Edrich the boundary king

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Edrich the boundary king
Wisden CricInfo staff - October 16, 2001

The column in which our database director answers your queries, large or small, about the history of the game. If you have a question for Steven Lynch, e-mail him at steven.lynch@wisden.com

The most boundaries in a Test innings

Which ground has staged the most ODIs

Out first ball in first Test innings

Average of 50 throughout Test career

Gavaskar's uncle

Tests with no half-century

100 and five wickets on Test debut

Highest total in a losing Test

Arise, Sir Donald

Most runs by a batsman in a losing cause

Who has hit the most boundaries in one Test innings? asks Rajesh Chowdhury

John Edrich hit 57 boundaries -- 52 fours and five sixes -- in his 310 not out for England against New Zealand at Headingley in 1965. His total of 238 runs in boundaries -- 76.77% of his runs -- is 42 more than anyone else has managed in a single Test innings. Wally Hammond made 196 (34 fours and 10 sixes) in his 336 not out for England v New Zealand at Auckland in 1932-33, while Graham Gooch lies third with 190 (43 fours and three sixes) in his 333 for England v India at Lord's in 1990. In the Test-record 375 for West Indies v England at St John's in 1993-94 Brian Lara smote 45 fours (180 runs) to lie sixth on the list, just behind two innings from Don Bradman. The Don hit 184 in boundaries twice, both times at Headingley. He hit 46 fours in his 334 in 1930, and four years later struck 43 fours and three sixes in his 304.

Which ground has hosted the most one-day internationals? asks Simon Good

A rather surprising name tops the list ... the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium has staged 174 official one-day internationals so far (at Oct 25), way ahead of Sydney (108) and Melbourne (107) the only other grounds to have staged more than 50 (the number played at the Adelaide Oval). The English ground which has staged the most is not, as you might have expected, Lord's (30): it's Old Trafford, with 31.

Has anyone been dismissed by the first ball of a Test in which he was making his debut? asks Paul Fink

Actually this has happened twice. The first sufferer was Jimmy Cook of South Africa, in the first Test against India at Durban in 1992-93. He faced the first ball of the match, from Kapil Dev, and edged it to Sachin Tendulkar at third slip. Poor Cook had waited a long time for his Test debut -- he was 39, and would have been an automatic choice for most of the time that South Africa spent in the international wilderness (1970-92) because of their apartheid policy. This was one of only three Test appearances for Cook, who was a prolific scorer in first-class cricket.

The second unfortunate debutant was Leon Garrick of West Indies. He faced the first ball of the final Test against South Africa at Kingston in April 2001. Garrick, a Jamaican who was a late inclusion in the side, cut Allan Donald's first delivery straight to Shaun Pollock in the gully.

Is it true that Javed Miandad is the only batsman to have maintained a batting average of more than 50 throughout his Test career? asks Tauseef Ahmed

It's not quite true. Javed Miandad did manage it -- the lowest average at any point of his distinguished career was 51.74, after his 45th Test in 1982-83. He finished with 52.57 from 124 matches.

But there was another person who played more than 15 Tests and maintained an average of over 50 throughout his career: Herbert Sutcliffe, the stylish England opener of the 1920s and '30s. His average, in fact, was always over 60 -- and when it plummeted to 60.73, in his 54th Test, he promptly retired.

George Headley almost managed it -- he was out for 21 in his first Test innings, but scored 176 in the second, and after that his average was always above 50.

Don Bradman, who's usually the answer to questions like this, had to wait until his fourth innings before his average went above 50 -- but it never dropped below that mark thereafter. In his ninth Test The Don pushed his average above 100 -- and after that it never dipped below 90, except for one Test in 1934.

