11th June, 2002

Name: Vinay Kumars
Question: I have a question about general cricket rules. What is the purpose of having a 12th man in a Test or ODI? Can he bowl and bat if in case some regular player gets hurt? I understand that he can field, if he can, then can he be a wicket keeper (Just wondering that might solve India's problem of having one extra batsman in middle order). What is the maximum contribution ever made by a 12th man for any team?

Answer1: The present Law does not permit any 12th man (substitute) to bat or bowl. He can only field but cannot keep wickets. However, with the consent of the opposing captain, substitutes are sometimes allowed to keep wickets.

Name: Sivakumar
Question: I am a great fan of The Great West Indian team of the 70's and 80's. Is it possible for you to find out in how many matches did the veterans Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Jeff Dujon, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Michael Holding and Roberts play together and how many of these matches ended in victories for their team? In my opinion these players formed the core of that champion team. Wanted to double check if I was right.

Answer2: I agree that the nine players you have mentioned above, formed the core of the all-conquering West Indian team in the 80s. Interestingly in only four matches (all against India in 1983 at home) all the above mentioned nine players appeared together. The details of the four Test matches are as follows:

Test	Start date	End date	Countries	Venue	Result
1	23rd Feb 1983	28th Feb 1983	WI v Ind	Kingston	WI 4 wickets
2	11th Mar 1983	16th Mar 1983	WI v Ind	Port-of-Spain	drawn
3	31st Mar 1983	5th Apr 1983	WI v Ind	Georgetown	drawn
4	15th Apr 1983	20th Apr 1983	WI v Ind	Bridgetown	WI 10 wicket

Name: P G Thyagaraj
Question: Hi sir, If the play is delayed by reasonably long time (like what happened in recent 4thODI: India vs West Indies) after toss, is there any rule to have toss afresh.

Answer: There is no such Law regarding the toss.

If the match begins late on the same day (as it happened in the recent one-dayer in the West Indies) after a delayed start then the toss which took place much earlier will stand.

However if the match is called off for the day without a ball being bowled then the captains will have to toss once again the next day, since this will be considered as a new match. However this rule will not apply in a three-plus day game. If in case, no play is possible, on the first day, after the toss, there will not be an another toss if play starts on the second day.

Name: Prema Shetty
Question: Who is the shortest player (male) to have played international cricket.

Answer3: Percy "Tich" Freeman, who appeared for Kent (from 1914 to 1936) and England (from 1924-25 to 1929; 12 Tests, 66 wickets) as a right arm leg-break bowler is believed to be the shortest ever international player. He was 5 feet 2 inches.

Name: Harish Kotian
Question: Can you tell me which Indian batsman holds the record for the highest score in an innings in a first class match abroad and how much did he score?

Answer4: Navjot Singh Sidhu's 286 for Indians against Jamaica at Kingston in 1988-89 is the highest score by an Indian in a first-class match abroad. It should also be noted that KS Duleepsinhji had scored 333 for Sussex against Northamptonshire at Hove in 1930. Howerver he never played in Tests for India.

Name: Nikhil
Question: Has any bowler bowled with both hands at first class or international level?

Answer5: No so such bowler could claim to have bowled consistently with both arms in international cricket.

Name: Binil
Question: Hi Mohan, I keep hearing about the Duckworth-Lewis (oh, did I spell it right? :) system time and again, but none of the commentators/columnist seem to explain what it actually is. My guess is it that it has some complicated mathematics involved. Is there any online resources where I can find more on this - maybe the whole methodology to use the system? Also do you know of the existing software products in this space? (I am hoping to gather support for writing a GPL licensed one, if one doesn't exist already).

Answer6: The Duckworth-Lewis software called CODA is available for about £ 30.00 from ASQM Consultancy Unit (D/L) Faculty of Computer Studies and Mathematics University of the West of England Frenchay Bristol BS16 1QY United Kingdom

Name: Yogesh Kalantre
Question: Hi Mr. Menon, There are a number of cricketing families from which both father and son have played Test cricket for their country. My question is: how many instances are there in Test cricket history where a father and more than one of his sons have played Test cricket? I can certainly remember 2 such instances. Hadlee family from New Zealand and Amarnath family from India. Are there any other such families? Also, are there any instances of players from three generations from a single family have played Test cricket? Please give career statistics of all the involved players. Thanks.

Answer7: There have been only two cases of the father and two sons playing Test matches - the Amarnaths and Hadlees, as mentioned by you above.

The only instance of three generations from a single family playing cricket in Tests:
George Headley for West Indies - 22 Tests from 1929-30 - 2190 runs (avg. 60.83). his son Ron Headley also appeared in two Tests in 1973 for the West Indies - scoring 62 runs (avg. 15.50). Ron's son and George's grandson, Dean Headley played 15 Tests for England as a medium fast bowler from 1997 to 1999. He claimed 60 wickets (avg. 27.85).

Name: Seetharaman
Question: Which batsman has the distinction of scoring the first Test double century?

Answer8: Australian Billy Murdoch made 211 against England at the Oval in 1884, the first ever 200 in Tests. Incidentally, Murdoch was captaining the side.

Name: Ranjit
Question: In cricket history, which batsman has been the most consistent over a 50 Test innings?

Answer9: Among Test batsmen with atleast 10 innings, New Zealand's left-handed all-rounder GE "Giff" Vivian from 1931 to 1937 had six scores (1 hundred + 5 fifties) over 50 in 7 matches and 10 innings.

This means his 50-plus scores frequency was 60% during his career. Australian Don Bradman had 52.50% - 42 50-plus scores (29 hundreds + 13 fifties) in 80 Test innings.

Name: Sharan Desai
Question: Which wicket-keeper has conceded maximum byes in a Test innings?

Answer10: England all-rounder Frank Woolley, then aged 47, deputising for regular keeper Leslie Ames against Australia at the Oval in 1934, conceded 37 byes.

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