Ask Bearders #155
Welcome to Ask Bearders, where statistician 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, including your name and nationality, and he might answer it in his next piece.
Bill isn鈥檛 able to answer all of your questions, however. 大象传媒 Sport staff will choose a selection of them and send them to Bearders for him to answer.
Q: On the final day of the first-class season, Lancashire fell 24 runs short of victory with four overs remaining, and the County Championship title headed down to Hove. When was the last time the Championship was decided on the final day of the season? Have any titles been decided LATER on the final day than that. Phil Fenerty (frustrated Life Member, Lancashire CCC)
Bearders' Answer: I watched most of that match on television and, although I was born in Surrey and played my early cricket there, I did feel very sad for Lancashire. However, had they won, your county would still have gained fewer wins than either Sussex or Durham. There is a strong case for discarding bonus points and deciding the title on most victories.
Although the title has been decided on the penultimate day of the competition several times in recent years, not since 1985 has it been in the hazard until the final day. Then, on 17 September, Middlesex defeated Warwickshire by an innings and 74 runs at Edgbaston to clinch the title by an 18-point margin. I very much doubt if any title has been decided later than 6.01pm, as was this year鈥檚. The latest date for winning the Championship is 21 September (by Leicestershire in 1996) and the earliest is 12 August (by Kent in 1910).
Q: Is Ottis Gibson the oldest bowler to take all ten wickets in a first-class innings?
Wraye Wenigmann (Bonn, Germany)
Bearders' Answer: No, Wraye. Ottis was 38 years 4 months when he demolished Hampshire鈥檚 first innings at Chester-le-Street last July. There have been eight all-ten instances by bowlers aged 40 and over, including three by leg-spinner A.P. (鈥楾ich鈥) Freeman. The oldest was 鈥楤illy鈥 Bestwick, the heavily-built Derbyshire fast-medium bowler who took 10 for 40 against Glamorgan at Cardiff in 1921 when he was 46.
Gibson is the second-oldest to achieve this feat since the Second World War, Jim Sims, the Middlesex off-spinner being 45 when he did it for East v West in the 1948 Kingston upon Thames Festival.
Q: Are there any total innings scores for a Test team between 100 and 500 that have yet to be scored? Alan Bland
Bearders' Answer: No. The lowest three-digit innings total still to feature in Test cricket is 525.
Q: How high on a list of innings totals not containing a single extra does Somerset's recent 312 v Essex stand? Chris Grant
Bearders' Answer: I haven鈥檛 found a list of extra-free innings in all first-class cricket 鈥 probably that is not surprising as it would involve searching through nearly 50,000 scores. The highest total without extras in Test matches is 328 by Pakistan v India at the Bagh-i-Jinnah Ground in Lahore on 29-30 January 1955.
Q: I still want to know (especially considering the number of wides now being bowled in Test cricket) if Alec Bedser ever bowled a wide in a Test. And how many wides did he bowl in all first-class cricket? Jim Dale
Bearders' Answer: This is another question that is impossible to answer because such records were never kept during Alec Bedser鈥檚 first-class career (1939-1960). As he bowled 106,062 legitimate balls in all first-class matches, including 15,918 for England, it is not unreasonable to suppose that he sent down the very occasional wide.
So well grooved, rhythmical and balanced was his action that he would have bowled very few. If he had ever scored a direct hit on second slip, similar to that aberration at the start of the last Ashes rubber, he would have either reported sick or retired immediately.
Sir Alec phoned me shortly after I had submitted the above answer and was fairly certain that he never bowled a wide in a Test match. "I might have bowled one or two in first-class cricket because we often had to bowl with a wet ball, but I never hit second slip!"
Q: A bowler is brought on to bowl his first over with the scores tied and the batting side needing a single for victory. His first delivery is called a wide and the match is over. Is his final bowling analysis 0-0-1-0 or 0.1-0-1-0? Paul
Bearders' Answer: It certainly cannot be 0.1 overs because neither wides nor no balls count as a ball bowled in recording an over in analysis form. It is either 0-0-1-0 or, more correctly, 0.0-0-1-0.
Q: I was just interested to know who holds the record for the most wicket maidens in Test cricket. Also, who has bowled the most maidens in Tests? Daniel Grey
Bearders' Answer: Sorry, Daniel. Records detailing individual totals of wicket maidens do not exist. Any attempt to compare cumulative totals of maidens hits a major snag because the number of balls in an over in Test cricket has varied between 4, 5, 6 and 8. Only since 1979 has the six-ball over been universally used. For this reason I do not include maidens in my career figures in either The Wisden Book of Test Cricket or The Playfair Cricket Annual.
However, given the recent proliferation of Test cricket, it is fair to assume that a modern day bowler has bowled the most maidens. As Shane Warne (40,518) and Muthiah Muralitharan (37,058) have bowled the most balls (excluding no-balls and wides), it is not surprising that they register the two highest tallies of maidens (1,754 and 1,611 respectively).
My question is regarding Yuvraj Singh's amazing knock against England; I believe his 50 came up off just 12 balls. I'm fairly sure this is the fastest in international cricket, but is it the fastest in all first-class cricket? If not, what is the record? Andrew Parker
Bearders' Answer: With the advent of the 20-over format, there are now four categories of records: Test matches, first-class matches (which include Tests), limited-overs internationals (50-overs), and Twenty20 games.
Yuvraj鈥檚 12-ball epic is the Twenty20 record. The 50-over international record is 17 balls by Sanath Jayasuriya for Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Singapore in April 1996. Jacques Kallis holds the Test record with his 24-ball fifty for South Africa v Zimbabwe at Cape Town in March 2005.
The fastest fifty in all first-class cricket, excluding any donated by rubbish bowling to speed a declaration, took C.I.J (鈥楤ig Jim鈥) Smith 11 minutes for Middlesex v Gloucestershire at Bristol in 1938. The fastest in terms of fewest balls is not known.
Q: What is the highest score off the last over of a limited-overs international game? What is the highest score off the last over to win an international one day game? Ed B
Bearders' Answer: Stats relating to most runs off an over do not include the over in question. Only by checking through detailed scoresheets of more than 2,600 internationals (excluding the 20-over version) could the answer to your second question be found.
The answer to your first question would have to be 30 by Dimitri Mascarenhas (five sixes) v India at The Oval on 5th September. There have been only two higher aggregates from a single over (36 by Herschelle Gibbs and 32 by Shahid Afridi) and neither was off the final over of an innings.
