Ask The Spider #95

Who has played the most games of List-A one-day cricket of those who did not play, at least very much, county cricket in England?

Inzamam-ul-Haq did appear in 3 games of one-day cricket for Yorkshire, but they were the only ones of his 456 in county cricket. He may yet be overtaken by Chris Harris, still going strong and with 446 games (just 5 of which came in county cricket for Gloucestershire and Derbyshire) behind him.

Who took the first Test catch of the 21st-century?

Funnily enough, the man who currently until very recently had the most Test catches as an outfielder – Mark Waugh at second slip held a nick from makeshift Indian opener MSK Prasad in the 11th over of the Australia vs. India Test at the SCG which begun on the 2nd of January 2000. Waugh (and indeed the other five Australian fielders who took catches that day) were aided by the fact that Australian time heads all other cricketing nations bar New Zealand, who did not host a New Year Test in 1999/2000.

Which wicketkeeper has taken the most catches in Youth ODIs?

Pinal Shah, who played for India Under-19 for just a single season, 2005/06, took 32 catches in his 17 Youth ODIs – he also made 9 stumpings. Shah, also a very capable batsman, is still just 22 but appears unlikely to have much of a full international career due to Mahendra Dhoni’s presence. He has plenty of time to fight his way to second-in-line, however.

And outfielder?

The remarkable Mahmudal Hasan has played 53 Youth ODIs for Bangladesh Under-19 (with a few more likely to be ahead yet), and has taken as many as 31 catches in that time – well clear of his nearest rival, the Indian Piyush Chawla, who took 20 from 2003/04 to 2006/07.

Who has taken most outfield catches for India in ODIs?

Mohammad Azharuddin took 156 catches in his 334 ODIs, a figure which is certainly not beyond catching-up for Sachin Tendulkar, who currently has 134 from his 440 ODIs.

Is Rahul Dravid the only man to have taken 100 ODI outfield catches and also made a stumping?

Yes, he is – of the other 21 players to take 100 outfield ODI catches, only Younis Khan has even played as a wicketkeeper.

Was the series in 1972 the first New Zealand Test tour of West Indies?

Yes, indeed it was – rather remarkably so, given that both teams had been among the Test fraternity for over 40 years by then. They had met a mere three times in New Zealand in that time, even. In no small part this was down to the cash-strapped nature of the operation of cricket in these countries – full-time professional administration was still some way away even in 1972 for both cricket boards, and by-and-large the teams to send sides to either country tended to be the more affluent ones.