Winning without losing wickets, and six ducks in an innings
Also: double-centuries in low totals, and a foreign-born England XI
Steven Lynch
01-Nov-2016
Gerrie Snyman made 230 out of Namibia's 282 in an Intercontinental Cup against Kenya in Sharjah in 2008 • ICC/Helge Schutz
In the respective first innings of the Dhaka Test, Bangladesh reached 150 for 1, while England were 150 for 8 - but went on to get the lead. Was this some sort of record? asked Mahinda Gunasekera from Sri Lanka
That remarkable turnaround in the second Test in Mirpur was certainly a noteworthy occurrence: Bangladesh actually reached 171 for 1, while England at one point were 144 for 8. The only other Test in which a team claimed a first-innings lead after losing their eighth wicket at a lower score than the opposition's second was in Bombay in 1960-61, when Pakistan slipped from 301 for 1 to 350 all out, and were overtaken by India, who had been 300 for 8 but went on to declare at 449 for 9.
That remarkable turnaround in the second Test in Mirpur was certainly a noteworthy occurrence: Bangladesh actually reached 171 for 1, while England at one point were 144 for 8. The only other Test in which a team claimed a first-innings lead after losing their eighth wicket at a lower score than the opposition's second was in Bombay in 1960-61, when Pakistan slipped from 301 for 1 to 350 all out, and were overtaken by India, who had been 300 for 8 but went on to declare at 449 for 9.
Has any side ever won a Test - or a first-class match - without losing a wicket? asked Ed Atkinson from England
There hasn't yet been a Test match in which the winning side lost no wickets at all. The fewest is two, which has happened five times - most recently by South Africa (637 for 2 dec) against England (385 and 240) at The Oval in 2012. The previous instance was also by South Africa, against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2002-03. The other three were all by England: against South Africa at Lord's in 1924, New Zealand at Headingley in 1958, and India at Edgbaston in 1974. There have been eight instances of a side winning a first-class match without losing a wicket. The first - and the only one in England - was by Lancashire (166 for 0 dec and 66 for 0) against Leicestershire (108 and 122) at Old Trafford in 1956. Four of the others were in Pakistan, most recently when Karachi Blues conceded the match - saying the pitch was too dangerous - after slipping to 33 for 4 in Faisalabad in 2004-05.
There hasn't yet been a Test match in which the winning side lost no wickets at all. The fewest is two, which has happened five times - most recently by South Africa (637 for 2 dec) against England (385 and 240) at The Oval in 2012. The previous instance was also by South Africa, against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2002-03. The other three were all by England: against South Africa at Lord's in 1924, New Zealand at Headingley in 1958, and India at Edgbaston in 1974. There have been eight instances of a side winning a first-class match without losing a wicket. The first - and the only one in England - was by Lancashire (166 for 0 dec and 66 for 0) against Leicestershire (108 and 122) at Old Trafford in 1956. Four of the others were in Pakistan, most recently when Karachi Blues conceded the match - saying the pitch was too dangerous - after slipping to 33 for 4 in Faisalabad in 2004-05.
I saw a match last season in which Alviro Petersen of the Lions scored 203 in a total of less than 300. Was this the lowest total to include a double-century? asked Tiaan Strydom from South Africa
Alviro Petersen's fine effort - 203 out of 295 - was against the Titans in Potchefstroom in January 2016. It is actually second on the list for completed innings, behind only a remarkable effort by Namibia's Gerrie Snyman in an Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya in Sharjah in January 2008. Snyman battered 230, with 11 sixes, in a total of 282; the only other double-figure score was Michael Durant's 13. There is one lower innings, in which not all the wickets fell - Oxford University made 280 for 1, with Micky Walford hitting 201 not out, to beat MCC at Lord's in 1938. Gloucestershire scored 292 for 6 (Charles Barnett 204 not out) against Leicestershire at Aylestone Road in 1936, and in 1957, Worcestershire made 292 for 6 declared (Don Kenyon 200 not out) against Nottinghamshire at New Road.