Is it true that Sunil Gavaskar's uncle played for India? asks Harish Kulkarni

It is true. Madhav Mantri, Gavaskar's maternal uncle, played four Tests in the early 1950s. He was a wicketkeeper who took eight catches and a stumping, and a handy batsman who opened in his first Test (against England at Bombay in 1951-52) and scored 39 and 7. He did quite well on his one tour of England, in 1952, but was prolific with the bat in domestic cricket. Mantri, who was 80 in September, averaged over 50 for Bombay, and in 1948-49 cracked 200 for them against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy. Gavaskar, in his autobiography Sunny Days (1976), recalled: "Whenever I went to my uncle's house my favourite pastime used to be to take out his [Indian Test] pullovers and caress them, with a sense of longing ... once I even dared to ask him if I could take one, since he had so many. My uncle told me that one has to sweat and earn the India colours and I too should work hard to earn the distinction." He did.

What is the highest Test total that didn't include an individual half-century? asks Chris Burgess

This is one of those rare records that England hold. The answer is 315, against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1985-86. The highest score was David Gower's 47 -- Graham Gooch (43) and Allan Lamb (40) also reached the forties, and eight people in all made double figures. The top-score in the innings was actually Extras, with 59. It didn't do England much good -- they lost that Test, and every other one in that series. The only other total over 300 that didn't include a fifty was South Africa's 302 against New Zealand at Wellington in 1963-64. Peter van der Merwe's 44 was the highest score in that one.

Has anyone ever scored a century and taken five wickets in an innings on Test debut? asks Misha Kumar

Quite a few people have managed this at some point -- Ian Botham did it five times -- but the only one to have done it on debut was Bruce Taylor of New Zealand. He was an enthusiastic fast-medium bowler and a hard-hitting batsman who won his first cap against India at Calcutta in 1964-65, and surprised most people, including possibly himself, by hammering 105 in 158 minutes from No. 8. He hit 14 fours and three sixes in what was also his first century in first-class cricket. He then went out and took 5 for 86. Taylor, who later became a Test selector, never quite touched such heights again, although he did take more than 100 wickets and clanged another Test century -- an even quicker one, in only 86 minutes -- against West Indies at Auckland in 1968-69.

What is the highest Test total made by a country that went on to lose the match? asks John Samuel of Fairborn, Ohio, USA

The highest is 586, which Australia made at Sydney in 1894-95. England replied with 325 and (following on) 437, then bowled the Aussies out for 166 to win by 10 runs. That was the first time that any side had won a Test after following on -- it didn't happen again until Ian Botham's famous match at Headingley in 1981. There have been six other instances of a side making a total of over 500 in their first innings and still losing: 574 for 8 dec by Pakistan v Australia at Melbourne in 1972-73; 547 for 8 dec by Sri Lanka v Australia at Colombo (Sinhalese Sports Club) in 1992-93; 526 for 7 dec by West Indies v England at Port-of-Spain in 1967-68; 520 by Australia v South Africa at Melbourne in 1952-53; 519 by England v Australia at Melbourne in 1928-29; and 506 by South Africa v Australia at Melbourne in 1910-11.

Who first called Don Bradman "Sir Donald", and when was that? asks Michelle Steel from Australia

I suppose technically the answer is King George VI, who conferred a knighthood on Don Bradman in the New Year's Honours List of 1949, following his retirement from cricket. The knighthood was actually bestowed upon Bradman at an investiture in Queen's Hall, Government House, Melbourne on March 15, 1949 by the then-Governor-General of Australia, William McKell. He was a former Labor prime minister of New South Wales and only the second native-born Governor-General. He presumably said, in time-honoured fashion, "Arise Sir Donald" ... so he would have been the first person to correctly call him that, although some perspiring English bowlers had been doing so for years.

Andy Flower scored 341 runs in Zimbabwe's recent Test against South Africa -- and still lost. Is that the highest number of runs by anyone who ended up losing? asks Matt Blakeley

Yes, Andy Flower's solo double -- 142 and 199 not out -- against South Africa at Harare is indeed the highest number of runs made by someone who ended up on the losing side. The previous record was 303, by Herbert Sutcliffe for England against Australia at Melbourne in 1924-25. Sutcliffe, the well-groomed Yorkshire opener who averaged 60.73 in Tests, made 176 (he and Jack Hobbs put on 283 for the first wicket) and 127 -- and England still lost by 81 runs. It didn't help that all Tests in Australia were played to a finish in those days -- this game lasted a whole week.

More Ask Steven columns
September 2001
August 2001

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