Ask Bearders #183
Welcome to Ask Bearders, where Test Match Special statistician Bill "The Bearded Wonder" Frindall answers your questions on all things cricket.
Below are Bill's responses to some of your questions posed at the end of his last column and if you have a question for Bill, leave it at the end of this blog entry. Please do include your country of residence - Bill loves to hear where all his correspondents are posting from.
Bill isn't able to answer all of your questions, however. BBC Sport staff will choose a selection of them and send them to Bearders for him to answer.
Q. Andrew Symonds scored eight runs from one ball against New Zealand last month (an all-run four followed by four overthrows). Is this the record for the number of runs from a legitimate delivery in a Test? Also, can you get any more than four overthrows?
Jon
Bearders' Answer: There is no limit to the number of overthrows that can be run from a single delivery.
Eight could well be the Test record for the most runs scored off one ball. Seven is the most I have recorded in the 375 Tests I have scored to date. That instance occurred during the fourth West Indies Test at Headingley in 1976 when Alan Knott took a quick single to extra-cover where Bernard Julien fielded and overthrew the wicket-keeper. The batsmen ran two overthrows before Andy Roberts at square-leg retrieved the ball. His throw eluded the stumps at the bowler's end and crossed the long-off boundary.
The most in first-class cricket is 10 by S.H.Wood for Derbyshire v MCC at Lord's in 1900. There have been 14 recorded instances of nine, the most recent, also at Lord's, in 1949.
Q. Seeing that Jason Krejza was dropped after his Test debut, albeit tactically, I was wondering, if he never plays again for Australia, would he have the best 'single Test' figures ever?
Stuart, West Bromwich
Bearders' Answer: Yes, he would but it would be a major surprise if he were not to appear shortly against South Africa. No other bowler has taken 12 wickets in a single-Test career.
Charles Stowell ('Father') Marriott, who took 11 for 96 (5-37 and 6-59) for England against West Indies at The Oval in August 1933, is the only other one-Test wonder to have taken more than seven wickets. Marriott, a tall right-arm leg-break and googly bowler, began his goose-stepping run at mid-off. He turned the ball sharply from a high action, his delivery arm starting its swing from behind his back like Jeff Thomson.
Although his solitary appearance, when nearing his 38th birthday, scuppered West Indies by an innings in two days and 10 minutes, Marriott was an appalling fielder and batsman (574 runs as opposed to 711 wickets in 159 first-class matches for Lancashire, Cambridge University and Kent). He was unlikely to have inflicted too much damage on the enemy during his Second World War duties as a Home Guard anti-aircraft gunner.
Q. Charles Marriott's bowling average in his one Test was 8.72. Is this the best Test bowling average for a bowler who has taken more then 10 wickets?
captainschoice
Bearders' Answer: Yes, it is. The only other bowlers to have taken ten or more wickets at an average under 12.60 also represented England. Kent's Fred ('Nutty') Martin (14 wickets for 141 runs in two Tests) was a left-arm bowler very similar in pace and style to Derek Underwood. Surrey's George Lohmann (112 wickets for 1205 runs in 18 Tests) was a brisk-medium right-hander who has the strongest statistical claim to be considered as the greatest Test-match bowler of all time.
Q. In a limited overs international that is curtailed by rain such that there is no result, do the runs scored/wickets taken and other details of play still count as part of a batsman's/bowler's/team's record in that format?
bigfluffylemon
Bearders' Answer: Yes
Q. 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?
harry8611
Bearders' Answer: There have been at least 30 instances of batsmen scoring hundreds in first-class cricket using a runner for a major part of their innings, 12 of them throughout its entirety. The first was by Alfred Mynn who scored 125 not out for the South v the North at Leicester in 1836. He injured his leg during pre-match practice and it became sufficiently serious for amputation to be considered. He didn't play again until 1838.
Scores where a runner was summoned in mid-innings are not available in many cases. The highest number of runs in a single innings made with a runner that I have on record is 155 by Paul Prichard during his 224 for Essex v Kent at Canterbury in 1997. He acquired a runner after scoring 69. The highest complete innings with a runner is 150 not out by D.J. (Danny) Buckingham for Tasmania v Western Australia at Perth in 1986-87.