Q: In 50-over internationals, what proportion of matches have been won by the teams batting first/second, and how important is winning the toss in determining the winner of a match? Ian W
Bearders' Answer: Surprisingly, neither the toss nor the order of innings has made much difference to the overall results. Sides batting first have won 1,222 games and lost 1,283. Winners of the toss have won 1,276 matches, lost 1,229. A further 22 games have been tied, with another 83 ending in a 鈥榥o result鈥 draw. As with all my international records, matches involving multinational teams are excluded.
Q: What is the greatest differential between a Test team's first innings score and its second? Pricey
Bearders' Answer: The widest margin is 551 runs achieved by Pakistan (106 and 657-8 dec) in their inaugural Test v West Indies, at Bridgetown, Barbados, in January 1958. Following on 473 behind, they salvaged a draw thanks to Hanif Mohammed鈥檚 marathon 337 in 16 hours 10 minutes.
Q: Has any player of Asian origin played for the Australian national team? If so, how well did he fare? Asif
Bearders' Answer: If by 鈥榦rigin鈥 you mean born in Asia (as opposed to being born in Australia of Asian parents), there have been three. Although B.B. (Bransby) Cooper was born at Dacca, India (now in Bangladesh) in 1844, he was educated at Rugby. A right-handed batsman, he began his first-class career with Middlesex (1864-67) and Kent (1868-69) before moving to Australia, where he represented Victoria (1870-71 to 1877-78) and appeared in the inaugural Test (v England in March 1877) scoring 15 and 3.
R.H.D (鈥楻ex鈥) Sellers, born at Bulsar (Valsad), India in 1940, was a tall leg-break and googly bowler who also won a solitary cap, v India at Calcutta in 1964, failing to score or take a wicket. He appeared in 39 matches for South Australia between 1959-60 and 1966-67.
The most recent, D.F. (鈥楧av鈥) Whatmore, born in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1954, played in seven Tests in 1979 (two at home v Pakistan, followed by five in India) during the Packer schism. He averaged 22.53 with a top score of 77. His 95 appearances for Victoria produced an average of 34.87, ten hundreds and a record 123 catches, mostly at slip.
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What is the highest partnership in test cricket by 2 debutants?
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Hi Bill,
we all acknowledge that Jonty Rhodes has been on the best fielders. Has he ever dropped a catch?. if so How many catches has he dropped?
Ramesh
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Hi Bill
Thanks for all the answers - and the contribution to TMS.
Here's my question:
Plenty of bowlers have taken a wicket with the first ball of a game (including quite a few in Test Cricket). However, to my knowledge no batsman has ever achieved the feat of hitting a six off the the first ball of a game/innings (although I've seen a fair few 4s over the years). Is this correct and no batsmen has ever started the game or innings with a 6?
Thanks.
PS - Wraye above is the most competent scorer in Germany and whilst I was wasn't able to attend your lectures there, I'm sure she didn't!
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Watching 20/20 I noticed that a lot of time wickets fell on the total score of 鈥111鈥 was that just my imagination or did the nelson truly prove unlucky for the 20/20 World cup? How about in general in ODI鈥檚 and Tests is there any statistical evidence to prove that 鈥111鈥 is truly unlucky? For example comparing it to other scores between 100-120.
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Dear Bill,
A wonderful column and thank you for sharing this interesting information with us. Can you please tell me the exact length of a cricket stump to the nearest millimetre? Thank you.
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Talking of fast fifties, Bearders, indeed all cricket lovers might be interested to know of a century that might well be unique. Playing for Herongate in Essex on a full-size away ground, their beefy slogger Colin Hart scored a century from 26 balls. He faced every ball bowled during his stay at the crease, striking ten sixes, ten fours, three singles and a two. One ball he missed (taking a leg-bye) and the last he was dismissed by a catch on the mid-wicket boundary, where most of his hits went. The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes and of course his 105 came in a partnership of 106.
Colin was no batter, taking a cross-batted swipe at everything, regardless of the delivery or the state of the match, but he was an excellent medium pace bowler. He told me afterwards that the man who caught him was actually well over the boundary, but that he was too puffed to return to the crease having run half way to the pavilion!
I have never heard of a faster ton, in terms of balls or time, or indeed a partnership of this size where all but one run were scored by one player.
This took place in, I think, 1963 or 1964.
Also, noticing the comment about hitting a six off the first ball of a match, I clearly remember seeing Dicky Dodds do this for Essex and seem to remember that he did this more than once, so it is certainly not unknown.
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There is often discussion as to how difficult or easy it is in ODIs to chase under lights - do you have any stats to point one way or the other?
Its interesting to note that in the Pro 40 two seasons ago sides chasing under lights lost in all but one game, however this season sides chasing won the majority of the games
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Bill:
A curiosity. There have been several cases recently where all 11 batsmen have reached double figures, usually in totals of 500+. However, it is possible for al eleven batsmen and extras to make double figures yet the total is only 120.
Your mission, Bill, should you choose to accept it, is to say what is the LOWEST team total that has happened with all 11 batsmen in double figures.
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What is the highest batting partnership in a test match and what number batsmen completed the feat.
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What is the highest aggregate of runs scored in a test match that resulted in a victory for one side.
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Hi Bill,
In the recent 2020 final sohail tanvir for pakistan hit his first international delivery for 6. Is this a record or has it happened before?
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Bill,
Your loathing for multinational sides being included in international Test and ODI statistics is well known, but I confess that I'm a bit confused as to the reasons. My main argument regards the West Indies. This team is made up from players from several different sovereign nations. What is the difference between an International XI and the West Indies team?
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On the subject of inings without extras, Keith Walmsley's book Most Withouts in Test Criicket (published by the author in 1986) lists one test innings over 300:
328 Pakistan v India Lahore 1954/5
I have not verified this.
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Hi Bill,
Recently in one of the innings, I noticed a peculiar thing. There was one batsman, who had a three digit score and rest were all in single digits. Is it a common phenomenon in international cricket (test or otherwise?)
Thanks
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Hi Bill,
Am i right in thinking that each test playing nation HAS to play every other nation both HOME and AWAY every 6 years??
How do the sub continent countries fit them all in when they all share the same summer and winter months?
England seem to be the only team to play all year round (probably why we have such a large injury list!)
