And which players have the smallest difference between their batting and bowling averages in Tests and ODIs?
Steven Lynch12-Dec-2023John Reid had a Test batting average of 33.28, and his bowling one was 33.35 – a difference of 0.07. Is that the closest of anyone in Tests? How about ODIs? asked Kris Robertson from New Zealand
Those batting and bowling averages for the New Zealander John Reid are indeed the most closely matched in Tests. Next comes the Indian allrounder Polly Umrigar, whose batting average of 42.22 was 0.14 higher than his bowling mark (42.08). Another New Zealander, Lindsay “Dad” Weir, had averages of 29.71 (batting) and 29.85 (bowling).In one-day internationals, West Indies’ Gordon Greenidge averaged 45.03 with the bat, and took one wicket for 45, giving him a bowling average of 45.00; the difference of 0.03 is the closest of anyone. Of people who did a lot of batting and bowling, Richard Hadlee averaged 21.61 (bat) and 21.56; Tom Curran, who may yet play again, averages 37.87 with the bat and 37.94 with the ball.In T20Is, the Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan currently averages 14.80 with both bat and ball. Three others with short careers also have identical averages at the moment: Shoaib Rafiq of Mexico (6.00), Turkey’s Ali Turkmen (18.75), and Joseph Baguma of Uganda (12.66).Which wicketkeeper has made the most stumpings off a single bowler in Tests and ODIs? asked Peter McKenzie from England
Leading the way in Tests in Australia’s between-wars keeper Bert Oldfield, who took 28 stumpings (and only nine catches) off the bowling of legspinner Clarrie Grimmett. Another Australian, Adam Gilchrist, made 20 stumpings off Shane Warne, while Ian Healy had 15. For Sri Lanka, Kumar Sangakkara took 15 off Muthiah Muralidaran, while Pakistan’s Kamran Akmal collected 15 off Danish Kaneria.In ODIs, Moin Khan of Pakistan took 31 stumpings (and 16 catches) off the bowling of Saqlain Mushtaq. Sri Lanka’s Romesh Kaluwitharana made 27 stumpings off both Murali and Sanath Jayasuriya, while Sangakkara took 23 off Murali. Gilchrist completed 25 stumpings off Warne in ODIs, and Healy 21.What is the oldest Test XI who are all still alive, and what about the oldest match with all 22 players still alive? asked F Pope from Australia
I’m always slightly nervous about answering questions like this, for obvious reasons! But the oldest Test XI that is still intact as I write is Pakistan’s team from their match against New Zealand in Lahore in October 1969. Five of that side are now in their eighties; the oldest of them, Intikhab Alam, is 82 later this month (the youngest is 75-year-old Wasim Bari).For around a year, this has been the longest-surviving Test XI of all: Australia’s team against South Africa in Cape Town in 1966-67 remained intact for 53 years until Graeme Watson passed away in April 2020.The oldest Test from which all 22 players are still alive at the moment is the match between New Zealand and West Indies in Dunedin in February 1980. The oldest player from that game is the West Indian wicketkeeper Deryck Murray, who turned 80 in May.Joe Solomon (leftmost) precipitated the first tied Test when he caught Australia’s Ian Meckiff (second from left) out of his crease with a direct throw at the stumps•Getty ImagesApparently Joe Solomon, who died recently, holds a first-class batting record. What is it? asked Gerry Williams from England
The West Indian batter Joe Solomon, who died a few days ago aged 93, is best remembered nowadays as the fielder whose accurate throw ensured that the first Test in Brisbane in 1960-61 ended in a tie, when he ran out Australia’s last man Ian Meckiff with a direct hit from square leg.But a few years before that, Solomon enjoyed a unique start to his first-class career, making centuries in his first three innings. For British Guiana (now Guyana), he made 114 not out on debut against Jamaica in Georgetown in October 1956, followed that a week later with 108, against Barbados in Bourda, and then in his next match, against the Pakistan tourists in March 1958, scored 121 in Georgetown.No one else has reached 100 in each of their first three first-class innings; 20 batters have now done it in their first two.Which bowler went the longest time between Test wickets? asked Siddiq Zunaid from Bangladesh
Top of this list is the long-lasting offspinner John Traicos, who took Test wickets well over 22 years apart – for South Africa against Australia in Johannesburg in February 1970, and then in Zimbabwe’s inaugural Test, against India in Harare in October 1992. This is not terribly surprising, as Traicos is well clear on the list of players with the longest gap between Test appearances.Next come a couple of irregular bowlers. The South African Herbie Taylor did not take a Test wicket between January 1914 (when he took four against England in Johannesburg) and February 1931 (his fifth and final Test wicket, against England in Durban). And the great England opener Len Hutton took a wicket in August 1939 (against West Indies at The Oval) and another in February 1955 (Richie Benaud in the closing stages of a draw in Sydney). The 1939 Oval Test was Hutton’s 13th; his next wicket came in his 77th match.The longest gap for anyone who had what might be termed a “continuous” career (so ignoring breaks for war or periods when their teams did not actually play any Tests) is a few weeks short of 12 years, by the Derbyshire seamer Les Jackson, who was ignored by the England selectors between 1949 and 1961. Hampshire’s Derek Shackleton did not play a Test between November 1951 and June 1963, while more recently the Surrey offspinner Gareth Batty took Test wickets in June 2005 and October 2016.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