The only batsman to score two complete hundreds in a match with the aid of a runner is Graeme Fowler of Lancashire, Durham, England and Test Match Special. Playing for Lancashire at Southport in 1982, he strained his thigh while fielding on the first day during Warwickshire's innings of 523-4 declared, but batted without a runner to score 26 not out at stumps. He then scored exactly 100 before lunch on the second day with David Lloyd as his runner. In the second innings, Ian Folley ran for him (and acknowledged the crowd's applause for the century) when 'Foxy' scored 128 not out on the third day.
Q. I am an Englishman currently playing cricket in Australia, and I was shocked last week when a local came up and told me I was filling in my scorebook incorrectly.
I am told that Australians mark a wicket with an X, and wides with a W - whereas I was always taught the other way round in England. What is the 'accepted' international convention - and why has/when did this difference arise?
ausbantam
Bearders' Answer: Stick to W for wicket and a plus sign for wides. Never heard such nonsense! Australians do tend to be confused through having to spend their lives the wrong way up.
Q. Adam Gilchrist used to wear a squash ball in his batting gloves. Is that legal?
slowerball
Bearders' Answer: There is nothing in the Laws of Cricket to prevent you putting anything inside your batting glove and you can wear as many pairs of gloves as you like. The same applies to wicket-keeping gloves - many of the old-timers used to put steaks inside the palms of the gloves before inners were invented. Probably an extra bionic hand, giving a three-handed grip on the bat, would be considered against the spirit of cricket though.
Q. When scoring, do you mark recent innovations such as powerplays? I wondered, as during England's recent internationals, Swann's figures outside the powerplay overs were very respectable. In future, comparing the career of someone whose figures were achieved before such changes with someone afterwards might be unfair.
Adrian Worley
Bearders' Answer: I did record them when I scored limited-overs matches, simply be ruling off those sections of the linear scoresheet. Someone may feel the urge to compile the stats you suggest but it won't be me!
Q. In the recent NZ v Bangladesh Test match Danny Vettori produced an amazing set of figures with bat and ball - even allowing for the fact that Bangladesh are not one of the major opposition teams. He scored 55 and 76 as well as taking 5 for 59 and 4 for 74.
One more wicket in the second innings and he would have achieved two "five fors" and two half centuries. Has anybody ever managed this feat or is Vettori the closest?
Graham, Cheshire
Bearders' Answer: No one has scored two fifties and taken five wickets twice in a Test. Alan Davidson was just six runs short when he scored 44 and 80 in addition to taking 5-135 and 6-87 for Australia v West Indies in the tied Test at Brisbane in 1960-61.
Ian Botham and Imran Khan are alone in scoring a century as well as taking five or more wickets in each innings of a Test.
Q. Has anyone ever scored a Test match century that did not include any boundaries?
littletel1
Bearders' Answer: No, the fewest is one by Graham Thorpe for England against Pakistan at Lahore on November 2000. It also involved the most scoring strokes: 71 - a four, 7 threes, 12 twos and 51 singles. He did add a second boundary before being out for 118 off 301 balls in 430 minutes.
Q. Iain O'Brien's 38-ball duck in a partnership of 50 in the recent second Test in Adelaide must be some sort of superlative but may have been beaten. When and by whom?
RobinP63
Bearders' Answer: It may well be the first 50 partnership in which one partner failed to score but preparations for a probable departure to India allow scant time for research. The nearest I have spotted is Shahadat Hossain's contribution of 3 not out to a tenth-wicket stand of 69 with Mohammad Rafique for Bangladesh against Australia at Chittagong in 2005-06.
The longest duck in Test cricket took 101 minutes (77 balls) and was the work of New Zealand's Geoff Allott against South Africa at Auckland in 1998-99 but his last-wicket stand with Chris Harris added only 32.
Q. At the start of a match we, as the bowling side, waited to see which batsman was facing and then chose our bowler. The batsmen then changed over so that the other batsman was to face the first ball. So we changed our bowler. The impasse was only resolved by our giving in and naming our opening bowler before letting the opposition choose which of their opening batsmen faced first. Who really should choose first?
