Also, most World T20 caps, most Test lbws, low-scoring Test wins, and a quartet of tons in an ODI
Steven Lynch15-Apr-2014How often have both openers been out for a duck in the same innings? asked Kazi Mohammad Firoze Hassan from Bangladesh
This has happened no fewer than 46 times in Tests, most recently for Pakistan – the unfortunate batsmen being Shan Masood and Khurram Manzoor – in the second innings of the second Test against South Africa in Dubai last October. Eight months earlier, in the second innings of the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town, Pakistan’s openers Mohammad Hafeez and Nasir Jamshed were out for ducks too. The first instance in Tests was back in 1888, when Australia’s Percy McDonnell and Alec Bannerman were both out for 0 in the Ashes Test at Old Trafford. There have been 36 instances of this in one-day internationals (most recently by Chadwick Walton and Johnson Charles for West Indies v New Zealand in Nelson in January 2014) and eight in Twenty20 internationals – including two at the recent World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. Michael Swart and Stephan Myburgh both made ducks as Netherlands crashed to 39 all out against Sri Lanka in Chittagong, then Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal were out for 0 as Pakistan’s chase started badly against West Indies in Mirpur.Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara played in all Sri Lanka’s matches in every World Twenty20 tournament. Has anyone played more games than them? asked Digby de Silva from Colombo
Sri Lanka have played 31 matches in the World Twenty20 – more than any other country – and you’re right in saying that Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara played in all of them. Next come Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi, who have played in all 30 of Pakistan’s games. But there are two other ever-presents for Sri Lanka – Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lasith Malinga. Sri Lanka also lead the way in the World T20’s individual lists: Jayawardene scored 1016 runs, well clear of Chris Gayle (807), Dilshan (764) and Sangakkara (664), while Malinga is the top wicket-taker with 38, ahead of Saeed Ajmal (36), and Ajantha Mendis, Afridi and Umar Gul, who all have 35.Which bowler has taken the greatest percentage of his Test wickets lbw? Is it Graeme Swann? asked Andrew Harte from England
Graeme Swann comes in 12th on this list, with 70 of his 255 Test wickets beings lbws (27.45%). On top is another offspinner, Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal, whose 169 wickets to date include 58 lbws (34.31%). Terry Alderman, the 1980s Australian seamer, had an almost identical percentage – 58 of his 170 Test wickets (34.11%) were out lbw. And only five of them were Graham Gooch.What is the lowest number of runs in a Test that ended in a positive result? asked Ahmed Baruah from India
The fifth Test between Australia and South Africa in Melbourne in 1931-32, which was played on a spiteful rain-affected “sticky dog” pitch, produced a total of only 234 runs. South Africa were bowled out for 36 and 45 – their aggregate of 81 remains a record low for a side’s two innings in any Test – with the 49-year-old unorthodox slow left-armer “Dainty” Ironmonger taking 11 wickets for 24 runs. In between South Africa’s two brief appearances at the crease – in all they batted for only 54.5 overs – Australia struggled to 153, not helped when Don Bradman injured his ankle in a dressing-room accident and was unable to bat. Two other Tests produced fewer than 300 runs: at Lord’s in 1888 Australia (116 and 60) beat England (53 and 62) in a match that featured an Ashes-record low of 291 runs, and in Wellington in 1945-46 Australia (199 for 8 declared) beat New Zealand (42 and 54) by an innings and 103 in a match which featured only 295 runs in all.Have there been any one-day internationals which have seen four or more individual hundreds? asked AK Srivastava from India
Two one-day internationals have featured four individual centuries. The first one was in Lahore in November 1998, when hundreds from Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting helped Australia overhaul an imposing Pakistan total of 315, which included centuries by Ijaz Ahmed and Yousuf Youhana (who later became Mohammad Yousuf). That record was equalled during the run-soaked series between India and Australia in October last year. In the sixth match in Nagpur, Australia scored 350 (Shane Watson 102, George Bailey 156) but were trumped by India, for whom Shikhar Dhawan made 100 and Virat Kohli 115 not out. There have been 22 one-day internationals which included three individual hundreds: click here for the list.Which Test cricketer was nicknamed “Tadpole”? asked Christopher Ellis from England
This was the Trinidadian left-arm chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed, who took 13 wickets in five Tests for West Indies between 2004 and 2006. He also played in seven one-day internationals, and took 233 wickets in all first-class cricket; he’s still around, at 34, and played for the Antigua Hawksbills in the Caribbean Premier League last August. Apparently he acquired his unusual nickname not on account of his size but because, as a child, he liked playing around in water. Sport’s most famous “Tadpole” is probably Jessica Ennis, the British heptathlete who won gold at the 2012 London Olympics, although she was never terribly keen on the name.