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Hi Bill,
What is the longest interval of time any team has gone undefeated in a test series and ODI series(Undefeated would include drawn series).
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Further to debate on the bowling figures 0.0-0-1-0. Has any bowler ever had the figures 1.1-1-1-1 ? 0r even 2.2-2-2-2
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The recent twenty 20 game betweeeen India and Australia witnessed the rare instance of sides being led by wicketkeepers. Have there been any other instances (Tests, ODIs or 20-20) of rival sides being captained by wicketkeepers in the same game ?
Also with reference to the queries in your serial No.154 regarding the maximum number of maiden overs, I faintly remember an Indian bowler by name Nadkarni bowling about 27 consecutive maiden overs in a test match against England in the early sixties. Can you please confirm this ?
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Bill,
With all the new technology available these days, do you think cricket statiticians should start recording when players fall foul of incorrect umpiring decisions
ie, given out when it would've missed the stumps or let off when they actually nicked it. It would be very interesting to have an official ICC ranking of the luckiest (or unluckiest) players!
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18. Francis, you can check on Nadkarnis wiki page for this information
Quote:
Nadkarni bowled 21 maiden overs or 131 scoreless balls in succession. The record for most consecutive balls without conceding a run is held by Hugh Tayfield of South Africa who bowled 137 dot balls or 16 eight-ball overs across two innings against England at Durban in 1956-57. In first class cricket, Nadkarni comes third after Tayfield and Manish Majithia of Madhya Pradesh who bowled 136 dot balls in a row against Railways in 1999-00.
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How many people have matched Mark Ramprakash's achievement of averaging over 100 in 1st class cricket in two separate seasons?
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Bill,
In their last Championship match against Worcestershire, Sussex scored 532 all out without any player scoring a century, and the run aggregate for the match was 1,050 in three innings, again without a single centurion in sight.
What is the highest total achieved in one innings with no-one getting a 100, and what is the highest aggregate number of runs scored in a match devoid of a centurion?
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Bill,
In their last Championship match against Worcestershire, Sussex scored 532 all out without any player scoring a century, and the run aggregate for the match was 1,050 in three innings, again without a single centurion in sight.
What is the highest total achieved in one innings with no-one getting a 100, and what is the highest aggregate number of runs scored in a match devoid of a centurion?
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Hi Bill. After the recent mess David Sales made of needing to score three runs off the final over and even just one run of the final three balls vs Essex in the Pro40, on how many other occasions in domestic and international one-day cricket has seen so few runs wanted off the final balls and not achieved? I remember Andrew Hall bowling a brilliant last over for Worcs vs Lancs in a one-day competition a few years ago when he took a hat-trick but can't personally think of any others.
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At 12:35 PM on 28 Sep 2007, AlisonB wrote: How many people have matched Mark Ramprakash's achievement of averaging over 100 in 1st class cricket in two separate seasons?
None I believe it to be a unique occurrence. He did this by scoring over 2000 runs in each year. What a pity he, like Hick, never really translated that form into the largest arena.
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Hi Bill. After the recent mess David Sales made of needing to score three runs off the final over and even just one run of the final three balls vs Essex in the Pro40, on how many other occasions in domestic and international one-day cricket has seen so few runs wanted off the final balls and not achieved? I remember Andrew Hall bowling a brilliant last over for Worcs vs Lancs in a one-day competition a few years ago when he took a hat-trick but can't personally think of any others.
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could you please tell me the dates of the test matches played in 1963 in england against the west indies and were the matches telivised on the bbc
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Bill - This is a follow up on Andrew Parker's question regarding the fastest fifty. Doesn't Kaushlaya Weeraratne of Sri Lanka hold the record for the fastest 50 in first class cricket (50 over)? Here's an article about his achievement in cricinfo -
Thanks!
Manjula
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Are records kept of dropped catches? And if so, who are the unfortunate record holders in various forms of the first class game?
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1. Simon - it's 249, by Khalid Ibadulla (166) and Abdul Kadir (95), for the first wicket for Pakistan vs Australia at Karachi in 1964.
2. Ramesh - I think I remember him dropping one once, but couldn't give you a precise figure!
5. Rish - Law 8.2 states "The tops of the stumps shall be 28 in/71.1cm above the playing surface and shall be dome shaped except for the bail grooves. The portion of a stump above the playing surface shall be cylindrical, apart from the domed top, with circular section of diameter not less than 1 3/8 in/3.49cm nor more than 1 1/2 in/3.81cm." The total length of the stump (including the bit that's stuck in the ground) isn't specified.
8. Mark - the lowest Test total in which every batsman made double figures (as, incidentally, did extras) is 359, by India vs New Zealand at Dunedin in 1968.
9 & 10. Keith - the highest partnership in a Test (and, indeed, a first class match) is 624, by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene (batting at numbers 3 and 4 respectively) for the third wicket, for Sri Lanka vs South Africa at Colombo in 2006. The three highest match aggregates all produced draws, so the answer to your second question is number 4 on the overall list: 1,753, by Australia (354 and 582) and England (447 and 370) at Adelaide in 1921.
14. Sameer - I can't find any instance of this happening in a Test, although I can't guarantee that I haven't missed one. The closest I can find is Australia's second innings against England at Sydney in 1999, when Michael Slater made 123, Mark Waugh 24 and no-one else more than 8. In West Indies' first (and only) innings against South Africa at St. John's in 2005, the first eight batsmen alternated between triple and single figures: Chris Gayle 317, Wavell Hinds 0, Ramnaresh Sarwan 127, Brian Lara 4, Shivnarine Chanderpaul 127, Narsingh Deonarine 4, Dwayne Bravo 107, Courtney Browne 0. The sequence was broken by the number 9, Daren Powell, who made 12.
15. Paul - the international calendar is continually expanding, and yes, there have been matches played on the subcontinent during the English summer.
16. Sathish - the Test record is 29 consecutive undefeated series, by West Indies between their 1-0 defeat in New Zealand in 1980 and the 2-1 home defeat to Australia in 1995 which signalled the end of their reign as the best in the world. In second place is Australia's run of 16 between their defeat in India in 2001 and the 2005 Ashes. Defining the ODI record is trickier because many ODIs are played as part of multi-team tournaments rather than bilateral series - would you count a team as having remained unbeaten in a certain number of series if, for instance, they had been knocked out in the group stages of the World Cup in between?