Chrisnicolbeyond
Bearders' Answer: There is nothing in the Laws to deal with such nonsense apart from it contravening the Spirit of Cricket. The fielding captain, usually after discussing preference of ends with his opening bowlers, decides from which end play will begin and advises the umpires. The batsmen then go to their chosen ends. Normally they would choose who wanted to face the first ball - not which bowler they didn't want to face.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~09~RS~)
Comments
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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?
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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
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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?
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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
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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?
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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
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#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.
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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?
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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".
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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)
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#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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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#15 - Only the first impact is considered when judging LBW appeals, so in the situation you describe, the batsman would be not out.
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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.
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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 '.
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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?
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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
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Which Bowler has the most caught and bowled in Test and ODI cricket?
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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!
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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re 30
3 of the top 5! So who on earth DID Atherton score runs against?
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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?
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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
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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!
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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.
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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)
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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?
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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.
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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?!
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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!
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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
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re 42 - please excuse my typos!
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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 ?
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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?
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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.
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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)
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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.
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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?
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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
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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)
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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
http://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)
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rats i missed a title on the last post!
it should be
question 54 - Sir Ian Blog
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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
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well-I-never
The answer may be something to do with the fact that Durham are champions...
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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.
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that'll teach me not to seach for "benefit" in future =)
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Re: 55 Portoian.
Thanks for that.
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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.
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question 66 - Alan Glaum
Danish Kaneria?
(sorry)
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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)
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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
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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
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PortoIan, I'm sure you'd be able to come up with a foreign born England wicketkeeper!!
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In light of the above,
Before Geraint Jones who was the last England wicketkeeper born overseas?
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...and
Which foreign country has provided most foreign-born England test cricketers?
(my rough guess is South Africa)
Aaron van die ou Transvaal
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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
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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.
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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
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_cricketers_born_in_non_Test_playing_nations
its a start anyway
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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)
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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 :
http://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)
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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?
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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?
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Can any one tell me how many countries have hosted test matches ?
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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
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Who played a test in the UAE?
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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
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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).
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Who has scored the highest percentage of their test runs and ODI runs in boundaries? And in sixes?
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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%
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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
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Just noticed Graeme Swann has 432 FC wickets. Is this the most wickets taken by a bowler prior to a test debut?
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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
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Re 90 & 91
OK. What is the record for the least number of first class wickets before test debut?
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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
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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.
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#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.
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Re 93,95,97
The neatest formula appears to be
=RUNS/(INT(OVERS)+MOD(OVERS,1)/0.6)
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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
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Bill
What county team has included the most test players?
I remember the 1980 Middlesex team where the line-up for at least one game included 8 who had played tests (Brearley, Radley, Barlow, Gatting, Edmonds, Emburey, Daniel and Selvey), plus Mike Smith who had played 5 ODIs and the wicketkeeper Ian Gould who had not played international cricket but who would go on to play 18 ODIs. And the last was Vintcent van der Bijl - arguably the best cricketer of the lot!
Also playing that season for Middlesex were Roland Butcher, Wilf Slack and Paul Downton who would each play test cricket soon ... and Fred Titmus played some matches.
Nick, London
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re #10: I once saw a bowler take 6-0 in two overs in an U16 match between Rodmersham and Bobbing Court (nr. Sittingbourne in Kent). If my memory serves me right he was only 13 years old as well
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Re: 101
The Surrey team of the mid-late 90s frequently had 10 Test Players in the line-up, plus Ali Brown who used to play the one-dayers. If memory serves, it went something like:
MP Butcher (ENG)
AJ Stewart (ENG)
GP Thorpe (ENG)
AD Brown (ENG -- odi only)
AJ Hollioake (ENG)
BC Hollioake (ENG)
IDK Salisbury (ENG)
AJ Tudor (ENG)
MP Bicknell (ENG)
Saqlain Mushtaq (PAK)
JJE Benjamin (ENG)
___
re: 102: I once took 6 wickets (5 bowled and 1 c&b) in 14 run-less deliveries, in an Under 15 match. It's a fairly common occurrence, I reckon.
In a match last summer, London Itinerants beat Christies Centurions by one run, when Graham Clinton, a left arm seamer, came on with 2 runs needed, from 5 overs, with 5 wickets in hand: he proceded to take 4 in 4 balls, and the Number 11 had assumed the result was a foregone conclusion and gone home.
