Ask The Spider #33

What is the average score of a Test hundred?

There have been 3,201 Test centuries as of this column, with an average of 137.32. This is purely in terms of the average score, and not a traditional “batting average” calculation whereby only innings where the batsman is dismissed are counted to the innings tally.

And what about the average excluding anything which has been converted to a double?

Of scores between 100 and 199, the current average is 128.06.

Where was the first day/night one day international played in India?

It was this game here, though it (and the next as well) were mere one-offs. Both were held at the Nehru Stadium in Delhi, the only ODIs played at the ground. Daynight cricket did not become a regular feature in India until the Hero Cup of 1993/94, and even this was a one-off in tournament terms, and all matches bar one came at Eden Gardens. Finally floodlights started to become widespread across India, and from 1995/96 onwards daynight cricket has been as immediately recognisable as all-day stuff, played at many grounds.

How many triple-century partnerships have been shared in Tests?

69 so far, including 13 over 400, and 2 over 500 and 1 over 600.

And when was the first?

It was added by Jack Hobbs and Wilfred Rhodes for England at The MCG in 1911/12.

And has there ever been more than one in a series?

There have been two cases of triple-century partnerships occurring twice in a series – and in the first the same two batsmen were responsible. Bill Ponsford and Don Bradman put-on two triple-century partnerships against England in 1934, and in 1947 Alan Melville and Dudley Nourse opened South Africa’s series in England with a triple-century stand, and in the very next match Bill Edrich and Dennis Compton played out the highlight of their phenomenal summer in reply. Another interesting sequence occurred in March 1999, when three partnerships in separate Tests around the globe shared triple-century partnerships on the same day, the 14th (though they had begun the previous day).

How many batsmen have been run-out in ODI history?

There have been 4429 instances as of this column, in the 38911 dismissals so far.