17. E Harrison - I can't think of any off the top of my head, but it's fairly likely that the first has occurred sometimes as it would only require someone to bowl a wicket maiden and then concede a single off the first ball of their second over. The second is less likely, but might possibly have occurred.
18. Francis - this happened a few times in New Zealand vs Zimbabwe matches in the mid-1990s, with Lee Germon and Andy Flower the players involved. I think it might also have happened sometime with Germon and Alec Stewart, but I'm not certain of that.
19. Jonny - I can't vouch for Bill, but personally I think it would be an extremely bad idea, putting umpires under even more pressure than they are now. Many people make the mistake of assuming that technology such as Hawkeye is infallible, when even its inventor freely admits that it is not. Let the umpires get on with their job - the reason that they're standing in international matches is that they're the best in the world, inevitably any umpire will get it wrong occasionally but that's part of the game and the players have to accept it.
21. Alison - I think Bradman did so twice in English seasons, and probably many more times in Australia.
22/23. Ian - the Test record is 524, which was briefly beaten by India earlier this year before Anil Kumble reached his century to exclude it from the list. I vaguely remember a total of 650+ with no century being made in a domestic match in India some years ago, but I'm not sure of the details. No idea what the match record is.
24. David - I don't claim this answer as definitive, but the one that immediately springs to mind is the 2nd ODI between South Africa and England at Bloemfontein in 2005. South Africa needed eight to win off Kabir Ali's final over; he started it with a no-ball which Mark Boucher smashed for four, leaving three required from six balls. Boucher tried to finish it in one and was caught at deep square leg: three off five. Shaun Pollock hit his first ball straight to a fielder (three off four), then scrambled a single off the next (two off three). Ashwell Prince tried for a single off the fourth ball and was run out: two off two. Pollock took another single off the fifth, leaving Andrew Hall to face the final ball with one required to win. He didn't prove quite as good batting at the death as bowling at it: he failed to pick Ali's slower ball, Geraint Jones completed the stumping and the match was tied.
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Q: What is the highest score off the last over of a limited-overs international game? What is the highest score off the last over to win an international one day game? Ed B
I believe the answer to the second part is Alan Lamb hitting a Bruce Reid over for 18 runs required to win in 1986 at Sydney (I think).
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Q: What is the highest score off the last over of a limited-overs international game? What is the highest score off the last over to win an international one day game? Ed B
I believe the answer to the second part is Alan Lamb hitting a Bruce Reid over for 18 runs required to win in 1986 at Sydney (I think).
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Q: What is the highest score off the last over of a limited-overs international game? What is the highest score off the last over to win an international one day game? Ed B
I believe the answer to the second part is Alan Lamb hitting a Bruce Reid over for 18 runs required to win in 1986 at Sydney (I think).
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AlisonB (#21)
Geoff Boycott did it and so did Don Bradman.
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I can't help thinking there's a bit of a flaw in the format of this new Ask Bearders column.
Readers are asked to post their own questions in the comments section, but the questions then get answered by other readers.
Steals Bill's thunder a bit, does it not?
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Has any bowler in first class or test cricket ever bowled both left and right handed in the same match? Would the umpire have to be informed if he where to change which way he was going to bowl?
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Bill,
In their last Championship match against Worcestershire, Sussex scored 532 all out without any player scoring a century, and the run aggregate for the match was 1,050 in three innings, again without a single centurion in sight.
What is the highest total achieved in one innings with no-one getting a 100, and what is the highest aggregate number of runs scored in a match devoid of a centurion?
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At 16 years and 351 days, was Glammorgans James Harris the youngest ever bowler to open the bowling in the County Championship ?
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Lydiard,
If I remember correctly, Philo Wallace of West Indies hit a six off the first ball of an innings bowled by Javagal Srinath of India, some 10 years ago.
Saqib
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Hi Bill,
What is the least number of runs required in the 50th over (or last over of a predecided curtailed match) of an ODI match and the team batting still lost the game. Is it South Africa against India at Hero Cup? Also what is the maximum number of runs scored in the 50th over (or last over of a predecided curtailed match) to win an ODI . I remember 19 runs by Alan Lamb...for England.
Thanks
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I friend and I had a question about overthrows. If a player fields the ball on the boundary after the batsmen have run a single, picks the ball up and as he goes to throw it the ball slips out of the fielders hand and goes over the boundary behind him, does the count as overthrows (i.e. would it be 4 or 5 runs).
If it is four runs why does it not count as overthrows and at what point does the throw become an attempt at the stumps etc...
Hope thats clear, thanks Bill keep up the great work.
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Refering to number2 and 30. has jonty dropped any catches. Yes he has. But techincally every ball is in the air, wheather for a millli second or for a few seconds. So its impossible to come up with a correct figure on exactly how many
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from now on we should field the best test team to play one day and twenty twenty. if you are good enough to play test then you can play any form of cricket.by fieldig the so called 'experts' we have not achieved anything. the experts are good in murdering county balling and they are found out at the top level.what did the experts do in the recent twenty twenty world cup?
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What the result of a match be if the side batting first scored 200 all out and the side batting second were 200 for 9 before the last man was stumped of a wide? I assume the side batting second would win, but what would the margin of victory be?
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What is the highest last wicket stand in first class and test cricket?
Thanks, Sam
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Dear Bearders,
Love your work and, as an umpire am always impressed with your answers on Cricket Law.
In answering a query on the oldest bowler to take 10 wickets in an innings, you described the Middlesex bowler Jim Sims as an OFF spinner. In fact Jim was a LEG BREAK bowler . His few off spinners would have been googlies!
A minor slip of the pen, but you will want to know.
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Under the new ODI rules, a batsman is awarded a free hit after a front-foot no ball and cannot be dismissed from it.
2 questions:
Are any runs resulting from the free hit scored as extras or given to the batsman?
How is the free-hit delivery shown in the scorecard - (presumably not as a valid ball..)
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If I remember it correctly, in South Africa or in Zimbabwe, one of the cricket grounds have a tree close to the boundary rope. My question is what happens if a ball destined to go the rope is stopped by the tree or what happens if the tree holds up a ball and then it falls to the hand of a fielder??
Thanks,
Toorban, Hants, UK
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What is the minimum number of times that a batsman must be out in order to record an average.
Regards,
James
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Is there any record of a bowler having taken a double hat-trick?