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re: 101/3
...and it strikes me that a lot of counties could put out an XI full of internationals, with the advent of Kolpaks and ODIs involving Scotland / Ireland / Nederlands.
eg: Durham CCC
DiVenuto (Aus - odi)
Benkenstein (SA - odi)
Chanderpaul (WI)
Collingwood (Eng)
Coetzer (Sco - odi)
Mustard (Eng - odi)
Pollock (SA)
Breese (WI)
Plunkett (Eng)
Wiseman (NZ)
Harmison (Eng)
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I note that Andrew Strauss was out 'caught' today - for the 13th time in his 13th Test ton. Can you think of anyone else whose post-ton dismissals have followed such a pattern?
Tim Haveron Jones
Maidenhead
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#105
Tim, there's nothing really comparable to Strauss's record. The next highest person with ALL their test centuries concluding with the same method of dismissal is Darren Lehmann who was caught following all his five centuries.
Michael Slater was caught after completing his first nine centuries, but his other five included an lbw and a stumping. Sangakkara, after being run out after his second century has so far added another 15 without being out any other way than caught (although 5 of those innings ended not out).
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I am interested in the account of a partnership of 50 with one batsman not scoring a single run. Until now I wondered if my own similar experience is a record - maybe it is, but statistics probably do not go into this anorak level of detail.
I once went out to join a powerful batsman, Robert Francis, playing for the HAC against Waltham St Lawrence in Berkshire, when we needed 36 to win.
Not only did I not score a run - I did not even take guard. Robert scored the runs in a couple of overs, with a combination of 6s and 3s!
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In the first test between India and England, Strauss reached 50 with a single, leaving Cook on strike on 45. If Cook had hit a 6, would that have been the first time in test cricket that both batsman had reached 50 in consecutive balls? Or is this fairly regular in opening partnerships?
Joe
London
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During the 3rd Test of the recent India vs Australia series at Delhi, 3 players (Hayden, Johnson & VVS Laxman)celebrated their birthdays. Are there any instances of 4 (or more?) players buying the drinks during a Test?
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Dear Bill
When does an overthrow become an overthrow? Obviously if the ball is thrown back towards the stumps and carries on over the boundary then 4 runs are added to what the batsmen have run but in the case of a misfield where the ball contacts a fielder then runs for 4, only the 4 runs are scored.
What if a fielder fielded the ball near the boundary, had it under control but then dropped it over the boundary as they cocked back their arm to throw it to the centre? Would this count as overthrows or would it simply be four?
As an additional note how do you record overthrows when scoring. Would you say score 3 runs and 4 overthrows as 7 or 3+4?
Thanks
Paul, Hull
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Chris Tanous,
Bless me Father for I have sinned.
On the first day of our annual sussex and kent tour I was to open the batting with Hilton Wordsworth and we had agreed to have a shoot-out - first to fifty, and all that.
On out way to the crease, polite chap that he is, Hilton enquired if I would like to take first or second strike. Obviously, I opted to take first strike and proceeded to face every ball bowled from the first 4 overs; and only conceded the strike when I took a single off the 5th ball of the 5th over. By this time I had over 30 runs to my name. Hilton, of course, had none; but was now wise to my tactics. He attempted a quick single but, sadly, hit it straight to a fielder. Was this his last chance?
I must confess to having employed some underhand tactics. On an 'easy two' from the last ball of one over I 'slipped' on turning for the second. Also, a 'long' single in the middle of another over had to be turned down due to the fact that I was blinded by the sun!
With such tactics I managed to complete my half-century without conceding the strike again; winning a, "Jug of Gin and Tonic", as my prize.
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re. 93,95,97,99
What do the terms INT and MOD refer to please?
