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Also: who was the youngest IPL centurion before Vaibhav Suryavanshi?

Steven Lynch06-May-2025Mehidy Hasan Miraz reached a century and later that day took five wickets against Zimbabwe. Has anyone else done this? asked Sameed Quasem from Bangladesh
On the third (and last) day of the second Test against Zimbabwe in Chattogram last week, Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan took his overnight score of 16 to 104, then claimed 5 for 32 as his side levelled the series with a comfortable victory.This combination of 88 runs and five wickets is arguably the best all-round performance on a single day of a Test, although there’s a contender from the mists of time: back in April 1899, South Africa’s Jimmy Sinclair took 6 for 26 on the first day against England in Cape Town, then scored the first 59 runs of an eventual 106, his country’s first Test century. For the list of those who have scored a hundred and taken a five-for in the same Test (not on the same day), click here.Who was the youngest IPL centurion before Vaibhav Suryavanshi? asked Rajesh Rao from India
The precocious Vaibhav Suryavanshi was just 32 days past his 14th birthday when he zoomed to a 35-ball century for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur a little over a week ago. Assuming his published date of birth is correct, he shattered the previous IPL record by more than five years: Manish Pandey was 19 years 253 days old when he hit 114 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Deccan Chargers in Centurion in May 2009.Liam Livingstone has hit more sixes than fours in T20 internationals. Is this unique? asked Deepak Krishnan from India
So far, the England batter Liam Livingstone has scored 995 runs in T20Is, with 54 fours and 59 sixes. But there are some others with more runs and a similar preference for sixes: the West Indian Rovman Powell (1747 runs in T20Is) has hit 99 fours but 117 sixes so far, while Kieron Pollard (1569 runs) hit 94 fours and 99 sixes and another West Indian, Andre Russell, 63 fours and 89 sixes in 1063 runs.Babar Hayat of Hong Kong (2068 runs) has so far hit 126 fours and 126 sixes in T20Is, while others who might flip the balance one day are the West Indians Nicholas Pooran (2275 runs, 152 fours, 149 sixes) and Evin Lewis (1643 runs, 125 fours, 124 sixes).In all T20 cricket, three of the top four six-hitters have collected more sixes than fours: Pollard 908 and 842, Russell 738 and 601, and Pooran 633 and 607. Another West Indian, Chris Gayle, who is well clear at the top of the overall run-scorers’ list, almost managed it: his 14,562 runs in all T20 matches included 1132 fours and 1056 sixes.Ravindra Jadeja is the only player to score three triple-hundreds in the Ranji Trophy•PTI I noticed that Ravi Jadeja has scored three triple-centuries in the Ranji Trophy. Has anyone else done this? asked Mukul Pandit from India
There have so far been 55 triple-centuries in India’s Ranji Trophy (that includes the 443 not out of Bhausaheb Nimbalkar in Poona in December 1948). And you’re right that Ravi Jadeja has scored three of them, all for Saurashtra: 331 against Railways in Rajkot in December 2012, 314 vs Orissa in Cuttack in November 2011, and 303 not out against Gujarat in Surat in November 2012.Jadeja is the only man to score three triple-centuries in the Ranji Trophy. There are four others with two: Cheteshwar Pujara (also for Saurashtra), VVS Laxman for Hyderabad, Wasim Jaffer for Mumbai, and Taruwar Kohli, who made 300 not out for Punjab against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur in January 2013, and 307 not out for Mizoram vs Arunachal Pradesh in Puducherry in December 2019.Has anyone ever been caught and bowled twice by the same bowler in a Test? asked Peter Maxwell from England
This has happened *four times in all, but not very recently – the last such instance was in January 1961, when Australia’s captain Richie Benaud was caught and bowled in both innings in Sydney by the West Indian slow left-armer Alf Valentine. Before that, Everton Weekes of West Indies was caught and bowled twice by India’s Ghulam Ahmed in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1948-49 – Weekes had the consolation of having scored 162 and 101 – while in Melbourne in 1950-51 Australia’s Keith Miller gave return catches in both innings to England’s captain Freddie Brown. The first such instance was also in Melbourne, way back in January 1885: John Trumble, who was making his debut for Australia, was caught and bowled twice by the England seamer Billy Barnes.There are a further 18 instances of batters being caught and bowled in both innings, but by different bowlers: the most recent was Bangladesh’s Shoriful Islam (dismissed by Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha of Sri Lanka) in Sylhet in March 2024.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions02.02GMT, May 7, 2025: This answer said “three” previously. The first instance, featuring John Trumble and Billy Barnes, was added on.

