Also: the most runs and wickets after 30 Tests, and when England’s batting and bowling record-holders played together
Steven Lynch28-Jul-2015Was the 501 partnership between Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Price the other day the highest in which neither man reached 300? asked Terry Farmer from England
Alviro Petersen and Ashwell Prince put on 501 for Lancashire’s third wicket against Glamorgan in Colwyn Bay, only the 13th stand of 500 or more in first-class history. And you’re right: it was the first one in which neither batsman reached 300 – Petersen was out for 286 and Prince for 261, both career-bests. The previous-highest stand without a triple-century is the next one down, the 494 of Marshall Ayub (289) and Mehrab Hossain (218) for Bangladesh’s Central Zone against East Zone in Bogra in 2012-13.Have Australia ever beaten England by more runs than they did at Lord’s? asked Kelvin Hardie from Australia
Australia have had two bigger victories over England by runs – but one of them was also at the Home of Cricket, when Don Bradman’s Invincibles sailed to victory by 409 runs at Lord’s in 1948. Bradman also had a hand in England’s biggest runs defeat, scoring 244 – and putting on 451 with Bill Ponsford, who made 266 – at The Oval in 1934, when Australia ended up winning by 562 runs. England also lost by 425 runs to West Indies at Old Trafford in 1976. But England can take some comfort in that the biggest victory by runs in all Test cricket was by them, in an Ashes Test in 1928-29. At Brisbane, in the match in which Bradman made his debut, England won by the little matter of 675 runs.Was Steven Smith’s 273 runs in the Test at Lord’s the most by a visiting batsman? asked Nikila Trikha from India
Steven Smith’s scintillating double of 215 and 58 in the second Test at Lord’s did give him the record for a visiting batsman at Lord’s, which was previously Graeme Smith’s 259 (in one innings) for South Africa against England in 2003. Next comes India’s Vinoo Mankad, who made 256 runs in 1952 – he scored 72 and 184, and in between took 5 for 196 in 73 overs! Don Bradman made 255 runs (254 and 1) for Australia in 1930. Graham Gooch still holds the overall Lord’s record with 456 runs (333 and 123), for England against India there in 1990 (this is the Test record for any ground). In third place at Lord’s is England’s Jonathan Trott, with 262 runs (226 and 36 not out) against Bangladesh in 2010.In elite company: Steven Smith sits behind Don Bradman and Everton Weekes for the most runs after 30 Tests•Getty ImagesEarlier this season I watched James Harris take 9 for 34 at Lord’s. Were these the best figures for Middlesex there? asked Matt Ballard from England
James Harris’ 9 for 34 against Durham earlier this season in May were the second-best figures in any County Championship match at Lord’s, after the former England captain Gubby Allen’s 10 for 40 against Lancashire there in 1929. That was a remarkable performance – “a truly exhilarating exhibition of fast bowling” according to the Times – not least because Allen, an amateur, arrived late for the match: he took the field at ten to twelve on the first day, as he’d been working in the morning. There have been at least 13 better analyses in other first-class matches at Lord’s, all but one (in 1906) from the 19th century. There have been six better analyses than Harris’ for Middlesex: Allen still leads the way, then come Albert Trott (10 for 42 v Somerset at Taunton in 1900), Richard Johnson (10 for 45 at Derby in 1994), George Burton (10 for 59 v Surrey at The Oval in 1888), the amateur VE Walker (10 for 104 v Lancashire at Old Trafford in 1865) and Jack Hearne (9 for 32 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1891). Harris just elbowed out his team-mate Steven Finn, who took 9 for 37 at Worcester in 2010.How many batsmen had more runs after 30 Tests than Steven Smith’s 2926? asked Steve Austin from Australia
Only two batsmen have made more runs in their first 30 Tests than Steven Smith. Top of the list, almost inevitably, is Don Bradman – after his 30th Test the Don had scored 3969 runs at 92.30. In second place, but over 1000 runs behind, is the West Indian Everton Weekes: he made 2938 at 61.21 in his first 30 Tests. Smith comes next, with 2926 at 58.52, ahead of Neil Harvey (2924 at 60.92), Kevin Pietersen (2898 at 52.69), and Brian Lara (2869 at 58.55). The most wickets after 30 Tests is 169, by Waqar Younis – although England’s Sydney Barnes took 189, in a career of just 27 matches.Currently Alastair Cook and James Anderson are England’s leading Test run-scorer and wicket-taker respectively. When was the last time the two English record-holders played together? asked Simon Dowland from England
Alastair Cook passed Graham Gooch’s old record of 8900 Test runs for England during the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley in May, about six weeks after James Anderson eased past Ian Botham’s 383 wickets during the first Test against West Indies in Antigua. Gooch and Botham played a fair bit together, but never while both held these particular records: it wasn’t till towards the end of his career, which lasted till 1994-95, that Gooch passed Geoff Boycott (8114) and David Gower (8231). There were some near-misses during the 1980s – Botham didn’t pass Bob Willis (325) until three years after Boycott’s final Test, then Gower didn’t overhaul Boycott until Botham had finished. And it turns out, rather surprisingly, that England’s top run-scorer and wicket-taker hadn’t played together for more than a century before 2015: the last time was in South Africa in 1913-14, when Jack Hobbs appeared alongside Sydney Barnes. Both of them had claimed their respective records – Hobbs from his Surrey team-mate Tom Hayward, and Barnes from Johnny Briggs – during the Triangular Tournament in England in 1912.