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Andrew Symonds having recently scored eight off one delivery versus New Zealand (no gimmicks, no bonus, no free hit and so on), can we now look forward to the demise of the ludicrous assertion, "It's a maximum!" when somebody hits a six? A maximum at darts is 180, and a perfect game at ten-pin bowling is 300, but clearly there is no "maximum" at cricket, other than the natural limitations of human ability and stamina (I once scored an all-run six in a charity match wearing painter's overalls, but I was fine a couple of months later). Yours in hope, Bill Benton, Reigate, Surrey
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Is the length of a cricket pitch called a "run" we have a 50/50 split at work
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110 - in the situation you describe, as the ball has been in the control of the fielder, overthrows were appropriate. Overthrows are scored as any other runs off the delivery - either as runs to the batsman or as the appropriate type of extra. Some scorers make seperate marginal notes of overthrows, particularly when using a scoresheet that allows over-by-over notes, but many don't bother, particularly if it's a relatively tame 1+1 overthrow.
112 - the terms are nothing to do with cricket, but are commands for the calculations suggested in the MS Excel spreadsheet package. "INT" tells the program to use the integer value of the number in question (ie ignore all fractions), whie the "MOD" command returns only the remainder when two numbers are divided by one another. For more details, consult the Help file in Excel.
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Overthrows are great fun. Some years ago, in a county match, the batsmen ran three off the last ball of the penultimate over, allowing the recognised batsman to keep strike and the rabbit to be non-striker. The ball stopped short of the boundary, and the fielder, under instructions from his captain, kicked it over the line, assuming that the batsman would be awarded four runs and the rabbit would face the last over, with ten needed to win. The umpire awarded seven runs (3 plus 4 overthrows), and the batsman faced the last over with six now needed to win, which he duly scored.
In a league match at Redhill CC, the incoming batsman arrived at the crease with 7 needed to win (lots of time left), which he proceeded to score off the only ball he faced (a single, plus 2 overthrows, plus 4 overthrows), after which he naturally strolled off again, probably the only time this has been done.
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Both Strauss and Collingwood scored 108 in England's second innings. Do you have a sense of how often two centurians are out with the same score in the same innings?
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#117
Prior to Strauss/Collingwood, 7 pairs of batsmen have been out for the same score over 100 in the same innings in test cricket:
234 Bradman/Barnes, Aus vs Eng, 1946
129 Karthik/Dravid, Ind vs Bang, 2007
127 Sarwan/Chanderpaul, WI vs SA, 2005
123 Stewart/Butcher, Eng vs SL, 2002
116 Knott/Greig, Eng vs WI, 1976
105 Martyn/S Waugh, Aus vs Eng, 2001
101 Javed Burki/Nasim ul-Ghani, Pak vs Eng 1962
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114 - The distance between the two sets of stumps is 22 yards, also known as a 'chain' in imperial measurements.
I've never heard of the distance being called a run.
(In fact since a completed run only requires travelling from one popping crease to the other, and knowing that the popping creases are 4 feet in front of the stumps, I suppose a 'run' would only be 19 yards 1 foot long.)
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Sachin Tendulkar recently completed his 41st test century. By my calculations this works out at a century every 6.2 innings. and a 50 or more every 2.8 innings. How do the other top run scores compare to these figures? Who has the best centuries and 50 or more per innings average?
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Sir Alec Bedser played 14 Ashes Tests before getting a first victory. Is this a record?
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question 120 - Ben Saffell
for 100s only
of leading run scorers (played more than 30 innings) the top 5 for innings per 100:
Bradman - 2.76 (6996 runs)
Headley - 4.00 (2190 runs)
Walcott - 4.93 (3798 runs)
Read - 5.17 (1296 runs)
Sutcliffe - 5.25 (4555 runs)
Tendulkar is 13th on this list
of players with more than 6000 runs the top 5 is very different (only one of the above has 6000 runs):
Bradman - 2.76 (6996)
Ponting - 5.81 (10456)
M Yousuf - 5.83 (6770)
Hayden - 5.93 (8508)
Sobers - 6.15 (8032)
Tendulkar is sixth here
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An analysis done here makes for interesting reading:
http://plus.maths.org/issue49/sport/
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Whilst playing for NatWestBank in the 80’s , our opening bat Laurie Whitten was out first ball of our innings. We proceeded to win by 9 wickets and started a beer match. Laurie opened again and the first ball he faced was hit for 3 plus 4 overthrows for 7. He was then out next ball he faced. So 3 balls, 7 runs and out twice. Can anything in the pro game match this?
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Re: 12
No, it would be 4. A 6 can only be scored off the bat.
