20th June, 2002

Name: Gopal Das
Question: Dear Mr. Menon, in the second Test vs WI, April 19 to 23, 2002, India had a total of seven "ducks" in its two combined innings. India still won the Test match. Is seven ducks a dubious record for a winning team? What is the maximum number of "ducks" in two innings combined for a losing team in the cricket Test history? Which team has that honor?

Answer1: Yes.. India now holds the dubious world record of recording seven ducks in two innings and yet winning a Test match.

1b. for losing teams

0s	For	vs	Series	Venue
9	SL	Ind	1990-91	Chandigarh
9	WI	Aus	2000-01	Brisbane

Name: Rahul
Question: You cannot have a fielder standing exactly behind the bowlers end. Is there a written rule regarding this or just an understanding so as to not disturb the batsman. How close to the line of the wicket can the long-on player legally stand? Thanks

Answer2: There's nothing in the cricket Laws regarding the placement of fielders. However the fielder has to ensure that the batsman is not disturbed or obstructed in any manner. If a fielder is placed exactly behind the bowler then he will obstruct the batsman by standing in front of sight screen.

Name: Siraj Hasan
Question: Can a wicket keeper gather the ball that would be missing the stumps before it reaches the stumps on either side that has beaten the batsman or was left alone?

Answer3: The wicket-keeper cannot collect the ball in front of the stumps, he can only do so after it has crossed the stumps on either side.

Name: Kannan
Question: Shiv Sunder Das after having 5 failures in West Indies have been selected for England tour. Is there any opener like him who got such chances even after failing in 5 Tests? Can you brief me with statistics if any opener was selected like that?

Answer4: I can trace one such instance when opener Pankaj Roy after making just 54 runs (avg 7.71), including 5 ducks in four Tests in England in 1952, was still a part of the Indian team in three Tests against Pakistan at home in 1952-53, where he failed once again by aggregating just 76 runs (avg. 19.00).

Inspite of these scores Roy was selected to tour West Indies in 1953. During this tour he made 383 runs (avg. 47.88) including a 150 at Kingston.

Name: Rajesh
Question: Who is the most successful fast bowling captain in Tests and ODIs?

Answer5: In Tests, Pakistani captain Imran Khan has the best record not only for a pace bowler but for any bowler - 187 wickets (avg. 20.27) in 48 Tests as captain.

In ODIs the record is held by another Pakistani Wasim Akram - 158 wickets (avg. 22.63) in 109 matches as captain.

Name: Marutheesh Bellary
Question: Hi, is there an instance in Test or one day games where a man of the match award was presented to a wicket keeper for wicket keeping but not for batting?

Answer6: Sri Lankan keeper Guy deAlwis won the man of the match award for taking a then world record of five catches against Australia at Colombo on 13-4-1983 in an ODI match. He had scored just six runs in the match.

Name: Mejo
Question: Hi, what would happen if a ball bounces twice before it reaches to the batsman? Will that be a legal delivery? Did it happen any time in international cricket?

Answer7: As per Law 24.6 - an umpire can call a no-ball to a delivery that he considers has bounced more than twice or that has rolled along the ground. However the umpire can sometimes also call it a dead ball.

Name: Ravi Kumar
Question: We have seen some wicket keepers bowl at odd times when nothing is happening. Has any wicket keeper picked up a wicket in ODI's or Tests being asked to bowl while keeping?

Answer8: It is very rare in the ODIs for wicket-keepers to bowl, although there have been a couple of instances of keepers bowling.

So no keeper has captured any wickets as a bowler in ODIs.

However in Test cricket there are several instances of keepers bowling. Recently Indian keeper Ajay Ratra had also bowled one over against the West Indies at St John's, but was not successful in capturing a wicket.

Incidentally, the best Test bowling performance by a keeper came from England's Alfred Lyttelton who took 4-19 in 12 overs against Australia at the Oval in 1884.

Name: Mahesh Naik
Question: Mr. Menon, is there a difference in weight or size between the white balls used for day/night cricket and the red balls? If yes, what is that difference? Is 5 1/4 ounce a standard weight?

Answer9: There is no difference in weight or size between the white balls and the red balls, except for its colour.

Name: Mahesh Naik
Question: Mr. Menon, after your answer to my question about NO BALL on May 21st, I had asked one more clarification ? Please provide answer to my question.

You wrote " Bowlers front foot must land behind the popping crease ", but behind popping crease means anywhere, it could be 10 feet behind popping crease.

So the question is, can it be behind the bowling crease, that is the line on which the stumps are?

Amswer 10: Pls refer to Law 24.5 - FAIR DELIVERY - THE FEET
The umpire at the bowler's wicket shall call and signal "no ball" if he is not satisfied that in the delivery stride :-
(a) the bowler's back foot landed within and not touching the return crease or its forward extension or
(b) some part of the front foot whether grounded or raised was behind the popping crease.

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