Stump The Bearded Wonder No 26

Bill Frindall, aka the Bearded Wonder, is poised to solve your cricket queries and teasers.

The Test Match Special statistician will be busy answering your questions throughout the English summer.

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Garry Waddell, UK

Is it still true to say that Mike Procter is the only bowler to take a hat-trick of LBWs twice?

He is the only bowler to do so in first-class cricket (for Gloucestershire v Essex at Westcliff in 1972 and v Yorkshire at Cheltenham in 1979) but someone else may have twice achieved this unusual feat at a more minor level.

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Ravin, USA

What is the most number of runs scored in the last over of a limited-overs international to win the match?

Possibly Allan Lamb's 18 (24624) off Bruce Reid at Sydney in January 1987 to win the match with a ball to spare. Oddly he hadn't hit a boundary off his previous 97 balls.

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Markus Liles, USA

Being fairly new to the game of cricket, and knowing that the USA doesn't field an international team: have there ever been any American-born players to play international cricket?

Only one American-born cricketer has appeared in Test matches. KH (Ken) Weekes, who played twice for West Indies on the 1939 tour of England, was born in Boston (24 Jan 1912) and died in Brooklyn, New York (9 Feb 1998). In his final Test innings at The Oval he scored a 110-minute century.

The USA has fielded many international teams. Their annual match against Canada has been staged since 1844, pre-dating the earliest encounters between England and Australia by 33 years.

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Mani Thangadurai, India

Who was the first cricketer to play 100 Tests for his country? And how many people have done so until now?

M.C. (Colin) Cowdrey (later Lord Cowdrey of Tonbridge) was the first (v Australia at Edgbaston, Birmingham, in 1968). To date there have been 25. Add Shane Warne, the most recent member, to the 24 listed on page 266 of the 2002 Wisden Cricketers' Almanack.

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Steve Pursehouse, England

Which county cricketer took four wickets in four balls in his debut match?

No bowler has achieved this feat on his first-class debut. Shaun Pollock took four wickets in four balls on his first appearance for Warwickshire - in a limited-overs (B&H Cup) game v Leicestershire at Birmingham in 1996.

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Eloise, England

Who was the England Test bowler who took six for 79 against Australia at in the First Test at Manchester in 1968?

Surrey's off-spinner Pat Pocock returned those figures - and he was not selected again during the five-match series.

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Alex, UK

Who were the two captains for England and Sri Lanka when they first played each other in Test match cricket?

Bandula Warnapura and Keith Fletcher captained Sri Lanka and England at the Saravanamuttu Stadium (formerly the Colombo Oval) in February 1982. It was the former Ceylon's inaugural Test match. England won by seven wickets in four days.

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James Douse, England

Further to Steve Vernon's question. What is the lowest score in a Test match when all 11 players have scored double figures?

The lowest Test total in which all 11 batsmen reached double figures is 358 by South Africa v Australia at Melbourne in 1931-32.

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Errol Tredweal, Wales

Has Michael Atherton got the unwanted record of the most Test ducks ever?

Only for England. His tally of 24 ducks in 212 innings lies in seventh place overall, behind Courtney Walsh (43/185 innings), Curtly Ambrose (26/145), Shane Warne (25/139), Glenn McGrath (24/96), Danny Morrison (24/71) and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (23/80).

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Chand Patel, London, UK

Whilst attending the recent Surrey v Sussex County Championship match, I discovered that one of the batsmen who made a record 10th wicket stand in Sussex-Surrey matches was a chap called J.E.B.B.P.Q.C.Dwyer (back in 1906).

Does Mr Dwyer hold the record for the longest name in cricket?

He holds the record for most names: John Elicius Benedict Bernard Placid Quirk Carrington Dwyer. Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1876, he played 61 times for Sussex (1904-09), and died in Crewe in 1912. He took 9-35 v Derbyshire at Hove in 1906. He was the great-grandson of Michael Dwyer, a convict who had been transported to Australia after the Irish insurrection of 1798.

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Cris Guest, UK

Is it true that Merv Hughes once took a Test hat-trick spread over three overs? If so, was the third over due to a declaration or was a follow-on enforced?

Australia's Merv Hughes did take a convoluted hat-trick which involved three overs and both West Indies innings at Perth in December 1988.

He ended the first innings at 449 by dismissing Ambrose with the last ball of his 36th over and Patterson with the first ball of his 37th. Australia then scored 395-8 declared before Hughes dismissed Greenidge with the first ball of the second innings.

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Julian King, England

In addition to Steve Shackleton's comments in number 25, what is the highest percentage of an innings a single batsman has scored in first class cricket?

The highest individual percentage of a first-class innings is 83.4% by Glenn Turner. The New Zealand opener scored 141 not out of Worcestershire's 169 all out v Glamorgan at Swansea in 1977.

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Sam Plackman, Britain

How many Test batsmen have finished with an average of over 50 after 50 or more Tests?

As at 1 May 2002, a total of 21 batsmen have achieved a Test average of 50 or more from a minimum of 50 innings. That tally includes five current players: Steve Waugh, Lara, Dravid, Tendulkar and Andy Flower.

The full list in average order by country is: DG Bradman, GS Chappell, AR Border, SR Waugh (Australia); H Sutcliffe, KF Barrington, WR Hammond, JB Hobbs, L Hutton, DCS Compton (England); AD Nourse (South Africa); EdeC Weekes, GStA Sobers, CL Walcott, IVA Richards, BC Lara (West Indies); SR Tendulkar, RS Dravid, SM Gavaskar (India), Javed Miandad (Pakistan); A Flower (Zimbabwe).

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