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following up from my last question/comment (15) why is it England have played 19 tests out of 77 played by the top 8 nations (excluding Bangladesh) since May 2006? This is 25% of all test matches involve England where the next highest % is India with 12 tests - 15% ??
Also in the same period (18 months) New Zealand have only played 2 TESTS!!! and Australia only 5 (and we all know which 5 they were!)
This is on the back of a further 16 tests played since the start of 2005.A grand total of 35 test matches in less than 3 years !!
If you look at the 2 (regular) teams from the Ashes in 05 - 4 Australians have retired - not through injury though - 2 have been dropped (Katich and Gillespie) but are still playing county crickett whilst the other 5 are still playing.
Basically they haven't had to change their team apart from through form and the end of careers (which happens to every team at some time).
Compare this to the England X1 from the 1st 4 tests
Strauss - poor form blamed on too much crickett
Trescothic - enough said
Vaughan - back from major injuries
Pieterson - ok
Bell - ok
Flintoff - enough said as well
Jones - dropped
Giles - Injury finished career
Jones - Injured since 05
Hoggard - Missed last series
Harmison - Still Injured
The only 2 that remain are Bell and Pieterson who were both new to test crickett in 05 and already K.P. has been complaining of too much crickett !!
WHAT ODDS THESE 2 BEEN THE NEXT STRAUSS OR TRESCOTHIC ??
SIMPLE - WE PLAY TOO MUCH TEST CRICKET.
Australia beat us 5 - 0 because they had NOT ONE TEST MATCH BETWEEN THE 2 ASHES SERIES !!
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Hi Bearders,
I notice that yet again, Bopara hasn't been given the ball, but has been made to bat at no. 7! Has any other team that has bowled its full 50 overs and lost all 10 wickets done this?
I cannot imagine ANY TEAM picking a PURE Batsman at 7!
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Hi Bearders,
I notice that yet again, Bopara hasn't been given the ball, but has been made to bat at no. 7! Has any other team that has bowled its full 50 overs and lost all 10 wickets done this?
I cannot imagine ANY TEAM picking a PURE Batsman at 7!
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I remember some time ago reading that in a study of baseball pitchers (baseball attracts statisticians nearly as much as cricket does), on average, right handers live just a little longer than left handers tend to do. I wonder, is this true of bowlers?
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Hi Bill,
I wondered if there has ever been a recorded match where play was suspended for bad light because of a total eclipse of the sun?
Graeme
(British)
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Sachin was a victim of five wrong and possibly malicious decisions at the hands of motivated umpires in twelve times at bat in England. What is the statistical probability of this happening innocently.
Is this aworld record?
I recall that when the legendary Subhash Gupte toured England in 1958, he did not get a single LBW in spite of rampant and blatant padplay, and Gupte was a very accurate bowler.
This time a mirror image!!!
Very interesting. Very very interesting.
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hello, which county has fallen foul to most weather related stoppages - and i suspect my county (Lancs) tops the list.
I wonder how many titles we would have gained had we relocated south???
Andy
England
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in answer to 51
paul craig
i agree that england esp. and all nations do play too much cricket, BUT it is not true that AUS played no tests between the 2 Ashes series
finishing in NOV 2005 they played a 3 test series against WI in AUS
finishing in APR 2006 a 3 test series in SA
and 2 against BANG
this might not be as much test cricket as ENG (12 tests in same period) but it is not NO TESTS
in answer to 48
TOORBAN
as stated previously (look up other columns) if the tree has its roots outside the boundary then its branches, wherever they are, count as the boundary, so it would be a SIX and the ball would be dead (impossible to catch off)
if the tree is rooted inside the boundary then the umpires BEFORE play starts should decide with the captains the runs awarded for hitting it, usually it counts as a boundary anyway
see
and law 3, esp.
"Before the toss the umpires shall
...
(iii) the boundary of the field of play and allowances for boundaries. See Law 19.
(iv) any special conditions of play affecting the conduct of the match.
(b) inform the scorers of the agreements in (ii), (iii) and (iv) above."
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Bill, Fred Spofforth's bowling figures for Australia are easily accessable on the internet, I am now interested in his career once he came to England in the early 1900's I beleive.
I am sure he played for Derbyshire and possibly Surrey as well.
Are there any records of his career in England?
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Bill, Fred Spofforth's bowling figures for Australia are easily accessable on the internet, I am now interested in his career once he came to England in the early 1900's I beleive.
I am sure he played for Derbyshire and possibly Surrey as well.
Are there any records of his career in England?
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Bill, Fred Spofforth's bowling figures for Australia are easily accessable on the internet, I am now interested in his career once he came to England in the early 1900's I beleive.
I am sure he played for Derbyshire and possibly Surrey as well.
Are there any records of his career in England?
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Q: Has any player of Asian origin played for the Australian national team? If so, how well did he fare? Asif
In his (male chauvinistic) response Bill has totally forgotten:
Lisa Sthalekar - Australia
Player profile from cricinfo.com
Full name Lisa Carprini Sthalekar
Born August 13, 1979, Poona (now Pune), Maharashtra, India
Current age 28 years 50 days
Major teams Australia Women, New South Wales Women
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm offbreak
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Perhaps you could settle a dispute I had in a recent game for my club.
A bowler bowls a ball, the batsman edges it with the ball looking to go back on to his stumps, the batsman uses his bat to stop the ball from knocking over the bails. Is he out for a double hit?
My team were all convinced that he was out, however the umpire (one of their players) seemed adamant that this was not the case.
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In response to 63.
The batsman is not out. He is allowed to hit the ball with his bat a second time if it is purely to prevent the ball going on to his stumps.
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In response to 63.
The batsman is not out. He is allowed to hit the ball with his bat a second time if it is purely to prevent the ball going on to his stumps. He would be out if he attempted to score off the second hit.
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Bill, here is a question that was sparked by a discussion I just had with a Bajan colleague that reminded me of a question you answered previously on the ability to have a double play in cricket.
My colleague was home in Barbados last week and was playing in a game were the fielding side needed 2 more wickets to win the game with about 10 runs required by the oppposition. One of the tail-enders was on strike and a front-line batsman was at the non-strikers end. First ball fo the final over, and the tail-ender hits a return catch to the bowler who deliberately dropped it in order to run out the batsman who was backing up from the non-strikers end - nice bit of quick thinking in my opinion.