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In response to post no.123
Interesting, but ultimately flawed in its thinking. A batsman's score always starts at 0 so every innings he plays will have 0 as a score at some point in it. However, a batsman's score will not increase by 1. It might increase by 2,3,4 or more. The chances of a batman's score being, say, 23 at some point is much less than it is being 0 at some point. You might as well say that being out for a duck is much more likely than being out for 22 and a half.
QED
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I would appreciate to know the following.
Who is the highest wicket taker in ODI.
Who has taken over 500 Test wickets?
Samuel
Denmark
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The leading wicket taker in ODIs is Wasim Akram with 502.
5 players have taken more than 500 wickets in Tests - Muttiah Muralitharan leads the list with 756 (including the ICC Super Test), followed by Shane Warne, Anil Kumble, Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh.
There are unlikely to be any additions to this list in the immediate future as, apart from Murali, the leading active wicket-taker is Makhaya Ntini, with 374 victims.
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Allan Border once had scores of 98 not out and 100 in the same test against the West Indies. Is this the only instance of a batsman scoring a hundred and remaining unbeaten in the 90s in the same test?
Prashant from New York
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question 129 - PBHA Walker
no
just a couple of examples, there are probably more:
Atherton in Feb 1997 managed 95* against NZ in the first innings and then 118 in the 2nd
Chanderpaul scored 128* in the first test against ENG in 2004 before scoring 97* in the 2nd innings (225 runs without being out in a losing side!)
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Re 129 (pbhawalkar)
In addition to those already mentioned I found a couple more. The full list is:
152 95* - GS Sobers, WI-E, Georgetown, 1967-68
98* 100* - AR Border, A-WI, Port of Spain, 1983-84
94* 118 - MA Atherton, E-NZ, Christchurch, 1996-97
128* 97* - S Chanderpaul, WI-E, Lord's, 2004
126 94* - AJ Strauss, E-SA, Port Elizabeth, 2004-05
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Apologies if this has already been asked.
How often has England lost a Test match having declared in their second innings and set their opponents a total to get in the opponents second innings? Before Madras recently when was the last time this happened?
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Hi Bill,
Could you explain what the difference between a leg break and a leg spin and similarly off break and off spin is? Why do some the descriptions of some bowlers say off break/leg break and some say off spin/leg spin?
Also what is the difference between some other terms like long leg and deep fine leg, short leg and silly mid on etc.
when does a short fine leg become a leg slip? are there any angles or measurements that define these things?
Could you explain any other such interesting intricacies?
Thanks,
Atul
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question 132 - Censura
this, winning after the opposition declared the 3rd innings, has only happened 12 times in all tests, ENG have declared and then lost 3 of these:
AUS in 1948 (368/8 dec AUS chased 404)
WI in 1984 (300/9 dec WI chased 342)
IND in 2008 (311/9 dec IND chased 387)
on a happier (for ENG supporters) note, ENG have been on the winning side of poor declarations 5 times, the last vs AUS in 2001 (176/4 dec ENG chased 315)
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question 133 - Justin Atul 11
as i understand it leg spin and off spin are types of bowlers (leg spinner, off spinner) but the leg break and off break are the (standard) deliveries of these bowlers (the point being a leg spinner doesn't have to bowl leg breaks, he might bowl a top spinner, or googly for example)
as to the fielding positions i think the names are just general guides for the fielder (the skipper says "go to deep fine leg") and then the captain gives fine adjustments if needed ("a bit deeper and a tad finer"), so they naturally run into each other, some captains, to some bowlers, call it short fine leg others, with other bowlers, leg slip
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Re: 123. (from webmowgli)
What an excellent article. and what a bombshell of a finding - a batsman is as likely to lose his wicket on 77 as he is on 7 - contradicting the perceived wisdom that a batsman is less likely to get out the longer he bats - based upon the fact that his eye is getting more and more 'in'.
My interpretation of this is that the eye does get more and more 'in', but that this is countered by two things: (a) that a batsman becomes more tired physically; (b) the strain of concentration, for some, becomes more of a challenge as batting continues; and (c) batsmen take more and more risks as their innings progress.
