Ask Steven

The fastest 50 caps, and the most Test 90s

The regular Monday column in which our editor answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket

Steven Lynch
Steven Lynch
28-Jun-2004
The regular Monday column in which our editor answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:


Marcus Trescothick: fast worker © Getty Images
Marcus Trescothick recently played his 50th Test match, less than four years after his first. Is he the fastest to this milestone? asked Matthew Stockley
That's a good spot, because indeed he is: in all it took Marcus Trescothick 1407 days, or around three years ten months, to clock up his half-century of Test caps. He's missed only three Tests (in 2002, with a broken thumb) since his debut against West Indies at Old Trafford in 2000. Trescothick broke the previous record, held by Allan Border, by 58 days. Adam Gilchrist took 1512 days (around four years two months) and Mark Boucher 1589 to reach their respective half-centuries. At the other end of the scale it took Wilfred Rhodes from June 1899 to January 1921 to collect 50 caps.
I read that the recently retired Michael Slater was out nine times in the nervous nineties: has any other batsman been out more in the nineties than that? asked Andy Grinham from London
No, Michael Slater stands alone, with nine dismissals in the nineties to go with his 14 Test hundreds. Steve Waugh actually had ten scores in the nineties in Tests, but two of those were not-outs. Alvin Kallicharran of West Indies was out seven times in the nineties, and also had a not-out one. Among current players Rahul Dravid leads the way with seven nineties (one of them not out).
Which batsmen have scored a double-century on their Test debut? asked Ganesh Rama Hegde
Only five batsmen have managed this, and the first one to do it remains the highest scorer too. At Sydney in 1903-04, England's "Tip" Foster scored 287 against Australia, in his first Test. It was more than 68 years later that anyone else managed it, when Lawrence Rowe made 214 (and 100 not out) on his debut for West Indies against New Zealand at Kingston in 1971-72. Brendon Kuruppu made 201 not out in his first Test for Sri Lanka, against New Zealand in Colombo in 1986-87, and Mathew Sinclair made 214 for NZ against West Indies at Wellington in 1999-2000. The most recent addition to the list was Jacques Rudolph, who spanked 222 not out for South Africa against Bangladesh at Chittagong in 2003. For a full list of batsmen who have made a century on Test debut, click here.
I spotted that three batsmen - Javed Burki, Bill Lawry and Abdul Kadir - were out "hit wicket" in the first Test between Pakistan and Australia in 1964-65. Is this a record for a Test? asked Andrew Leslie from Stuttgart in Germany
That match at Karachi actually equalled the record, set at Georgetown in 1929-30 when Errol Hunte of West Indies and the England pair George Gunn and Ewart Astill were all out hit wicket. The record for a single innings is two, which has happened four times - most recently at Delhi in 1958-59, when Chandu Borde and Naren Tamhane were both out hit wicket against West Indies.
I once had a quiz question no-one managed to answer: "Which famous brandname resulted from the [then] world-record partnership between Herbert Sutcliffe and Percy Holmes for Yorkshire against Essex in 1932?" The answer given was "The 555 brand of cigarettes." I have always wondered if this was true, or was cooked up by the quizmaster. Can you throw any light on this? asked Anantha from India
I hadn't heard that story about that famous partnership of 555 at Leyton, but I did manage to find this on the internet: "State Express 555 was launched in 1895 and is one of British American Tobacco's best-selling discount cigarettes. Now sold in more than 55 countries, the brand is particularly popular with smokers in China, Taiwan, Bangladesh and Vietnam" ... which suggests that the answer can't really be right. I asked David Frith, the eminent cricket historian, if he knew of any connection, and he said: "I have a feeling the 555 brand was already in existence, but the two Yorkies were sent lots of packets as a PR stunt. Herbert [Sutcliffe] certainly was a heavy smoker."
Where does Bangladesh's total of 284 against West Indies at Kingston rate among the highest Test totals not to include a half-century? asked Jeremy Gilling from Sydney
It actually comes in fourth on the list. The highest Test total that didn't include an individual half-century is 315, by England against West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1985-86, when the highest individual score was David Gower's 47 (there were 59 extras, though). That beat the old record of 302, set by South Africa against New Zealand at Wellington in 1963-64 - nine people passed 20, but the highest score was Peter van der Merwe's 44. The only other instance higher than Bangladesh's 284 at Kingston recently (when the highest score was Tapash Baisya's 48), was India's 296 for 8 declared against New Zealand at Cuttack in 1995-96. The top-score that time was 45, by Nayan Mongia (who was not out) and Ajay Jadeja.
There's an afterthought to one of last week's questions, from Richard Olive in Melbourne
"I was interested to read your answer linking John Newcombe and Warren Bardsley as nephew and uncle. Now I'm very hesitant to cast doubt on any of your marvellous answers, but I do struggle to accept this one. I guess it's possible, but their birthdates are 61 years apart (Dec 6, 1882 and May 23, 1944), so it seems rather unlikely. Maybe he was a great-uncle?"
You set me thinking, because that does seem like a big time gap. The trouble was that since I originally answered that question two or three years ago, I couldn't remember the source of the information! However, I have found, in a book called Cricket Extras (1993), this statement: "Tennis champion John Newcombe is a nephew of former Australian Test batsman Warren Bardsley." On Top Down Under, Ray Robinson's acclaimed history of Australian Test captains, doesn't mention it - although it does reveal that Bardsley didn't marry until he was 62, which might help explain the age gap. But Newcombe's own autobiography Newk, which was published last year, presumably nails the issue: "My mum, Lilian, whose cousin was the Test cricketer Warren Bardsley ..." I think that actually makes Bardsley Newcombe's cousin once removed, rather than his uncle, but the generation game seems to be right.
Steven Lynch is editor of Wisden Cricinfo. For some of these answers he was helped by Travis Basevi, the man who built Stats Guru and the Wisden Wizard. If you want to Ask Steven a question, e-mail him at asksteven@cricinfo.com. The most interesting questions will be answered each week in this column. Unfortunately, we can't usually enter into correspondence about individual queries.