A 2-2 draw in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has boosted the 25-year-old’s belief in himself

Nagraj Gollapudi05-Aug-20253:23

Bangar: Gill, the leader, gained confidence through the series

As soon as Chris Woakes came out to bat on Monday morning, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj had a quick chat and agreed to deny Gus Atkinson the single on the last ball of the 84th over which would allow Prasidh Krishna to have a crack from the Vauxhall end at the England allrounder who had walked out, broken arm in a sling, aiming to bat left-handed. Gill asked Siraj to bowl a wide yorker outside off stump to prevent Atkinson from getting bat on ball. The other key element of the plan was for Gill to ask wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel to take off his right glove and be alert for a throw at the stumps in case the batters attempted a bye.Siraj delivered his end of the bargain, Atkinson failed to connect, and both batters set off for the bye. Jurel, though, never took off his glove and his throw was too slow and wide off the stumps, which left India’s best fast bowler in this series highly annoyed. “”, [did you not tell him the plan?], Siraj asked Gill, staring wide-eyed, with a heaving chest. Siraj would continue staring in disbelief at Jurel, who sheepishly jogged to the other end.Gill would explain after the match why the plan did not take off, with Siraj now chuckling beside him: “He told me to tell Dhruv to take off his gloves to get the run out. By the time I told Dhruv, he (Siraj) was already running in to bowl. So Dhruv didn’t have enough time to drop his gloves and he missed. That’s why he said to me why did you not tell him.”Related

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In the subsequent overs, until he smashed Atkinson’s off stump, Siraj and Prasidh would stick to the same plan on the last ball even as Gill persisted with eight fielders on the boundary. Gill would go on to explain why he did not want to bring in the fielders in for the last ball to Atkinson.”We felt even in the second-last ball or last ball, we felt if we go wide yorker there’s a chance of him (Atkinson) missing, which he did in the first one – Dhruv missed the stumps, which happens. But that was the plan that they have to score. We wanted them to take on the fielders and score in boundaries rather than bringing the field inside and they hit a boundary. We didn’t want them to achieve it in one shot. We wanted them to hit maybe two or three shots to be able to achieve the runs because that, I felt, gave us the best probability to be able [to strike], for them to make a mistake and for us to win the match.”

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Shubman Gill, as captain, has allowed his players to put their own plans in place•Associated PressThree overs prior to the end of an absorbing first hour on day four, the 25th of England’s innings, Siraj asked Gill to have Ravindra Jadeja at backward point. Gill, on second thought, placed Jadeja to deep point. Siraj was not impressed only because he didn’t want Joe Root to get off strike. Root had just walked in the previous over to replace Ben Duckett. England were 83 for 2 and Siraj’s plan was to shackle Root and not allow him the dab, one of his go-to shots. Root picked up two easy singles in that over, opening the face of the bat and guiding the ball behind square. Before the start of the final over before the first drinks break, Siraj, with both hands raised to his face, pleaded with Gill to bring Jadeja inside the circle. Gill acquiesced. Siraj bowled a maiden and nearly induced an outside edge.”I told him let’s keep the point fielder inside the circle,” Siraj said on Monday, “but he told me let him go for his strokes as that could result in a wicket and the match could turn in our favour. His thinking was also right because at that moment he was thinking like a batsman.”