Anyway, our question is, what if the bowler hadn't dropped the ball but still ran out the batsman and then appealed not for the catch but for the run out? Can a batsman be out caught if the fielding team does not appeal. The follow on question would be, what if the tail-ender walked - would that trump the fielding sides' appeal for the run out?
Look forward to your reply to this one!
Regards,
Simon
Bermuda
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Hello Bill.
An interesting question came about from listening to the cricket the other day.
The ball was struck by the batsmen and they set off for a run. The fielder subsequently aimed at the stumps and hit them. The batsmen was safe however. After the ball ricocheted off the stumps, the batsmen were able to set off for an overthrow.
Now considering the bales are now off, what would happen if the fielding side hit that same set of stumps again while the bastmen was out of his ground - in theory this would be a run out. But as the bales are off, is it a legal run out as there would be no decisive proof that the ball actually hit the stumps.
Thank you. Hope you have an answer.
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Re: Dave Phillips (#67 above)
Law 28 (The wicket is down) deals with this situation.
"28.1 (a) The wicket is put down if ... a stump is struck out of the ground by
(i) the ball.
(ii) the striker's bat, whether he is holding it or has let go of it.
(iii) the striker's person or by any part of his clothing or equipment becoming detached from his person.
(iv) a fielder, with his hand or arm, providing that the ball is held in the hand or hands so used, or in the hand of the arm so used.
The wicket is also put down if a fielder pulls a stump out of the ground in the same manner."
So essentially, if the bails are off then a fielder would look to remove one of the (remaining) stumps.
If only one bail is off then it would only be necessary to remove the second bail in the normal manner.
In addition to this (and something I don't ever remember seeing) is that the fielding side could legally replace the bails onto of the stumps whilst the ball is in play thus making the run out easier, although whether you would really have time to do that is debateable.
This may lead you to one further question (as it has just done me!! And I'm now going to have to scour the Laws to find the answer) what happens in the extremely unlikely event of the first run out attempt dislodging the bails and also removing all three stumps? I'm assuming that the ball would then be dead and you wouldn't be able to run further overthrows.
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Answer to Jaswant Singh #56
Statistically the probability is quite high as all umpires are bribed to give Sachin out, but they almost certainly all hate him anyway so would probably do it for free. Therefore in any given match (which can be verified from the records) the umpire will give Sachin out LBW at the earliest possible opportunity, even if he at the non-strikers end. Often they will "send him on his way" with a comment or two. I seem to remember Billy Bowden threatening him with a stump in one game such was his bias.
Frankly it is amazing he has managed to score any runs at all given how much the world is against him and not to forget the Indian team in general.
I believe the ICC is soon going to pass a resolution enabling umpires to time him out before he reaches the crease, regardless of how long it takes him, just to speed up the process.
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Bill
Could you tell me how many runs Mark Ramprakash has scored at the Oval and how this
compares to the runs he scored at Lords as he
seems to have improved since moving to Surrey.
I was wondering if it had anything to do with a better batting wicket.
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What is the least number of overs bowled in an English season for a bowler to take 150 wickets?
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to 69,
hahaha good one mate, cant agree with you more!
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The 1984 County Championship finish must rival this year's for lateness. Notts lost it off the penultimate possible delivery on the the last day of the season. I remember listening to commentary of it on the car radio (in the days when they still did such things) on my way home from work which I left at 5.30pm.
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The 1984 County Championship finish must rival this year's for lateness. Notts lost it off the penultimate possible delivery on the the last day of the season. I remember listening to commentary of it on the car radio (in the days when they still did such things) on my way home from work which I left at 5.30pm.
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Hi Bill,
I understand that in all cricket you can be run out off a no-ball, but I'm curious into whether if a batsman runs a leg-bye whether the batsman can then given run-out if the batsman is out of his or her ground.
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Hi Bill,
I know that a batsman can be run-out off a no ball, but could you tell me whether a batsman can be run out off a leg-bye?
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35. Tommy - you may have a point, but on the other hand under the old format, if your question wasn't one of those selected by Bearders to answer in his next column, it didn't get answered at all. This way a greater proportion of questions will get answered, other readers will concentrate on the easier ones and leave Bill to take the glory by answering the ones that only he can!
36. John - I can't think of any instance in first-class cricket, but there was a Pakistani bowler (can't remember his name) who did so in the under 15 World Cup a few years ago. This would be treated the same as changing from bowling over to round the wicket or vice versa, so the bowler would indeed have to inform the umpire before doing so; failure to do so would result in a call of no ball.
37. Ian - you asked that before, and my answer is given above.
41. Joe - I think it would count as 4; not sure of this but I'd say "overthrows" would be defined as runs resulting from a throw which passed the stumps (or deflected off them).
43. Prince - Chris Schofield took 2/15 against Zimbabwe; Darren Maddy took two wickets and scored 50 against New Zealand. Not that fantastic, but then again their non-specialist teammates weren't too brilliant either.
44. Dav - the side batting second would win by one wicket - the match would be over as soon as "wide" was called, so the stumping wouldn't count.
45. Sam - 307 (Alan Kippax and Hal Hooker) and 151 (Brian Hastings and Richard Collinge/Azhar Mahmood and Mushtaq Ahmed) respectively.
48. Toorban - each ground has its own rules regarding what happens if the ball hits the tree; in most cases it's four runs. Certainly the ball always becomes dead as soon as it hits the tree, so a catch cannot be taken off a rebound.
49. James - it's one, which produces statistical oddities such as the highest average in a Test series (563: by Wally Hammond, who made 227 and 336* in the only two innings he played in New Zealand in 1932-33) and Bill Johnston's average of 102 in an English season, batting at number 11 (he had 17 innings, but was only out in one of them).
50. Ross - not in first-class cricket (the record for most wickets with consecutive balls is four, on numerous occasions), but it's often been achieved in minor cricket - in fact the record is nine wickets with consecutive balls, including eight in one eight ball over.
51. Paul - your views may have some validity, but this blog isn't really the appropriate place for them.
55. Graeme - yes, I believe there were some county matches in progress when we had the last total solar eclipse in Britain on 11th August 1999. England once played a Test in India with an eclipse due to take place in the middle of it, but the day of the eclipse was declared a rest day.
56. Jaswant and 69. Simon - I can only hope you're joking; if not you're evidently blinkered, jingoistic conspiracy theorists. Every batsman will be on the wrong end of incorrect umpiring decisions from time to time; it's part of the game, you have to learn to live with it and not believe that each one is part of a plot against you.
