Stump The Bearded Wonder No 13

Bill Frindall, aka the Bearded Wonder, returns for another round of cricket queries and teasers.

Test Match Special's resident cricket guru is on call throughout the winter, so keep those e-mails rolling in.

Try to stump The Bearded Wonder.

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Here's a selection of the latest answers

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Nigel Mitten, England

Prompted by Ramps being left out, again, from the NZ squad, I was wondering whether he is the most dropped England Test player, or maybe it's Hick?

Mark Ramprakash has NOT been dropped from England's Test match lists for India and New Zealand. He has been selected for both tours. He has not been selected for the limited-overs matches in those countries but he has never been a regular member of England's one day team. His recall for the Zimbabwe series after a four-year absence was surprising.

In the ten years since he made his one day international debut (v WI in 1991) he had appeared in only 13 games before the recent rubber.

For the record Hick has been dropped ten times and Ramprakash nine in their Test match careers.

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James, England

What are the world records for successive wins and losses of the toss by captains?

The record for consecutive toss losses by one country is 12 by England (1959-60 in WI (5); 1960 v SA (5); 1961 v A (2)). The captains were PBH May (3) and MC Cowdrey (9).

Curiously, the record for consecutive toss wins by one country is also 12 - by Australia {1998-99 in Pak (2), v Eng (5) and in WI (4); 1999-2000 in SL (1)}. The captains were MA Taylor (7) and SR Waugh (5).

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Paul and Becky Vigor, UK

Much has been/is being made of Nasser Hussain's almost legendary inability to win a toss (13 attempts to date?).

How is it decided which captain will actually call the toss?

Nasser Hussain has lost his last nine tosses in Test cricket and his last seven in limited-overs internationals. Usually the home captain tosses the coin and the visiting captain calls.

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Harry Pickford, Wales

A few times this season I have popped along to Sophia Gardens to watch Glamogan. I have been utterly impressed with the performances of Mark Wallace, and was wondering how far behind Jamie Foster he is.

I understand it wasn't long ago that Foster was Wallace's understudy in the U19's, and also wondered whether Foster's links with the England captain and his father has helped accelerate his progression into the full England set up?

Having not seen Mark Wallace and only watched Jamie Foster on television, I'm not qualified to comment on their relative ability.

Over a year ago Graeme Fowler told TMS listeners that Foster was the most talented young keeper he had ever seen. He was most impressed with his glovework, anticipation and nimble footwork. Highly intelligent, Foster is also a batsman who will develop into a genuine all-rounder.

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Graeme Ferguson, England

Is it true that there has never been a Test Match at Old Trafford that hasn't been interrupted by the weather, be it bad light or rain?

I have scored all the 26 Old Trafford Tests from 1966 onwards and needed only to look at my sheets of the 1966 match to find one that was played from start to finish without interruption. Mind you, West Indies won at 5.45pm on the third day.

Had England survived that session they would have drawn the match as it rained continuously on the last two scheduled days!

Old Trafford does hold the record for MOST COMPLETE DAYS OF TEST CRICKET WASHED OUT (28 - including two complete matches). John Arlott claimed that it was the only city in the world that taught lifeboat drill on its buses.

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AMS, UK

Why is a cricket box called a 'box' when it clearly isn't? A box should be capable of being fully closed.

According to The Oxford English Reference Dictionary, the word 'box' has 14 different meanings, none of which mentions 'capable of being fully closed'. No. 11 is 'a light shield for protecting the genitals in sport, esp. cricket.'

Perhaps the origins stem from Pandora's Box (of evils). A CASKET would surely be a better receptacle for Crown Jewels.

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Patrick Jones, Wales

Who was the first non-Yorkshire born player to play first class cricket for Yorkshire?

If we accept the First Class List of Matches compiled by the ACS (Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians), then Thomas Rawson Barker, born at Bakewell, Derbyshire, was the first.

A right-handed batsman and left round-arm medium pace bowler, he appeared in Yorkshire's inaugural First Class match at the Hyde Park Ground in Sheffield in 1833 against Norfolk. A lead merchant in Sheffield, he served as mayor and, when the Yorkshire County Cricket Club was formed in 1863, he became its first President.

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David Burgess, England

Please help me. I am unable to find a copy of your England v Australia scorebook 1975. I have all the others! Thank you very much.

All six of the 'Frindall Scorebook' titles are long out of print. I have spare copies of nos 2, 3 and 4 only. Ian Dyer (www.cricketbooks.co.uk) lists the 1975 edition in his catalogue.

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Tim, Henley-on-Thames, UK

Browsing through some old scorecards this morning, I came across the records for India's tour of West Indies in 1970/71. This was the tour on which the sublime Sunil Gavaskar made his Test debut, and I was astonished to find that his average for the series was 154.8 from eight innings - including three centuries and a double century.

(1) Can you think of anyone else who made such an impact in their first Test series?

(2) I would also be interested to know why the fifth Test of that same series, played at Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, was played over six days instead of the customary five. Was this an experiment of some kind?

(1) Gavaskar's aggregate of 774 runs and average of 154.80 remain records for a debut series.

(2) With the series still open (India were 1-0 ahead) after four Tests, the regulations provided for the final Test to be extended to six days. It still ended in a draw.

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Rahul, India

Are their any practical explanations behind fielding positions such as silly point, long leg and so on?

The names of all fielding positions have gradually evolved over several centuries.

Silly describes a position extremely close to the batsman and is synonymous with 'very short.'

Long indicates a position close or relatively close to the boundary.

Point, a close off-side position between gully and cover, derives from 'point of the bat' because the fielder stood very close to the end of the striker's bat.

Leg derives from the side of the wicket on which the batsman stands and is synonymous with 'on'.

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Adam Harchuk, England

Was Ian Botham's 208 vs India at the Oval in 1982 the fastest ever Test match double century?

In terms of fewest balls received, his 220 is the fastest on record in Test cricket. But scoring methods did not record balls received for many of the early innings.

The fastest 200 in terms of time is 214 minutes by Donald Bradman during his 334 for Australia v England at Leeds in 1934. Botham took 268 minutes.

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Jawwad Ali, USA

Could you tell me, when was the last time that England won a one-day series 5-0? Is this common in one-day international history?

The only occasion that England have won a five match one day international series was the recent one in Zimbabwe.

There have been 37 five match series. The first was between West Indies and India in 1983-84.

On only six occasions has a side won 5-0: 1983-84: West Indies 5 - India 0; 1984-85: West Indies 5 - New Zealand 0; 1987-88: West Indies 5 - Pakistan 0; 1988-89: West Indies 5 - India 0; 1999-2000: New Zealand 5 - West Indies 0; 2001-02: England 5 - Zimbabwe 0.

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