Test cricket's best opener, and big age gaps

I know that Don Bradman had the highest batting average in Tests, but who has the highest solely as an opener? asked Asad Khan from Canada

The leader here is Herbert Sutcliffe, the stylish Yorkshire and England batsman, who opened 83 times in Tests and averaged 61.11. He scored 64 on his debut, against South Africa at Edgbaston in 1924 - and, uniquely, his overall average never dipped below 60 during his entire 54-Test career (even Bradman couldn't match that, as he started his career with innings of 18 and 1). In second place is Graeme Smith, the current South African captain, who averages 58.35 when he goes in first. In all 17 batsmen have had an average of 50 or above when opening - and six of them are current players: Smith, Virender Sehwag (57.19), Andrew Strauss (57.17), Matthew Hayden (53.47), Herschelle Gibbs (52.50) and Justin Langer (51.58).

How many players have hit 1000 fours in Test cricket? asked Richard Hurd

This isn't quite an exact science (see below), but it seems that there are six batsmen who have reached the boundary ropes more than 1000 times in Tests - and the leader is Brian Lara, with 1385 fours, just ahead of Sachin Tendulkar (1347). Then come Steve Waugh (1175), Allan Border (1161), Alec Stewart (1121) and Graham Gooch (1079). We don't have full details of many of the early matches - but it's rather unlikely that any players involved in those games will have played enough Test cricket to have collected more than 4000 runs in boundary fours anyway.

Xavier Marshall, whose middle name is Melbourne, made his international debut for West Indies at Melbourne - has anyone else even played at a ground with their name in it? asked Neil Smith from Cricklewood

Well, at first I thought it must be unique ... and then I thought of Sydney. A quick look through the international scorecards suggests that five people with Sydney as part of their name have played in a Test at the SCG - the Sydneys Callaway and Gregory of Australia, SF Barnes of England, the West Indian Lionel Sydney Birkett and Lennox Sydney Brown of South Africa. Sidney Barnes of Australia played there too - and scored 234 in 1946-47. But pride of place should probably go to the Englishman Sydney Francis Barnes - he made his Test debut at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1901-02. Lennox Brown also made his Test debut at Sydney. Syd Gregory of Australia deserves a mention too - he was born on the site of the current SCG (his father was the groundsman there), but he actually made his Test debut at Lord's, in 1890. I'm not counting Lord Harris, who captained England at Lord's in 1884 ...

Kamran Akmal recently scored a Test hundred to go with one in ODIs. How many other wicketkeepers have done this in both forms of the game? asked Vishal Patel from Chennai

Kamran Akmal was actually the seventh wicketkeeper to score both a century in both Tests and ODIs. Adam Gilchrist leads the way, with 14 in Tests allied to 10 in one-dayers, ahead of Andy Flower (12 Test, four ODI). Then come Alec Stewart (six Test, four ODI), Kumar Sangakkara (five plus one), Romesh Kaluwitharana (three plus two), and Adam Parore (two plus one). These figures exclude games in which the players concerned didn't keep wicket.

In a recent column you talked about the rival captains both making a century in the same Test. But how often have the two captains both made a duck in the same match, and how often have they both taken a five-for? asked Imran Moonna

Rather surprisingly, both captains making ducks in the same Test turns out to be rarer than both of them making hundreds, which has happened 31 times now. On only 11 occasions have both captains failed to score in the same game: the most recent instance came in March last year, when Brian Lara and Michael Vaughan were both out for ducks at Port-of-Spain. The first occasion was back in 1905 (Stanley Jackson and Joe Darling in the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge). And both captains taking five wickets in an innings in the same Test is rarer still - in fact it has only happened once, at Karachi in 1959-60, when Fazal Mahmood took 5 for 74 for Pakistan to follow Richie Benaud's 5 for 93 for Australia.

A recent All Today's Yesterdays mentioned a Test in which John Traicos, 45, dismissed Sachin Tendulkar, 19 - is this the greatest age gap between bowler and victim? asked Michael Jones

The biggest age difference between bowler and victim involved the legendary Yorkshire and England spinner Wilfred Rhodes, who was 52 when he dismissed the 17-year-old West Indian Derek Sealy three times in 1929-30. Rhodes is second on the list, too, for his dismissal of George Headley, 20, in the first Test of that same series. The biggest difference the other way (young bowler dismissing elderly batsman) came in the very first Test of all, at Melbourne in 1876-77, when the 18-year-old Australian Tom Garrett dismissed England's James Southerton, Test cricket's oldest debutant at 49.