Alviro Petersen's fine effort - 203 out of 295 - was against the Titans in Potchefstroom in January 2016. It is actually second on the list for completed innings, behind only a remarkable effort by Namibia's Gerrie Snyman in an Intercontinental Cup match against Kenya in Sharjah in January 2008. Snyman battered 230, with 11 sixes, in a total of 282; the only other double-figure score was Michael Durant's 13. There is one lower innings, in which not all the wickets fell - Oxford University made 280 for 1, with Micky Walford hitting 201 not out, to beat MCC at Lord's in 1938. Gloucestershire scored 292 for 6 (Charles Barnett 204 not out) against Leicestershire at Aylestone Road in 1936, and in 1957, Worcestershire made 292 for 6 declared (Don Kenyon 200 not out) against Nottinghamshire at New Road.
Who's the only player to be Man of the Match twice in the final of the English domestic Twenty20 Cup competition? asked Matt Clarke from England
The Twenty20 Cup started in England in 2003, and in its various guises until 2015 the Man-of-the-Match awards in the 13 finals were shared around 13 different players. But in this year's T20 Blast final, at Edgbaston, Northamptonshire's Josh Cobb won the prize for his match-winning 80. Back in 2011, when he was playing for Leicestershire, Cobb had received the award for his 4 for 22 - all of them catches by the substitute Matt Boyce - which restricted Somerset's score in the final, again at Edgbaston.
The Twenty20 Cup started in England in 2003, and in its various guises until 2015 the Man-of-the-Match awards in the 13 finals were shared around 13 different players. But in this year's T20 Blast final, at Edgbaston, Northamptonshire's Josh Cobb won the prize for his match-winning 80. Back in 2011, when he was playing for Leicestershire, Cobb had received the award for his 4 for 22 - all of them catches by the substitute Matt Boyce - which restricted Somerset's score in the final, again at Edgbaston.
What's the record for the most people in an England Test team who weren't born in England? asked Darren Hurst from England
There have been four England teams that contained seven players born outside England, all of them in the early 1990s. The team for the first two Tests at home against West Indies in 1991 included Phillip DeFreitas (born in Dominica), Graeme Hick (Zimbabwe), Allan Lamb (South Africa), Devon Malcolm (Jamaica), Derek Pringle (Kenya), Robin Smith (South Africa) and Steve Watkin (Wales). It might be stretching a point to include the Welshman Watkin, but the following winter in New Zealand the England side for the first two Tests included DeFreitas, Hick, Lamb, Pringle and Smith, plus Chris Lewis (born in Guyana) and Dermot Reeve (Hong Kong). The most recent England side made up entirely of people born inside the country was against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2003-04.
There have been four England teams that contained seven players born outside England, all of them in the early 1990s. The team for the first two Tests at home against West Indies in 1991 included Phillip DeFreitas (born in Dominica), Graeme Hick (Zimbabwe), Allan Lamb (South Africa), Devon Malcolm (Jamaica), Derek Pringle (Kenya), Robin Smith (South Africa) and Steve Watkin (Wales). It might be stretching a point to include the Welshman Watkin, but the following winter in New Zealand the England side for the first two Tests included DeFreitas, Hick, Lamb, Pringle and Smith, plus Chris Lewis (born in Guyana) and Dermot Reeve (Hong Kong). The most recent England side made up entirely of people born inside the country was against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2003-04.
There were five ducks in New Zealand's innings in the fifth ODI at Vizag. Was this a record? asked Prashaan Raga from South Africa
New Zealand's five ducks in their paltry total of 79 against India in Visakhapatnam last week equalled the New Zealand record, set against Pakistan in Auckland in 2000-01 (in a total of 149). But there have been five one-day international innings that contained six ducks, three of them by Pakistan: against England at Edgbaston in 1987 (in a total of 213 for 9), v West Indies in Cape Town in 1992-93 (43 all out), and against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2012 (199). There were also six ducks in South Africa's 106 against Australia in Sydney in 2001-02, and Zimbabwe's 127 v Sri Lanka in Harare in 2008-09.
New Zealand's five ducks in their paltry total of 79 against India in Visakhapatnam last week equalled the New Zealand record, set against Pakistan in Auckland in 2000-01 (in a total of 149). But there have been five one-day international innings that contained six ducks, three of them by Pakistan: against England at Edgbaston in 1987 (in a total of 213 for 9), v West Indies in Cape Town in 1992-93 (43 all out), and against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2012 (199). There were also six ducks in South Africa's 106 against Australia in Sydney in 2001-02, and Zimbabwe's 127 v Sri Lanka in Harare in 2008-09.
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Steven Lynch is the editor of the updated edition of Wisden on the Ashes