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While Gill has convinced everyone during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy that captaincy does not affect his run-scoring, there have been questions about other aspects of his leadership. Is he good at reading the situation? Is he a good tactician? Can he communicate clearly with his bowlers?The above incidents are just two examples that give us a slightly better understanding of Gill’s captaincy. They show Gill has his own thoughts but is equally receptive to what his players have to say. Siraj has played with Gill since their India A days and is a contemporary. Both of them also play for Gujarat Titans in the IPL where Gill has been captain since 2024, with Siraj joining in 2025. “There is a mutual understanding between us,” Siraj said. “Our communication is very clear. I’m very happy about his growth.”Shubman Gill’s batting improved with captaincy•AFP/Getty ImagesGiven this was his first Test series as captain, Gill acknowledges he has a lot to learn but at the same time he is happy with the way he has juggled his responsibilities: “There are some things that me and as a team we definitely need to work on. And I kind of have more clarity on the areas that we need to work on as a team. And I have more clarity where personally I need to work on as a captain. There would always be opinions, and, in hindsight I could have done this, could have done that, but what matters for me is whether I’m taking the best possible decision in that moment and as long as I’m able to do that, I think the probability [of a win] would be on us and that’s what I want to do.”What Gill is telling us is he is not going to be affected by outside chatter about his captaincy. He says he is bold enough to take the “shots” fired at him. There was noise about India selecting only three fast bowlers for a green pitch at The Oval where overcast conditions were predicted for all five days. Gill took that on board and explained why he went a different way.”Even in this match a lot of people were saying we could have played a fourth specialist bowler, but the guy who played instead of the fourth seamer – Karun Nair, his fifty in the first innings was equally important for us which helped us to get a decent total. You have to understand and weigh what is the most important. We thought on this wicket, three fast bowlers would be able to do the job for us and they delivered. When your decision goes well people praise you and when it doesn’t, I am aware that there are going to be shots taken at me which I am fine with because at the end of the day I know that I made a decision which is best for the team.”There were times in this series that Gill had let his emotions run away with him. Day three at Lord’s highlighted that. But day five at The Oval, when everything was on the line, he was ice-cold. And that is why members of the Indian team’s think tank chose him to succeed Rohit Sharma as Test captain. Gill spoke about the things that helped him deal with pressure in a series that was nothing but pressure. “If you are thinking about someone else then the pressure on you goes away,” he said. “Even in captaincy when I was batting in this series because I was always thinking what more can I do for the team and if a player is playing low, what can I do. That helps me to take away the pressure off myself.”For Gill and India, this series has been epoch-making. We don’t know whether he jots stuff down in his journal, but there are a lot of learnings he will be taking back home. But his core thought process remains intact, to stay balanced, and that, Gill said, will help him grow as a leader. “You should be able to navigate through the highs and lows of life and try to stay balanced throughout. That’s what at least I believe in, that I want to be able to stay balanced whether we have won the match, lost the match, I’ve done well or I have not done well. It’s difficult but it’s a process. That’s the real journey, to be able to stay balanced and I’m still learning but so far so good.”

The New Zealand allrounder is closing in on 20 years of international cricket, but is yet to represent her country in the longest format

Vishal Dikshit04-Sep-20251:33

Bates: Will be ‘over the moon’ to play a Test match

Closing in on 20 years in international cricket, New Zealand allrounder Suzie Bates is still keeping her dreams alive of playing a Test match before she retires. Bates has represented New Zealand in 171 ODIs and 177 T20Is, captained them full-time from 2012 to 2018, has featured in nine T20 World Cups and is ready to play her fifth ODI World Cup starting later this month.But she remains without a Test cap as New Zealand last played one 21 years ago, against England at Scarborough. Bates made her international debut 19 months later and has gone on to become the top run-scorer in T20Is and sits third on the list in ODIs, behind Mithali Raj and Charlotte Edwards.New Zealand are not scheduled to play a women’s Test as per the current FTP that runs until April 2029, but Bates keeps her hopes alive while watching the other women’s teams play Test cricket, as was the case even 10 years ago, when she had said she “felt cheated”.Related

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“The feeling [of not having played a Test] is just like I’m envious,” Bates told ESPNcricinfo. “Like I think I’ve said this in another interview when I watch the [women’s] Ashes and even when I watch men’s Test cricket and they talk about it being the toughest game, it tests your skills, it tests you mentally, it tests you physically as an athlete and a sportsperson I want to be tested. So you sort of watch when there are women’s Test matches on and you’re like, ‘oh I wonder what I’d do in this situation or how I’d go about it’, and to not have that opportunity when others are playing it, you do want to experience it.”But I understand the decisions and the politics of it at times but just as a player I’m like, ‘I’d love to have a taste of how I would handle that mentally and physically’. If it happens and I’m still playing I will be over the moon. I do just think for the future of the game – I think Virat Kohli’s talked about it saying that is still where you learn the most about the game and where you are tested and if young players, if a young New Zealand player gets to go over and play a four or five-day Test match in India in those conditions with the ball turning, the amount of learning that you do and that compared to a 20-over game is you just can’t compare. So yeah, I think there’s space for it, but those decisions aren’t up to me.”171 ODIs, 177 T20Is, and nearly 20 years of international cricket, but Suzie Bates is yet to play a Test•ICC/Getty ImagesEven if Test matches aren’t scheduled for New Zealand Women in the current FTP, extra bilateral matches can be added to the schedule if there is an agreement between two boards. Bates will be 38 later this month before the World Cup starts, but was willing to work further on her fitness, tempted by the possibility of playing a Test match, if the chance came in the next year or so.”Yes, it would motivate me but there is a long time between now and then and I am just focused on contributing at this 50-over World Cup and then we will see what happens after that.”New Zealand begin their World Cup campaign against defending champions Australia on October 2 in Indore before taking on South Africa (October 6, Indore) and Bangladesh (October 10, Guwahati). They will then fly to Colombo to face Sri Lanka (October 14) and Pakistan (October 18), before returning to India for their final two league games in Navi Mumbai, against India on October 23 and England on October 26.

