da premier bet: The column where we answer your questions
da betcris: 27-Jun-2005The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:
Geoff Boycott: first batsman to be marooned on 99 in Tests © Getty Images
Has anyone been stranded on 99 not out in a Test? asked JaganathDesai from Indore
This has happened five times now. The first man to be marooned on 99 in aTest was England’s Geoff Boycott, against Australia atPerth in 1979-80. The next one was also at theWACA, in 1994-95, when Steve Waugh was left on 99 after a mix-up withhis running partner – his twin brother Mark, who was out there as a runnerfor the injured Craig McDermott. The third man – and the only one whosehighest Test score remains 99 not out – was Alex Tudor, for Englandagainst New Zealand atEdgbaston in 1999 after going in as nightwatchman. And the list iscompleted by two South Africans, who achieved this unwanted feat in thespace of nine months – Shaun Pollock, against Sri Lanka atCenturion in November 2002, and Andrew Hall, against England atHeadingley in August 2003. Moving up the scale, Andy Flower wasstranded on 199 for Zimbabwe against South Africa atHarare in 2001-02, while Don Bradman was stuck on 299 – he ran thelast batsman “Pud” Thurlow out – for Australia against South Africa atAdelaide in 1931-32. For a full list of Test 99s, click here.I see that Andrew Symonds was born in England – who was the last “Pom”before him to represent Australia? asked Chris Broadley fromAdelaide
Andrew Symonds was bornin Birmingham in 1975, and had a brief stint of county cricket as anEnglish-qualified player before deciding that he was a fair-dinkum Aussie(he was taken to Australia when he was around two years old). Before thatKen MacLeay, a member ofAustralia’s World Cup squad in 1983, was born in Bradford-upon-Avon inWiltshire. MacLeay, a medium-pacer from Western Australia who took 6 for39 in a convincing victory over the eventual champions India in that WorldCup atTrent Bridge, won 16 one-day caps but never played in a Test. He laterplayed for Somerset thanks to his English birth qualification. The lastEnglish-born man to play in a Test for Australia before Symonds was Tony Dell, the Queenslandfast bowler who won two caps in the early 1970s: he was born in Lymingtonin Hampshire, on the edge of the New Forest.Was England’s 391 against Bangladesh last week a record ODI total?asked Phil Granville from Lincoln
It was the second-highest in all one-day internationals, below only SriLanka’s 398 for 5 against Kenya atKandy in the 1995-96 World Cup. But it was a record score for England- their previous-best was 363 for 7 in 55 overs against Pakistan atTrent Bridge in 1992 – and the highest against a Test-playing country.For a longer list of the highest ODI totals, click here.Bazid Khan’s father and grandfather both played Test cricket – is thisunique? asked Arif Uddin from Wembley
Bazid Khan, whose fatherMajid captained Pakistan while his grandfather Jahangir Khan played forIndia before Partition, is only the second third-generation Test cricketerso far. The first one was Dean Headley, who played 15Tests for England in the 1990s. He followed his father Ron and grandfatherGeorge, who both played for West Indies. Chris Tremlett, who made asuccessful one-day debut last week, is the grandson of a Test player – Maurice Tremlett, who playedthree Tests for England in the 1940s. Chris’s father, Tim, had asuccessful county career with Hampshire, but never won a Test cap.Who were the top runscorer and wicket-taker in Tests in 2004?asked Bernard Dacre of King’s Lynn
The leading Test runscorer last year was Justin Langer, with 1481runs in 14 matches at an average of 54.85. Another Australian, Damien Martyn, was secondwith 1353. In all 11 men passed 1000 runs for the year: clickhere for details. Turning to the bowlers, Anil Kumble led the way in2004 with 74 wickets in 12 matches, just ahead of Shane Warne (70) and Steve Harmison (67). For afull list, clickhere.Did anyone play for South Africa either side of their long ban frominternational cricket? asked Johann Strydom fromJohannesburg
Not quite, no. CliveRice, who captained South Africa in their first official one-dayinternationals when they returned to international cricket in 1991-92, wasselected for the South African tour of Australia 20 years before, but thatwas cancelled. The nearest anyone came was John Traicos, theEgyptian-born offspinner, who played in South Africa’s last three Testsbefore their excommunication in 1969-70, and was still around, at 45, toplay in Zimbabwe’s first four matches when they achieved Test status in1992-93.