2nd July, 2002

Name: Sukand
Question: I believe Sachin's record against England in England is very weak compared to his other exploits? What is his ODI and Test record in England (excluding the Diana memorial first class and the Kenya World Cup ODI)?

Answer1: Tendulkar has a Test-excellent record in England. However, his ODI record in England in spite his 140 against Kenya in the 1999 World Cup has not been good as per his high standards. Please see his Test and ODI record below:

M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0
6	10	1	673	177	74.78	3	2	0

M	Inn	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	Sr	100	50	0
12	12	1	340	140*	30.91	86.96	1	0	1

Name: Ankur Jain
Question: 1. Who has taken the maximum number of wickets in a single session of play in Test cricket? 2. Has the session's length always been two hours or was it longer/shorter previously?

Answer2: The maximum wickets to fall in a session was when 18 wickets fell before lunch on the second day at Manchester on 31 August 1988 in the Test match between England and Australia. The session's length has varied from 180 minutes to 90 minutes. It was only in the last few decades the session has been standardised to 120 minutes.

Name: Rajesh K.V
Question: Which was the match that naturally concluded in the lowest number of overs -- ignore any sort of interruption like rain, bad light etc -- among the first nine Test- playing nations (England to Zimbabwe) ?

Answer3: The shortest completed match in terms of least overs bowled was the one between Australia and South Africa at Melbourne in February 1932. The match lasted just 109.2 overs and was completed in just 5 hours 53 minutes.

Name: Sadanand
Question: I have a question about centuries by Sachin Tendulkar. Can you please send me the number of balls taken by Sachin Tendulkar to go from 80 to 100? I want this data for all the centuries scored by Sachin Tendulkar. My friend says that Tendulkar slows down and does not score at a fast rate after 80 runs because he is more interested in scoring the century. Thank you very much.

Answer4: I am sorry I do not have the figures on Tendulkar's balls taken from score of 80 to 100. However, from whatever data that is available with me, it does seem he does slows down while nearing his hundred. But this does not mean that he is only interested in scoring his hundred. And, moreover, scoring a hundred means more runs for his team.

Name: Rakesh
Question: Is it mandatory for players to wear white clothing for Test matches or is it just a tradition? Also, is it mandatory for a batsman to always play with pads, gloves and shoes?

Answer5: Although it started as a tradition, it is now mandatory for players to wear white clothing for Test matches. Moreover, to protect the batsman from the hard ball he has to wear pads, gloves and shoes. But now all these form a part of the batsman's attire.

Name: Kiran D. Suryanarayan
Question: In the recent Port-of-Spain Test between India and the West Indies, opener Chris Gayle was allowed to retire from batting when he complained of his chest/heart problem, and was allowed to resume his innings later on. Is this not a violation of the rules of the game? It is very clear that a cricketer cannot carry an injury into a newly-played Test match/ODI and still use it as an excuse for retiring. I remember a couple of occasions when Hanif Mohammad and Gordon Greenidge carried previously occurred injuries into Tests and were not allowed runners. Can you clarify? Why did not Ganguly raise an issue about Chris Gayle?

Answer6: Chris Gayle, who has a heart problem, did not retire from batting because of an injury. He had to do so because he had developed cramps, while batting. He did not carry an injury into the Test match.

Name: Ranga
Question: Mr. Menon, what is the ODI and Test record for the maximum number of wickets taken in a 6-ball or 8-ball over? How about in a first-class match?

Answer7: ODIs: Four wickets in an over by Saqlain Mushtaq v Zimbabwe at Peshawar on 3-11-1996 Tests: Four wickets in an over by six bowlers each (MJC Allom in 1929-30, K Cranston in 1947, FJ Titmus 1965, CM Old in 1978, Wasim Akram in 1990-91 and AR Caddick in 2000. First-class: No bowler has ever taken all six wickets during a six-ball over. However, there have been few instances of bowlers taking five wickets in an over.

Name: Arunava Majumdar
Question: I have seen one Sri Lankan cricket fan who used to travel along with the national team. I have also heard that he used to be sponsored for that. Can you please let us know his name and is there any such instances of similar kind?

Answer8: The Sri Lankan cricket fan is Percy Abeysekara. During the 1999 World Cup, he travelled with the Sri Lankan team thanks to a local sponsor. Percy is one of his kind, and not many teams can boast of having a fan such as Percy, who is perhaps the only cricket fan who is allowed onto the Sri Lankan cricket grounds. Even in other countries such as the West Indies there used to be a character (now retired) called "Garvy" who used to attend international matches, wearing bizzare costumes on each day. England has a band of followers called the Barmy Army, while there is another one from the West Indies called the Trini Posse. Then there is this elderly supporter from Pakistan called "chacha", who also attends most international matches where Pakistan is involved.

Name: S Shanker
Question: A friend of mine was mentioning to me that Geoff Hurst, who played in the 1966 football World Cup for England, was also a cricketer. Is this true?

Answer9: Yes, it is true. Geoff Hurst who scored a hat-trick for England in the final of the 1966 World Cup against West Germany has the distinction of appearing in one first-class match for Essex in 1962. He was a lower order right-hand batsman and wicketkeeper. He was also considered a brilliant fieldsman.

Name: Ramanan Moorthy
Question: How many times on an average, per match, Indian fielders miss out wickets for not getting direct hits to the wickets? This also could add to the difficult catches dropped. Among these wickets, how many of them are top and middle order wickets that are missed?

Answer10: I haven't kept the exact tally of your requirements. But I agree with your comments -- our players do miss out on many direct run-outs and are unable to convert half chances. And all these makes the difference in winning and losing.

Mail Cricket Editor