At Delhi, VVS Laxman scored his second Test double-century against Australia. Is he the only man to have scored two against them? asked Ravi Josyula from New Zealand
In all Australia have now conceded 32 double-centuries in Tests. Apart from VVS Laxman, South Africa's Graeme Pollock also made two, while Brian Lara of West Indies hit three. Top of the list, though, is England's Wally Hammond, who hit four Test double-centuries against Australia - he made 251 and 200 in successive innings in Sydney and Melbourne in 1928-29, 231 not out in Sydneyin 1936-37, and 240 at Lord's in 1938. Dennis Amiss hit the winning runs in what turned out to be his last Test, in 1977 (Geoff Boycott returned for the next match, and the rest is history... ) Has anyone else since scored the winning runs for England but not played again? asked Marcus Berkmann
The only man who has definitely made the winning hit for England in a Test, and then never played again, sinceDennis Amiss did so in the 1977 Ashes series at Old Trafford, is Nasser Hussain, who hit the winning run against New Zealand at Lord's in 2004, and announced his retirement shortly afterwards. As I write Andrew Flintoff also qualifies - he hit a six to win the Oval Test against South Africa earlier this year in his last Test to date. For the Statsguru table showing everyone who was in "at the death" of a win in their final Test, click here. It's a reasonable guess that about half of those players made the winning hit in their final Test - we don't always know who faced the final delivery (the list also includes some active players, like Flintoff, who will disappear when they play again). The Indian player Iqbal Siddiqui is an interesting one - he opened both the batting and the bowling and made the winning hit in his first Test, against England at Mohali in 2001-02... and never played again! Who has played in the most Test wins? asked Jeffrey Fernandes from the United Arab Emirates
This particular list is dominated by members of the Australian side which has done so well at international level recently. Top of the pile, with 92 wins from his 145 Tests, is Shane Warne, just ahead of Steve Waugh with 86. Ricky Ponting is level with Glenn McGrath on 84 Test wins, then come Adam Gilchrist with 73, Mark Waugh with 72, Justin Langer with 70, and Matthew Hayden with 68. The first non-Australians are the West Indians Viv Richards (63 wins) and Desmond Haynes (60). South Africa's Mark Boucher recently drew level with Haynes on 60, while Jacques Kallisis one behind on 59. Ricky Ponting was out for 87, the Australians' so-called unlucky number, in the Test at Delhi. How many other Aussies have suffered this fate? asked Tony Bailey from Adelaide
Ricky Ponting's 87 in the recent Test in Delhi was the unlucky 13th such dismissal in Tests for Australia. Two of them were collected by Clem Hill, against England in 1901-02 and 1907-08. The other Aussies to fall for 87 in a Test wereGeorge Bonnor (1882-83), Sammy Jones (1886), Victor Trumper (1910-11), Jack Ryder (1928-29), Jack Moroney(1949-50), Brian Booth (1963-64), Keith Stackpole (1970-71), John Dyson (1982-83), Peter Taylor (1989-90) andAdam Gilchrist (2000-01). For Jones and Taylor, 87 remained their highest Test score. There have been seven instances of an Australian batsman being out for 87 in one-day internationals - it's happened to Andrew Symondstwice. Nineteen bowlers were used in the Test between India and West Indies in Antigua in May 2002. Is this a record?asked Biswaranjan Behera from India
That Test in St John's in 2001-02 was one of four in which 19 different players bowled. One of the others was also in Antigua - West Indies' high-scoring draw against South Africa in 2004-05 - while the other two both involved Pakistan: against India in Nagpur in 1983-84, and v Australia in Rawalpindi in 1994-95. But there has been one Test in which there were 20 different bowlers: when South Africa played England in Cape Town in 1964-65, the only people who didn't roll their arms over were the two wicketkeepers, Denis Lindsay and Jim Parks. I was wondering what was the highest first-innings score was in a Test by a team that went on to lose? asked Juan van Wyk from South Africa
The highest score made by any side in a Test they ended up losing was 586, by Australia in their first innings in Sydney in 1894-95. England won that match by just ten runs after following on, the first of three such instances in Test history. In all there have been 12 totals of 500 or more by the losing side in a Test, the most recent being India's 532 against Australia in Sydney in January 2008. Steven Lynch is the editor of the Cricinfo Guide to International Cricket. If you want to ask Steven a question, use ourfeedback form. The most interesting questions will be answered here each week © Cricinfo |
