Matt Breetzke recently scored 150 in his first ODI, and 83 in his second. Does he have the most runs after two such matches? asked Jason Seymour from South Africa
South Africa’s Matthew Breetzke hit 150 in his first one-day international, against New Zealand in Lahore in February, which was the highest by anyone on ODI debut, beating Desmond Haynes’s 148 for West Indies vs Australia in Antigua in 1978.
Breetzke added 83 in his second match, against Pakistan in Karachi two days later, giving him 233 runs after two ODIs: the previous highest was again Haynes, who followed his 148 with 47.
Rather surprisingly, given his turbocharged start, Breetzke was not included in South Africa’s squad for the Champions Trophy: it had been named already, but there was a provision for late changes. In his next ODI he will need to score 32 runs to stay ahead: England’s Nick Knight had 264 runs after his first three ODIs, which included hundreds on successive days against Pakistan in 1996.
Gus Atkinson reached 50 Test wickets in a little over five months. Has anyone got there quicker than that? asked Mark McKenzie from England
The England seamer Gus Atkinson collected 50 Test wickets in just 158 days from his debut at Lord’s on July 10 last year. The only bowlers to reach 50 quicker than that are Australia’s Rodney Hogg, in 116 days from December 1, 1978, and Vernon Philander of South Africa, in 139 days from November 9, 2011. The previous fastest for England (and still joint fifth overall) was Maurice Tate, in 248 days from June 14, 1924.
Atkinson reached 50 in his 11th Test, quite a way down a list headed by Australia’s Charles Turner: he got there in six matches, just ahead of Philander, Tom Richardson of England and Sri Lanka’s Prabath Jayasuriya, who all reached 50 in their seventh Test.
When New Zealand beat West Indies by one wicket in 1980, they did it with numbers ten and 11 at the crease. Usually there’s a proper batsman there to finish things off – are there any other Tests like this one? asked Chris Goddard from England
When New Zealand squeaked past West Indies to win by one wicket in Dunedin in February 1980, you’re right that the last four runs came with the final pair at the crease – No. 10, Gary Troup (who finished with 7 not out) and No. 11, Stephen Boock (2 not out). Neither was any great shakes with the bat – Troup was once dismissed five times in the space of seven balls bowled to him in Tests – but they somehow got New Zealand home. Boock remembered being “absolutely petrified” before he went in to face the West Indian fast bowlers, but somehow scampered through for the winning run: “I got a leg-bye off Joel Garner from the last ball of an over. At the time I thought I was in complete control, but when I looked at it on television later it looked as though I changed my mind ten times. If the throw had hit I would have been out by miles.”
There have now been 15 one-wicket victories in Tests, and that’s still the only one where Nos. 10 and 11 were together at the end. There have been four matches where the end came with No. 9 in with No. 11: by England (Sydney Barnes and Arthur Fielder) against Australia in Melbourne in 1908, England (Alex Kennedy and George Macaulay) against South Africa in Cape Town in 1923, Australia (Doug Ring and Bill Johnston) against West Indies in Melbourne in 1952, and West Indies (Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales) against Pakistan in Kingston in 2021.
Shubman Gill is averaging 59 in ODIs. Is this a record? How about T20s? asked Milind Rao from India
You’re right that Shubman Gill currently averages 59.04 in one-day internationals, just above his India team-mate Virat Kohli (57.88). The only man ahead of them is Ryan ten Doeschate, who averaged 67.00 in 33 ODIs for Netherlands between 2006 and 2011.
Only nine other men (four of them current players) have an average above 50 in ODIs, given a minimum of 20 innings: Dawid Malan (55.76), Babar Azam (55.50), Michael Bevan (53.58), AB de Villiers (53.50), Jonathan Trott (51.25), MS Dhoni (50.57), Ben Duckett (50.38), Ibrahim Zadran (50.18) and Rassie van der Dussen (50.13). Shai Hope of West Indies currently averages 49.93. At the moment there are also six women with a career average above 50 in ODIs, again given a minimum of 20 innings.
The highest average in men’s T20 internationals currently belongs to Sami Sohail of Malawi, with 56.12 from 42 innings; India’s Tilak Varma comes next with 49.93. Not far behind are Kohli (48.69), Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan (47.41) and Japan’s Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming (45.80).
The women’s T20I list is headed by the Isle of Man teenager Lucy Barnett (67.45), ahead of the Australian pair of Tahlia McGrath (41.62) and Beth Mooney (41.21).
How many Test cricketers have been born in Scotland? asked Kelvin Muir from… Scotland
So far there have been 11 Test cricketers who were born in Scotland. They make a reasonable XI too – perhaps a bit light on batting, but well served for bowlers, and there are a pair of wicketkeepers!
The openers of this team (who played their Tests for England unless stated otherwise) would be Archie Jackson, who was born in Rutherglen in Lanarkshire and made 164 on his Test debut for Australia against England in Adelaide in 1929, and Middlesex’s Eric Russell (born in Dumbarton). The one-time England captain Mike Denness (Bellshill) is at No. 3. Gavin Hamilton (Broxburn) scored a lot of runs for Scotland in the 1999 World Cup, before one unsuccessful Test appearance for England, while Gregor MacGregor (Edinburgh) was a fine 19th-century wicketkeeper, and a rugby international too. Hampshire’s Alex Kennedy (Edinburgh) did the double five times (and passed 100 wickets in a season on 15 occasions), while Gordon Rowe (Glasgow) bagged a pair in his only Test for New Zealand in March 1946. Tom Campbell (Edinburgh) kept wicket for South Africa in five Tests before the First World War, while the tall Northamptonshire fast bowler David Larter (Inverness) toured Australia twice in the 1960s. The slow bowling would be in the hands of legspinner Ian Peebles (Aberdeen), who troubled Don Bradman in 1930, and the offbreaks of Peter Such (Helensburgh).
There’s also one Scottish-born female Test cricketer: Jan Lumsden, who first saw the light of day in Musselburgh, played six Tests for Australia in the 1970s.
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