And who took England’s first wicket in ODIs?

Steven Lynch18-Nov-2025Have England ever won a Test in Perth? asked Nicky Harrison from England
England have a pretty poor record in Test matches in Perth, where the Ashes series starts later this week. They haven’t yet played at the new Perth Stadium – Australia won the first four Tests played there before coming a cropper against India last November – but at the traditionally bouncy pitch at the former Test ground, the WACA, England played 14 matches and won only one. That was in 1978-79, when Australia had a weakened team thanks to defections to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket.Of the others, Australia won ten, with England escaping with draws in 1970 (the inaugural Test at the WACA), 1982 and 1986. Australia have won the last eight Ashes Tests in Perth, mostly by wide margins.Sam Nogajski gave an lbw decision off the fourth ball of his first Test – was this the earliest decision a debutant umpire has had to make? asked Lachie from Australia
Umpire Sam Nogajski from Tasmania, who was standing in his first Test, gave Ireland’s captain Andy Balbirnie out to the fourth ball of the match against Bangladesh in Sylhet a few days ago.It’s quite early in a Test career to be giving a decision – but it’s not a record: another Aussie, Bill Alley, gave Sunil Gavaskar out caught behind from his very first ball as an umpire in a Test, at Edgbaston in 1974. Alley recalled: “Geoff Arnold thundered in and cut back his first delivery, which Gavaskar tried to avoid but could not. The ball appeared to run along the bat and Alan Knott held the catch about six feet down the leg side. I was still nervously fumbling the coins in my pocket, which I used to count the number of deliveries bowled in each over. There was an appeal and I was lifting my hand from my pocket to give him out, like a gun from a holster, but Gavaskar had decided to take the law into his own hands… he put his bat under his arm and was on his way to the pavilion.” I suppose it’s therefore debatable whether Alley actually had to give a decision!In Brisbane in 1936, England’s Stan Worthington was caught behind trying to hook the first ball of an Ashes series. According to the watching Bruce Harris, “It was the first Test in which Jack Scott, the old South Australian fast bowler, umpired, and he had to make a decision first ball!”And in 1974 again, umpire Har Prasad Sharma gave India’s Sudhir Naik out caught behind from the first ball of the match against West Indies in Calcutta.We don’t have full details of many early Tests, so it’s often not known at which end an umpire was officiating, or whether a decision was even required. Herbert Sutcliffe of England was caught behind against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1933: both umpires, Thomas Burgess and Richard Torrance, were standing in their first Test. In the following cases it seems unlikely a decision was required (and we don’t know at which end the umpires were standing). The West Indian opener Conrad Hunte was caught in the field off the first ball in Port-of-Spain in 1958: George Williams was standing in his first (and only) Test. Keith Stackpole was caught at slip off the first ball in Auckland in 1974: umpire Ralph Gardiner was in his first Test. And South Africa’s Jimmy Cook was caught at third slip to the first ball of the match against India in Durban in 1992: umpire Karl Liebenberg was in his first Test (as was Cook).Bangladesh’s Hannan Sarkar was lbw first ball against West Indies in St Lucia in 2004: Jeremy Lloyds was making his debut as umpire, but was at the other end (Sarkar was lbw to the first ball of the next Test too, and that time Lloyds did give the decision). Chris Gayle of West Indies was lbw to the first ball of the match against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2010, but debutant umpire Bruce Oxenford was at the other end. Here’s the full list of those out to the first ball of a Test.Is Jordan Neill the first teenager to play a Test for Ireland? asked Kevin Finucane from Ireland
The Ireland allrounder Jordan Neill was 19 years 245 days old when he made his Test debut last week, against Bangladesh in Sylhet. He was their first Test-playing teenager: their previous-youngest player was Neill’s team-mate Matthew Humphreys, who was 20 years 208 days old when he made his debut, against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2023. Humphreys and Neill were also both making their first-class debuts, joining this list of players who made their first-class debuts in Tests.Neill made his one-day international debut last May, against West Indies at Malahide, aged 19 years 83 days. George Dockrell and Paul Stirling were both 17 when they played their first ODIs for Ireland. Their youngest T20 international is Josh Little, who was only 16 when he played against Hong Kong in Bready in 2016.Ireland have had younger women players, though: Lucy O’Reilly, Elena Tice and Josh Little’s sister Louise were all 13 when they played their first ODIs, while Gaby Lewis was even younger when she made her T20 international debut – 13 years 166 days against South Africa in Solihull in September 2014.Nineteen-year-old Jordan Neil is the first male cricketer to debut as a teenager for Ireland, though among women Gaby Lewis debuted at age 13•ICC/Getty ImagesStan Squires of Surrey once scored 236 out of a team total of 345. Is this the highest percentage at first-class level that includes a double-hundred? asked Phil Carter from Norway
Stan Squires had a long career for Surrey, scoring over 19,000 runs between 1928 and 1949 despite usually wearing glasses. In his last season he made 1785 runs, his second-highest annual return, but sadly died a few months later from what Wisden called “a virus of the blood”. Surrey team-mates Alec and Eric Bedser paid tribute in their book Following On: “His death was a sad blow to us all. Stan had many virtues and no major faults. He was a fine allround cricketer – his ability to play slow bowling was a byword in the game – and his sunny temperament often cheered up the team when depression threatened the dressing-room.”The innings you’re referring to came against Lancashire at The Oval in 1933. Squires’ 236 represented 68.40% of the total of 345 – but, surprisingly perhaps, there have been several higher percentages than that. The highest of all in a completed first-class innings by a double-centurion is 81.56%, by Namibia’s Gerrie Snyman against Kenya in the Intercontinental Cup in Sharjah in 2008: Snyman hit 230 of Namibia’s total of 282, with the next-highest contribution being 13.The only higher percentage in any completed first-class innings is 83.43%, by Glenn Turner, with 141 of Worcestershire’s 169 against Glamorgan in Swansea in 1977, when the next-highest contribution was 7, by Norman Gifford. The Test record was set in the very first match of all, in Melbourne in 1877, when Charles Bannerman’s 165 represented 67.34% of Australia’s first innings of 245. The Test record involving an individual score of more than 200 was set by Seymour Nurse, with 258 out of 417 (61.87%) for West Indies vs New Zealand in Christchurch in Match 1969.Who took England’s first wicket in one-day internationals? asked David Cooper from England
What has become recognised as the first one-day international of all was played between Australia and England in Melbourne in January 1971, after the scheduled third Test of the Ashes series was washed out. To the organisers’ surprise, over 46,000 spectators turned up, and a new format was born.England batted first: the first man out was Geoff Boycott, caught by Australia’s captain Bill Lawry off the bowling of Alan “Froggy” Thomson. When Australia batted, needing a modest 191 to win in 40 eight-ball overs, their first casualty was Keith Stackpole, who gave a sharp return catch to the Lancashire fast bowler Ken Shuttleworth, who was playing in what turned out to be his only ODI. You can see this wicket at about 17 minutes in this video clip.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Stats highlights from the second day’s play of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne

