Stump The Bearded Wonder No 58

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 summer.

Fill in the form on the right-hand side of the page to stump the Bearded Wonder.

---

Geoff Gardner, England

Who scored 2,000 runs in a season without scoring a century?

D.M. (David) Green is the batsman who achieved this unique feat. In 1965 he scored 2,037 runs, average 32.85, in 63 innings with a top score of 85. On 20 occasions he scored 40 or more, remarkable consistency for an aggressive opener in a season of damp pitches.

During a first-class career involving Oxford University, Lancashire and Gloucestershire, which began in 1959 and ended with an International Wanderers tour to Rhodesia in 1972-73, he scored 13,381 runs at 28.83 but registered only 14 hundreds.

---

Paul W, Thrapston, UK

What is the greatest recorded number of run outs in a Test match?

Seven is the record, Paul, and it was set at Melbourne in 1972-73 when Australia suffered three run outs and Pakistan four. The most run outs in a single innings is four.

---

Imran Ahmed, Pakistan

Which bowler has the best average, among those who have taken 100+ wickets in Test cricket?

England's George Lohmann comfortably heads that list with 112 wickets in 18 Tests (1886 to 1896) at the incredible average of 10.75. Sydney Barnes has the second-lowest average with 189 wickets at 16.43.

Exceptionally accurate, he could break the ball in either direction at brisk medium pace and played a major role in Surrey's first five championships. His wicket-taking rate of one every 34 balls is also the best by any bowler taking 100 or more Test wickets.

---

John, England

Can you help me with an umpiring decision from a game that I played in recently? Just before attempting to run out one of the opposition batsmen, our wicket-keeper knocked one of the bails off with his glove.

When the ball was subsequently thrown to him, he took the other bail off with the ball, with the batsman out of his ground. Is this out, or does he have have to lift the stump out of the ground as the wicket has previously been broken?

The batsman was out as soon as your keeper removed the other bail. Law 28 (2) states that 'If one bail is off, it shall be sufficient for the purpose of putting the wicket down to remove the remaining bail, or to strike or pull any of the three stumps out of the ground ...'

---

Richard Beckett, England

Bill, would you be able to tell me which player has played for the most first-class counties?

The most is four, and two have completed their quartet of counties this season. A.A. (Allan) Jones appeared for Sussex, Somerset, Middlesex and Glamorgan - but never for his native Surrey.

E.S.H. (Ed) Giddings represented Sussex, Warwickshire, Surrey and Hampshire. V.C. (Vasbert) Drakes has appeared for Sussex, Nottinghamshire, Warwickshire and Leicestershire.

---

Kirsty, England

On how many occasions has a Test captain declared when a batsman has been on 99?

None. The highest score achieved by any batsman falling victim to his captain's whim is Graeme Hick's 98 not out in the Third Test against Australia at Sydney in 1994-95. Michael Atherton terminated England's innings in a forlorn quest to seize victory on the final day.

---

Barry Blackhall, UK

I was umpiring for our village team last month. As the bowler reached his delivery stride, the batsman pulled away as he felt he wasn't ready. The bowler couldn't stop and the ball hit the stumps. The bowler appealed.

My on the spot ruling was that the batsman was out but that the appeal wasn't within the spirit of the laws. After some friendly discussion the appeal was withdrawn, but if it had stood, should I have given the batsman out?

Intriguing one, Barry. As umpire, you should have prevented the bowler from bowling if the batsman clearly wasn't ready. Having failed to do that, then you should have called 'dead ball' if you were satisfied that the batsman was not ready in the above case. Only if the batsman was feigning his unreadiness was he out bowled.

---

Thomas Cawston, UK

What is the highest first-wicket partnership in women's Test match cricket?

The record women's opening partnership in Tests is 178 between a brace of Belindas, Haggett (73) and Clark (104), for Australia against India at the North Sydney Oval in January 1991.

---

Phil Zamore, UK

How many Tests did Don Bradman play that were not against England?

Only 15 of the Don's 52 Test appearances did not involve England - five apiece against West Indies (1930-31), South Africa (1931-32) and India (1947-48).

All 15 were played in Australia. Remarkably, he played all his international cricket either in Australia (33 Tests) or in England (19).

---

Robin, Indonesia

How many specialist wrist spinners have played Test cricket for England since 1970? I can only think of Ian Salisbury and Robin Hobbs (ignoring part-timers like Keith Fletcher and Mike Atherton).

Great to have contact with a cricket enthusiast in Indonesia. Counting the full 1970-71 Ashes series and including the fifth Test of the current 2003 South Africa series, England have played 352 Tests.

Apart from Hobbs and Salisbury whom you mention, the only other specialist leg-spinner to gain selection is Lancashire's Chris Schofield who bowled in only one of his two appearances against Zimbabwe in 2000 and failed to take a wicket.

In addition to Fletcher and Atherton, other occasional leggies to bowl during this period were Colin Cowdrey (three overs at Perth in 1970-71), Robin Smith and Nasser Hussain.

---

John, England

In a game in the Leicestershire County Cricket League recently, Mark Wade, playing for Kegworth Town CC against Rothley Park CC, bowled 38 consecutive dot balls. Has something like this ever occurred in the professional game?

The innings record in all first-class matches was achieved by R.G 'Bapu' Nadkarni, an orthodox left-arm spinner for India against England at Madras in January 1964 during a remarkable analysis of 32-27-5-0.

The match record is 137 balls by off-spinner Hugh Tayfield for South Africa against England at Durban in 1956-57 - mostly against Trevor 'Barnacle' Bailey's obdurate defence on a poor pitch. He bowled 119 balls without conceding a run in the first innings, followed by a further 18 in the second.

---

John Beale, UK

What is Carl Rackemann's first-class record (Aus, Queensland and Surrey), and how many Tests did he play?

Carl played in 167 first-class matches (1979-80 to 1995-96) taking 616 wickets at 26.99 and scoring 862 runs at 7.69. He took 10 wickets in a match three times and five in an innings 22 times, with a career-best of 8 for 84 for a rebel Australian XI against a South African XI at Johannesburg in 1985-86.

He gained 12 caps for Australia (1982-83 to 1990-91) taking 39 wickets at 29.15, his outstanding performance producing match figures of 11 for 118 (5-32 and 6-86) against Pakistan at Perth in 1983-84.

---

Naseem, India

When did Wasim Akram start his career?

Wasim made his Test debut at Auckland on 25 January 1985 at the age of 18 years 236 days, soon after celebrating his first-class debut by taking 7 for 50 for the BCCP Patron's XI against the touring New Zealanders. He took 10 wickets in his second Test (at Dunedin) to become the youngest to achieve that feat.

---