|
I noticed that Wellington Masakadza made his Test debut captained by his brother. How many others have been given their first cap by a relative? asked Brian Hartson from South Africa
Slow left-armer Wellington Masakadza won his first cap in a rare overseas victory for Zimbabwe in Sylhet last month, in a side skippered by his brother Hamilton. It turns out this was the eighth instance of someone making his Test debut captained by his brother. The previous two instances both involved Arjuna Ranatunga, who was Sri Lanka's captain when Dammika Ranatunga won his first cap, against Australia in Brisbane in 1989-90, and also when Sanjeeva Ranatunga debuted against Pakistan in Kandy in 1994-95. (Arjuna was also in charge when another brother, Nishantha, played his first one-day international, against Zimbabwe in Sharjah in 1992-93.) The first instance was in the very first Test match: Dave Gregory captained Australia in Melbourne in 1876-77, and his side included his brother Ned. It happened again in Durban in 1913-14, when Dan Taylor made his debut for South Africa, captained by his younger brother Herbie. In Calcutta in 1933-34, CS Nayudu made his debut for an Indian side led by his brother CK, while the following season Rolph Grant made his debut for West Indies in Bridgetown, under his brother Jackie. And in Karachi in 1976-77, New Zealander Murray Parker made his debut in his younger brother John's only Test as New Zealand's captain. For Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ahmed made his debut against India in Lucknow in 1952-53, in a side captained by his brother-in-law AH Kardar, while David Holford's skipper for his first Test, for West Indies against England at Old Trafford in 1966, was his cousin, Garry Sobers. Who has scored the most runs in Tests without ever being out for a duck? asked Keith Hamilton from England
The leader on this particular list is the former Zimbabwean captain Dave Houghton, who now coaches Derbyshire. In a 22-Test career that started when he was 35 - he hit 121 in Zimbabwe's inaugural Test, against India in Harare in 1992-93 - Houghton scored 1464 runs in 36 innings, without ever being out for a duck. There are five others who finished their Test career with more than 1000 runs and no ducks: the Australian captain Herbie Collins made 1352, his fellow Aussies Reggie Duff 1317 and Jim Burke 1280, while the recent West Indian player Brendan Nash scored 1103 and the 1950s Pakistani batsman Waqar Hasan 1071. Of current (or very recent) players, Sami Aslam of Pakistan has scored 758 Test runs without a duck, and the Australian opener Matt Renshaw 636. Marcus Harris was recently dismissed for 26 in both innings of his Test debut. Has this happened before? asked Christopher Shen from Australia
If you mean has anyone ever been dismissed twice for exactly 26 on debut before - as Marcus Harris was in the first Test against India in Adelaide - then the answer's no. But there have been higher debut doubles. Dan Taylor - the South African coincidentally mentioned in the first question - made twin 36s on debut against England in Durban in 1913-14. The Indian allrounder Syed Abid Ali made 33 in both innings of his debut, against Australia in Adelaide in 1967-68. Another South African, Bernard Tancred, made 29 and 29 - a large proportion of his side's runs in their inaugural Test - against England in Port Elizabeth in 1888-89. And the England pair of Arthur Carr (against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1922-23) and Mark Ramprakash (v West Indies at Headingley in 1991) both made two scores of 27 in their first Test appearance. 
Which bowler has been the most economical in ODIs? asked Devendra Patel from India
The lofty West Indian Joel Garner is on top of this particular table - and my guess is he'll stay there forever, given the more attacking mindset of batsmen these days, not to mention the restrictions on fielders and bouncers which were less stringent in his day. "Big Bird" conceded just 3.09 an over in his 98 ODIs, leaving him significantly meaner than the next man, Australia's Max Walker, who went for 3.25 an over.
The most economical current bowler is the Afghan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, at 3.84 per over; his spin partner Rashid Khan is not far behind, on 3.90. Another Afghan slow bowler, left-armer Amir Hamza, conceded 3.92 (his last match to date was in 2017). The only other bowler whose career took place entirely in the current century who went for less than four an over was the Zimbabwean left-arm spinner Ray Price, who just made the cut with 3.99. I noticed that Alastair Cook took part in 26 Tests at Lord's. Is this a record for one ground? asked Alex Bartram from England
Alastair Cook's 26 appearances is the record for Lord's - his old mate Jimmy Anderson is close behind with 23 - but he's only second overall, as Mahela Jayawardene squeezed in 27 Tests at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. He's also joint fifth on this list, with 23 Tests in Galle, a number matched by Kumar Sangakkara. Just above them lies Muttiah Muralitharan, who had 24 Tests at the SSC. Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
|
