And has anyone else scored a T20 hundred from No. 7 like Andre Russell did?
Steven Lynch21-Aug-2018I wondered about what you might call the “non-honours board” at Lord’s – how many batsmen have, like Murali Vijay, bagged a pair in a Test there? asked Derek Butcher from England
The unfortunate M Vijay in 2018 became the 28th man to be out for a duck in both innings in a Test at Lord’s (Kuldeep Yadav later became the 29th). The only other openers to have suffered this fate are Australia’s Alick Bannerman (1888), Clifford Roach of West Indies (1933), South Africa’s Jackie McGlew (1955), John Wright of New Zealand (1986) and Pakistan’s Saleem Elahi (2001).There are some distinguished English names on the non-honour roll, including John Murray (1967), Alan Knott (1973), Ian Botham (1981), Mark Ramprakash (1995), Matt Prior (2013), Ben Stokes (2014) and Stuart Broad (2018).Vijay was only the sixth Indian opener to bag a pair in a Test, following Pankaj Roy (1952), Farokh Engineer (1974-75), Wasim Jaffer (2006-07), Virender Sehwag (2011) and Shikhar Dhawan (2015-16). Jaffer’s pair, against Bangladesh in Chittagong, was the only other time before Lord’s that India had lost their first wicket at 0 in both innings of a Test.Has anyone else taken 100 Test wickets at a single ground, as Jimmy Anderson has at Lord’s? asked Mick Harrison from England
Jimmy Anderson’s 100th Test wicket at Lord’s – which completed M Vijay’s pair mentioned above – made him only the second bowler to take 100 at one venue. But Anderson has quite a way to go if he’s to top the table: Muttiah Muralitharan took no fewer than 166 wickets in 24 Tests at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Murali also took 117 in Kandy, and 111 in Galle.Someone who may join them soon is Rangana Herath, who has so far claimed 99 wickets in Galle, the venue for the first Test between Sri Lanka and England in November. Herath also has 84 wickets at the SSC, but is unlikely to reach three figures there unless he reconsiders his retirement plans.Stuart Broad now has 83 Test wickets at Lord’s, while Dale Steyn has taken 67 in Cape Town.Ian Botham was dismissed for a pair in the 1981 Ashes Test at Lord’s•PA Photos/Getty ImagesAndre Russell scored a Twenty20 century from No. 7 the other day. Has anyone else managed this? asked Russ Kendrick from Jamaica
The West Indian allrounder Andre Russell smashed an unbeaten 121 from 49 balls as the Jamaica Tallawahs beat the Trinbago Knight Riders in their Caribbean Premier League match in Port-of-Spain. Russell entered in the seventh over, with the Tallawahs floundering at 41 for 5 in pursuit of 224, but put on 161 with Kennar Lewis, before winning the match with his 13th six. Just for good measure, Russell had earlier taken a hat-trick in the last over of the Knight Riders’ innings.Russell’s hundred was the first by a No. 7 in senior T20 cricket: the previous-highest was Mohammad Nabi’s 89 for Afghanistan against Ireland in Greater Noida in India in March 2017, which remains the international record. No one has made a higher score at No. 6, either, where the record is Dan Christian’s 113 not out for Nottinghamshire in Northampton last month.What was the shortest Test match – in terms of balls bowled – that produced a result? asked Ravi Kumar from India
The shortest Test match that produced a positive result lasted only 109.2 overs – 656 balls. It was played in Melbourne in 1931-32, on a pitch that was almost impossible to bat on after rain (the pitches were not covered in those days). South Africa were shot out for 36 and 45 – slow left-armer Bert Ironmonger, who was 49, took 11 for 24 in the match – and in between Australia managed to score 153. Don Bradman, who might have added a few more, was unable to bat after injuring himself in the dressing room.Another match on a rain-affected pitch in the 1930s – West Indies v England in Bridgetown in 1934-35 – lasted only 112 overs, or 672 balls. For the full list, click here (this also includes drawn matches).In terms of time, there have now been 21 Test matches that were completed inside two days. The most recent of these was Afghanistan’s unsuccessful debut, against India in Bengaluru in June. For that list, click here.Paul Stirling and Aaron Finch both hit hundreds in a recent T20 Blast match. Was this a first for a Twenty20 game? asked Daniel Surkes from England
Those hundreds in the recent London derby at The Oval was actually the 18th time there had been two tons in the same senior T20 match. Two of those involved batsmen from the same side: Stirling’s Ireland team-mate Kevin O’Brien and Hamish Marshall both scored hundreds for Gloucestershire against Middlesex in Uxbridge in 2011, while Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers repeated the feat for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Gujarat Lions in the IPL in Bengaluru in 2016.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