66. Simon - the fielding team cannot appeal for one method of dismissal and not another; if a fielder appeals, the umpire is obliged to consider all possible methods of dismissal. Caught takes precedence over all other methods of dismissal except bowled, so the striker would be out regardless of the fielding team's wishes.
75/76. Andrew - yes, a batsman can be run out going for a bye or leg bye, in that respect neither is any different to going for a run off the bat.
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Hi Bill,
Looking at the one day match between England & SriLanka,I noticed one interesting thing.In Sri lanka
batting scorecard,figures of batsman scoring 1,11,22,33 and 66 were found.Isnt it interesting.Did u ever find something like this.
Regds
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Simon Dixon/Jaswant Singh,
I recall in the 2nd Test of India's last tour to Australia, Darrell Hair adjudged Sachin Tendulkar out LBW as he was walking down the tunnel on his way to the crease!!
On another occasion, Umpire Bucknor, after an agonising period, put up the finger for LBW against Tendulkar as he was coming into bowl.
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This is not really a comment. I am interesting in purchasing the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 Opening Ceremony DVD. I notice on the IMDB Website that the Beeb is one of the distributors. If this is not the case, would you able to tell me where I could purchase this item. I missed the opening ceremony as I was away and from the bits I saw on the news it really was mouth watering. I would love to have this in my possession. You help will be most appreciated. Thanks
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Q Graham Hick scored a few hundreds for England but overall is regarded as having a poor Test average, Which English batsman since WW2 has scored five Test centueies or more and yet has the lowest average?
Also the reverse of that which Englist batsman with a significant number of Test innings has the highest average without scoring a century? (Mike Brearley?)
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79. yes Stuart, i was following the match online on this website and on both occasions the scorecard had been updated BEFORE the ball had been bowled.
this fact has been covered up at ministerial level in the recent 大象传媒 investigations
very interesting INDEED
(has there been any moderating or editorship this month?)
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Hi Bill. In the First Test at Karachi between Pak and SA, Abdur Rehman took 4-105 in the 1st innings, and got the same figures in the 2nd innings! Has this ever happened before for a bowler on Test debut?
Thanks and keep up the good work!
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In a recent game, the bowler delivered the ball, it passed the stumps straight into the keepers gloves. As the keeper passed the ball to the slip fielder, the off bail popped out and onto the ground. The bowler appealed for a wicket 'bowled'! The umpire gave him not out, as although the ball had passed very close to the stumps he did not feel it had touched. Was the umpire right in his decision? Was the batsman out bowled? Was the ball dead when the bail fell off? We were all very confused! The batsman went on to make many more runs!!
Many thanks
Stuart Campbell, Fallingbostel Cricket Club, Germany.
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What is the highest ever test score made with the fewest boundaries?
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I noticed that had Lancashire won their match it would have been the first championship for many years (depsite their rivalry with Yorkshire).
As Old Trafford has a 'deserved' record for precipitation this surely means that Lancashire has less chance of winning games and if conditions are damp then the chance of picking up bonus points for batting are going to be more limited. This seems to be unfair.
Would it be better if each league cricket match had a fixed number of points that would be won irrespective of the actual scores? This would mean that the weather would be of a lesser significance than at present. As ODIs are settled by a complicated Formula (Duckworth-Lewis) couldn't a similar formula be created for league matches to apportion the points?
Perhaps an example: At Hove after three days the scores are 500-7 dec Vs 475 all out and the game has no chance of a result whereas at Headingly the scores are 250 and 250 vs 275 and 226-9. It is purely because of the different conditions that Yorkshire pick up 17 points and Sussex 11 (and the team Yorkshire beat only got 4 despite losing by 1 wicket!)
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Hi Bill,
I guess these question have been asked many times, and they all relate to scores off one over.
1. In theory what is the highest score that could be made off one over taking in over throws, 6 no balls, hit fielding hat etc?
2. What is the highest score made off one over?
3. What is the highest score made off the last over of an innings?
Regards
Roger
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Hey Bill,
What is the fewest number of wickets to have fallen in total during an ODI where both teams batted 50 overs?
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Am I correct in remembering Geoff Boycott batting on all 5 days of a test match? I believe he batted through day 1 and the early part of day 2, then he batted again towards the end of day 3, all through day 4 and the early part of day 5.
Has any other batsman achieved this?
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大象传媒 in general promotes English and Aussie cricket.
When England lose to Sri Lanka by a huge margin, it is, "England Slumps to defeat", a similar thing (Kochi match) is titled, "Australia Destroy India".
大象传媒 and English commentators have to come to grips with the ground realities. Broadcasting such blatantly favorite views will not help their audience numbers and will do nothing to the betterment of Eglsih cricket which is in a sorry state.
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Hi Bill
Has there been any bowler that has levelled all three stumps in one ball?
Thanks
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Is it true that Cheam Cricket Club in Surrey has the longest fixed sidescreen in Cricket?
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I was surprised by your answer above:
"I haven鈥檛 found a list of extra-free innings in all first-class cricket 鈥 probably that is not surprising as it would involve searching through nearly 50,000 scores."
Do you really rely on lists? I assumed you had a database of first-class cricket matches for which you could write scripts to make sophisticated searches.
something along the lines of:
--------begin---------
A = innings(FIRST_CLASS && ENGLISH)
for each x in A: if x.extras > 0 remove x from A
sort A by total runs
output first 100 of A
--------end-----------
Searching 50,000 matches is no problem for a computer. If you do this all by hand I don't know whether to be impressed or depressed.
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I was surprised by your answer above:
"I haven鈥檛 found a list of extra-free innings in all first-class cricket 鈥 probably that is not surprising as it would involve searching through nearly 50,000 scores."
Do you really rely on lists? I assumed you had a database of first-class cricket matches for which you could write scripts to make sophisticated searches.
something along the lines of:
--------begin---------
A = innings(FIRST_CLASS && ENGLISH)
for each x in A: if x.extras > 0 remove x from A
sort A by total runs
output first 100 of A
--------end-----------
Searching 50,000 matches is no problem for a computer. If you do this all by hand I don't know whether to be impressed or depressed.
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Yes, but bear in mind that before you can search a database you have to create it (or someone has to), and that since a large proportion of those 50,000 matches took place before the advent of computer databases it would take rather a while to backdate it...