It would be interesting to see what the statistics show for players who are particularly physically fit (such as Gooch and the young Lara) or particularly good at concentrating (such as Atherton and Boycot).
The full article provided, for your convenience, is:
http://plus.maths.org/issue49/sport/
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PortoIan
Many thanks for your answer. It is much rarer than I thought.
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How many times has a player scored two centuries in the same match (like Strauss in the 1st Test v India) and finished on the losing side ?
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PortoIan
Many thanks for your answer.
Regards,
Atul
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#104. Chanderpaul is not a kolpak player, but an oversea's player for Durham
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question 138 - Rich WA
there have been 64 cases of batsmen scoring 100+ in both innings, these break down as:
24 on winning side
32 draws
8 losses
(twice there have been 2 batsmen who managed this in one match, both draws, and several batsmen, 10, who managed this two or three times)
the eight losing batters were:
A Flower ZIM vs SA 2001
Gavaskar IND vs PAK 1978
Hazare IND vs AUS 1948
G Headley WI vs ENG 1939
Lara WI vs SL 2001
Strauss ENG vs IND 2008
Sutcliffe ENG vs AUS 1925
Walcott WI vs AUS 1955
the highest scoring of these was Lara who scored 221 and 130
question 140 - Digicellstorm
i don't think Chanderpaul is in the list as a Kolpak player...he's there as an international, one of 11 in a Durham team
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#134
In the 1984 West Indies victory after England's declaration, Gordon Greenidge made 214 not out (out of 342) and, as his knees were by then regularly bad, batted with a runner (Des Haynes, his opening partner, I think) for at least some part of his innings.
The runs were scored in some 66 overs, with Greenidge's strike-rate about 88. In the West Indies first innings Botham took 8 wickets. In their second innings, Haynes was run out and they won by 9 wickets.
Surely this is the quickest loss following a declaration? Is it the highest 9-wicket win?
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#47
What if the follow-on is not enforced. In the 5th test in 1976, Clive Lloyd did not enforce the follow-on to give his bowlers some rest. How do the stats break down in this sort of situation?
Is this the only test match in which the follow-on opportunity only arose on the 4th day?
Thinking of the rest of that series, from the 2nd to 4th tests, Fredericks and Greenidge scored five centuries between them. Are there other similar feats?
Finally, I watched the 2nd day of the game WI played against Worcestershire after the Oval test in '76. I have a memory that nearly all the WI batsmen I saw scored a six. What is the record for the greatest number of batsmen hitting a six in the same innings?
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Could you refresh my memory please, as to which game it was, where Nasser Hussein appealed for the light (and was given it), as captain of the fielding side ?
I've never seen or heard of this happening before, so I assume this is a rare occurrence ?
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question 142 - Ghostlight Ramone
the WI 344 for 1 in a 4th innings is by far the highest score to win (in a final innings) only losing one wkt, in fact there is no other case above 300, there is only one case of 2 wkts over 300 and that is WI again
but as to the fastest loss after a declaration i believe this goes to the WI who lost to ENG after declaring on 51 for 6, leaving ENG to score 75 to win, which they did, for 6 wkts, in 16.3 overs
the WI 344 you mention took 66.1 overs at 5.19 runs an over, not even the best run rate, this is for ENG chasing 172 vs SA in 1949 scoring at 5.46 in 23 and a bit overs
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question 143 - Ghostlight Ramone
this is the data until the end of 2004 (sorry i don't have the facts to hand of 2005-2008, but it has happened at least twice, to IND and WI, since 2004, both ending in draws)
follow on matches/won/lost/draw/%won
enforced 260 198 3 59 73.88
not enforced* 32 24 1 7 75.00
the only loss where the follow on was not enforced was SA vs AUS Jan 1950 when SA scored 311 and bowled out AUS for 75, then SA batting again were all out for 99 leaving AUS to score 336 for 5 in 124 overs to win
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question 144 - Alan
Hussein appealed for the light whilst fielding in a test match under floodlights against NZ in March 2002...however his appeal was turned down, a quote at the time, from various papers:
"And Hussain insisted yesterday that the Kiwis’ clinical batting onslaught under artificial lighting on Tuesday evening had cost England the match.
At one stage the England skipper appealed to umpire Venkat to take the teams off the field because his fielders were having difficulty sighting the red ball under floodlights.