Sampath Bandarupalli27-Dec-202410 Steven Smith’s centuries in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the most for any batter, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli.11 Test hundreds for Smith against India – the most by any batter, overtaking Joe Root’s ten centuries against India.201 Number of innings Smith took to score his 34th Test hundred. Only Sachin Tendulkar (192 innings) and Ricky Ponting (193 innings) were quicker among the 11 batters with 34 Test centuries.ESPNcricinfo Ltd99 Runs conceded by Jasprit Bumrah in Australia’s first innings, the most he has conceded in a Test innings .The 84 innings by Bumrah are the most for any bowler without conceding 100-plus runs in an innings (Among specialists and bowling all-rounders). Former England fast bowler Mike Hendrick is second with 54 innings.11.07 Rohit Sharma’s batting average in Tests in the 2024-25 season – the second lowest for an Indian batter in a season (minimum of ten innings in the top six). The lowest is 10.00 by Chandu Sarwate in 1947-48.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 Number of 100-plus partnerships for India in their first innings in nine Tests in the 2024-25 season. Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin had a 199-run stand against Bangladesh in Chennai, while Yashasvi Jaiswal added 102 with Virat Kohli in Melbourne.4 Four-wicket hauls for Bumrah in Australia’s first innings in four Tests this series – the first time a bowler has achieved this since Shane Warne in the 2005 Ashes.