debut?

How do I work out the bowlers economy rate for our club averages. I've always in the past just worked it out by runs divided by overs or in excel =RUNS/OVERS. However this isn't stricly correct as their are 6 balls in an over and not 10. Hope this makes sense! Thanks

Re #10 (four wickets for no runs in any form): I am the fixture secretary, webmaster and statistician for the South-East Hampshire indoor cricket league, and just this happened in our league a few weeks ago. In an Under-13 match between Hambledon and Waterlooville, Spencer Le Clercq of Hambledon bowled two overs and took 4 for 0, including a hat-trick. His figures were the best ever recorded in a Colts (junior) game in the league.

Re #93 (working out economy rate): as you have realised, dividing runs by overs is fine as long as you have a round number of overs, but if you have a number such as 10.3 (ten overs and three balls) it doesn't work as .3 represents half an over.
You need to convert that number to a number of balls - split it into its whole number part and its decimal part, multiply the whole number part by 6 and the decimal part by 10, and add the results together. An Excel formula that will do that is INT(OVERS/1)*6+MOD(OVERS,1)*10.
Once you have converted it to a number of balls, divide that into six times the number of runs to give you the average number of runs per over.

question 92 - Nick 6591

well it'd be 0

there are more than 30 players for who their test debut was their 1st class debut, the last three were:

2001/02 Mashrafe Mortaza (BAN)
2003/04 Yasir Ali (PAK)
2004/05 Nazmul Hossain (BAN)

respectively they have taken 112, 69 and 57 1st class wkts since their debuts, and they all took test wkts on their debut too

as well as these 30+ players there must be a lot of batsmen and keepers who have played tests but never taken a 1st class wkt (Matt Prior is an example)

Correction to my own #95: the Excel formula should more efficiently be INT(OVERS)*6+MOD(OVERS,1)*10. What I gave you before would work, but dividing OVERS by 1 is pointless.
I could also have mentioned that this formula works perfectly well if OVERS is a whole number.

#96

Thanks PortoIan

Of course, I forgot about the batsmen/wicketkeepers who don't bowl!

I knew that in the distant past some players may have played tests without playing prior first class matches, but I hadn't realised that it has happened so recently.

Re 93,95,97

The neatest formula appears to be
=RUNS/(INT(OVERS)+MOD(OVERS,1)/0.6)

Re 90 91

Robin Jackman took 1402 first class wickets retiring in 1982 and made his test debut in 1981 so it could be him