84. Stuart - it's impossible to say objectively whether the umpire was right or wrong without having seen the incident; he had to judge whether or not he thought the ball had hit the stumps, and did so to the best of his ability.
85. Richard - there have been one or two instances in first-class cricket of a batsman reaching a century with no boundaries, but I don't think there have been any in Tests - the record is a century with one boundary.
86. John - personally I think the bonus point system should be scrapped: allocate a certain number of points for a win, draw or tie and leave it at that.
87. Roger - there is no limit to the number of runs which may be scored off one over, since it may include any number of wides and no-balls. The most ever scored off an over in first-class cricket is 77, in farcical circumstances in a Shell Shield match between Wellington and Canterbury at Christchurch in 1989-90, when the match looked to be heading for a draw before the fielding captain instructed the bowler, Robert Vance, to give away runs, in the hope that the batsmen would be more inclined to go for the target and more likely to get out in the process. The non-deliberate record is 38 (34 off the bat plus two no balls which counted for two runs each under the playing regulations in force at the time), by Andrew Flintoff off Alex Tudor in a County Championship match in 1998.
89. Hugo - Yes, you are correct: Boycott is one of seven batsmen to achieve this feat, the others being ML Jaisimha, Kim Hughes, Allan Lamb, Ravi Shastri, Adrian Griffith and Andrew Flintoff.
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Dear Bill
Based on the highest percentage of victories, who is the most successful test captain of all time?
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This is a rather tedious question but I wondered if there was any record of all test matches on what the most likely to least likely way for a batsman to be given out is.
I assume it is caught out but a figure would also be most interesting.
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Question:
What is the highest innings by a team in (i) first class cricket (ii) in test cricket, in which no player scored a century?
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Bill,
Can you tell me how many batsmen in test cricket have scored a century in each innings and also if anyone has done the double ton twice in a test. If not who came the closest. Thanks.
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Reply to 99. Kieth, a century in each innings of a Test match has been achieved on 63 occasions. This includes several examples of a player doing this on more than one occasion. The most recent is Jacques Kallis in the Test against Pakistan this week. Suprisingly, Don Bradman only achieved this once, but then again many of his huge scores in the first innings made a second time at bat redundant.
No player has ever scored a double century in each innings of a Test. A double century and a single century in the same Test has been achieved on six occasions; Doug Walters, Sunil Gavaskar, Lawrence Rowe, Greg Chappell, Graeme Gooch and Brian Lara. Uniquely, Rowe achieved his milestone (214 and 100 n.o)on debut. Gooch scored a triple centre (333) and a century, also unique.
Statistically, the one who came closest to a single and a double in the same Test is Greg Chappell who, in the First Test against NZ 1973/74, scored 247 and 133.
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Reply to 99. Kieth, a century in each innings of a Test match has been achieved on 63 occasions. This includes several examples of a player doing this on more than one occasion. The most recent is Jacques Kallis in the Test against Pakistan this week. Suprisingly, Don Bradman only achieved this once, but then again many of his huge scores in the first innings made a second time at bat redundant.
No player has ever scored a double century in each innings of a Test. A double century and a single century in the same Test has been achieved on six occasions; Doug Walters, Sunil Gavaskar, Lawrence Rowe, Greg Chappell, Graeme Gooch and Brian Lara. Uniquely, Rowe achieved his milestone (214 and 100 n.o)on debut. Gooch scored a triple centre (333) and a century, also unique.
Statistically, the one who came closest to a single and a double in the same Test is Greg Chappell who, in the First Test against NZ 1973/74, scored 247 and 133.
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how many players for the West Indies have come from the Island of Dominica
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can you tell me what the origins of the ban on chucking ot throwing are, please-why does it matter how the ball is sent down te pitch
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I am trying to get a copy of the 2007 World cup Cricket opening ceremonies DVD. Please advise if you will be able to assist in this regard; the costs and the payment options available
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I trust the four plumb LBW's and the obvious caught behind "missed" by the (Indian) umpire during Tendulkar's innings (in India) last night has assuaged the righteous outrage of Jaswant Singh.
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Huge (89), you are correct. Batting on all five days of a Test has occured on nine occasions. In order:
ML Jaisimha - India -v- Australia. 1960
G Boycott - England -v- Australia. 1977
K Hughes - Australia -v- England 1980
A Lamb - England -v- West Indies. 1984
R Shastri - India -v- England. 1984
A Griffith - West Indies -v- New Zealand. 1999
A Flintoff - England -v- India. 2006.
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Sorry, didn't see that Michael had answered Hugo's question. He's right, of course, there are seven.
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As an adendum to Kieth (99), Alan Border was the first and, as far as I know, only player to score 150 in both innings of a Test - 150* and 153 -v- Pakistan, 3rd Test, in Lahore, 1980.
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As an adendum to Kieth (99), Alan Border was the first and, as far as I know, only player to score 150 in both innings of a Test - 150* and 153 -v- Pakistan, 3rd Test, in Lahore, 1980.
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InzamamulHaq was actually left-handed but batted right-handed, Brian Lara was the exact opposite; an example of great players of the same era. Please give similar examples from earlier times. Thanks.
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In the recent one day between England and Sri Lanka a Sri Lankan player was run out when the bowler caught the ball from his fielder and knocked down the wicket. However on closer inspection, I noticed, he knocked the stump with his form arm. What is the rule regarding this. I always thought you must knock thr stump with either the ball or the hand holding the ball but no other part...Please enlighten me..Thank you..
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Hi Bill,
Is there any instance of a First Class innings in which a single batsman accumulated all of the runs scored by the team (possibly excluding extras)?
Thanks!
Rob
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Hi Bill
In Ask Bearders #155 you mention that in 50 over cricket the winning of the toss has had little effect on which team has gone on to win. I would expect the winning of the toss to be a greater advantage in Test cricket, although probably not as important as most pundits seem to emphasize. Are there any statistics on how many Test matches have been won by the team that won the toss?
Thanks
Tom
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Hi Bill,
I'm trying to help out an American by relating things to baseball for him. A 'triple play' in baseball happens about once every thousand games. There's been about 2000 Test matches. So what's the most interesting thing that's happened just twice in Tests? Something like 4 wickets in 4 balls, maybe?
Thanks,
Steve (St Andrews, Scotland)
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Bill, how many times has the first ball of a test match, or a first class match,been hit for six?
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