"He agreed with me," Hussain said. "But he pointed out that in the history of the game no fielding side was taken off for bad light and I would have to talk to the ICC about it. I had no real problem with that. "
(i believe that floodlight are no longer used in tests)
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Thanks for that answer. I knew Hussain had appealed, and thought he got the decision.
I was half right..... thanks
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In the T20I today between the West Indies and New Zealand, there was the first use of a 'super over'. On all scorecards I have seen, BBC and Cricinfo, the runs/wickets scored in the super overs are not counted towards bowling or batting figures. Are these figures ever to be recorded or just the overall team scores in the super overs? And do the figures contribute to an individuals T20I averages?
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Re 149
Surely it is like a soccer penalty shootout ie a result is determined but the runs/wickets (like goals) do not count in a player's stats.
But what was the result? Cricinfo shows it as a tie
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Bill,
Following the recent one over decider between the West indies and New Zealand I was expecting to see a mini score card for the single over. Will this be the case? And will the runs/wickets count towards the players Twenty20 stats?
Rob
Gloucester, UK
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question 149/150/151 - various
i agree with post 150, the extra super over is like penalities or a bowl out, it doesn't, and shouldn't, count towards averages
the result is on the bottom of the cricinfo page
http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/nzvwi2008_09/engine/current/match/366707.html
the overs actually went:
Ball 1 - Vettori to Gayle - Hit high and over midwicket and it ends up rows back in the crowd.
Ball 2 - Vettori to Gayle - clubbed down to long-off and they turn quickly for two. Good throw from Franklin and Vettori gathers well and whips the bails off. It's close and goes to third umpire but he's out. Chanderpaul comes in now. One more wicket and the West Indies are out.
Ball 3 - Vettori to Gayle - hit high straight over Vettori's head and another one that ends up in the crowd. 6 more.
Ball 4 - Vettori to Gayle - there he goes again! Arm ball from Vettori and it's lifted high over long-on and in to the ground once more. West Indies 19 for 1
Ball 5 - Vettori to Gayle - gets underneath it and pulls it over midwicket. The ball bounces just before the rope between two fielders and goes for four
Ball 6 - Vettori to Gayle - slower ball which is hit high in the air but drops between three fielders at mid-off and they turn quick and come back for a second.
West Indies are 25/1 from their super over. All the runs scored from Gayle who gets a standing ovation as he leaves the pitch.
Oram, McCullum and Taylor to bat for New Zealand while Benn is bowling for West Indies.
New Zealand need 26 off 6 to win.
Ball 1 - Benn to Oram - he takes a big swipe and it's too wide from Benn . Get's underneath it to dispatch the ball for six over long-off.
Ball 2 - Benn to Oram - gets a thin edge and runs down to fine leg and they scamper back for a second.
Ball 3 - Benn to Oram - wicket. He gets too much under the ball this time and doesn't quite connect. The ball sails high to the man underneath it at long-on for simple catch.
3 sixes needed of 3 balls.
Ball 4 - Benn to Taylor - no ball, there's one! waist high full toss from Benn pulled over square leg baseball style from Taylor. No ball so seven runs added and an extra ball. 15/1
Ball 5 - Benn to Taylor - wicket, flighted in from Benn and Taylor has to go for it. He missed and the ball travels on to middle stump bringing the second wicket.
New Zealand all out for 15 and victory to the West Indies.
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re 152
I can see the note at the bottom of the scorecard but it still doesn't add up for me
If the WI won it after a superover why does it appear on Cricinfo as a tie (try searching for tied results and it will appear as does the previous tie between these teams resolved by a bowl off)? Presumably if it had been in a tournament the WI would have got the points and I'm assume they got their win bonus so the result must be a WI win surely
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Technically the game was a tie!
The Superover/penalty shootout is NOT part of a game, merely a device to decide who proceeds to the next round, like the toss of a coin which used to decide such matters.
See http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/fa_cup/7726863.stm As you can see the result of the game is 0-0. The 4-2 is to decide who proceeds.
IMHO, It is unnecessary in a regular one day series though. In a tournament, you need a winner to progress to the next round, not so in a series. But then this is 20-20...
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