Ask The Spider #49

How many bowlers have taken a wicket with their only ball in an ODI match?

Bowling figures of 0.1-0-0-1 (S/R = 1.0) have been achieved on six occasions:- CH Lloyd (WI) vs SL at BRisbane on 12 Jan 1985
M van Jaarsveld (SA) vs Bangladesh at Kimberley on 9 Oct 2002
D Mongia (Ind) vs New Zealand at Centurion 14 Mar 2003
TM Dilshan (SL) vs West Indies at Dambulla on 2 Aug 2005
Mohammad Yousuf (Pak) vs Zimbabwe at Kingston on 21 Mar 2007
ST Jayasuriya (SL) vs Australia at Melbourne on 29 Feb 2008

Do any players who have scored a Test triple have an average under 40?

Only two players can claim this. Andrew Sandham (Eng) played in only 14 matches but enjoyed a high score of 325 while averaging 38.21. Chris Gayle (WI) has a top score of 317 with an average of 39.60. While Gayle might edge over 40 in the future, another player is close to 40 and might dip below:- Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya has fourteen Test centuries including a high score of 340, but his average is only 40.07.

Have any unlucky players finished up with a top score of 99 in their Test careers?

Nine players have this unfortunate claim to fame, perhaps the most famous in recent times being Shane Warne. The others are Asim kamal (Pak), JEF Beck (NZ), Maqsoon Ahmed (Pak), MD Moxon (Eng), DN Patel (NZ), RF Surti (Ind) and Norman Yardley (Eng), but the most unlucky was probably England’s Alex Tudor, who’s one and only 50 was a 99* as nightwatchman against New Zealand in 1999.

What’s the lowest total successfully defended in a completed, full-length ODI?

India were able to defend a total of 125 against Pakistan in 1984-85, with Pakistan only managing 87 in reply.

What’s the most number of runs scored in a Test series without including a century?

In the 1993 Ashes series, Michael Atherton scored 553 runs, including six fifties and a high score of 99.

Which bowler took the most wickets in a single day of Test cricket?

England’s Johnny Briggs took 15 wickets on the second day of the second Test vs South Africa at Cape Town in 1899.

Who was the first batsman to score more than 1,000 ODI runs in a year?

In 1983, David Gower scored 1,086 ODI runs.