10th May, 2002

Name: Tejas Brahmbhatt, MD
Question: I am really disappointed with S S Das's batting. Do you have any statistics on him, regarding his performance against quality teams? I think he scores good runs against poor teams and strengthens his average. I think India needs solid opening players, like Dinesh Mongia and Virender Sehwag to open the innings, even though they are not regular openers. At least they will be better than Das and Bangar.

Answer 1: Das's Test career performance against each team (updated at the end of the Bridgetown Test)

Country	M	I	NO	Runs	HS1	HS2	HS3	Ave	100	50	0
Australia	3	6	-	173	84	39	20	28.83	-	1	-
England	3	4	-	129	58	41	28	32.25	-	1	-
South Africa	2	4	-	72	62	9	1	18.00	-	1	1
Sri Lanka	3	6	-	217	68	59	40	36.17	-	2	-
West Indies	3	5	-	78	35	33	10	15.60	-	-	2
Zimbabwe	6	10	1	560	110	105	82*	62.22	2	4	-
Bangladesh	1	2	1	51	29	22*	-	51.00	-	-	-
TOTAL	21	37	2	1280	110	105	84	36.57	2	9	3

Name: Arvind
Question: Mohan, The Pak-NZ first Test was incredible, at least for one stat. NZ scored 73 and 246 = 319. Inzamam scored 329, outscoring single-handedly the entire NZ total in two innings. Is this the first time this has happened in Tests? I know this has happened in ODIs, most famously, when Viv Richards scored his 181 against Lanka in the 1987 World Cup.

Answer 2: Inzamam's feat of out-scoring the opponent's scores in both innings has been achieved on two other occasions, which are listed below:

It should, however, be noted that this feat has also been achieved by England opener Len Hutton, when he made 364 against Australia (201 and 123 = 324) at The Oval in 1938. However, Australia had lost only 16 wickets since both Don Bradman and Jack Fingleton were absent hurt and as such could not bat in either innings.

Name: Prahalad
Question: Hello, Mr Mohan. I wanted to know what exactly is deemed as 'bowling action'. If say, Shane Warne delivers a googly, is he bowling that with a different 'bowling action', compared to his leg spinners? In other words, how a bowler releases the ball, is that also part of the bowling action? Thanks

Answer 3: As you rigthly say, bowling action is the style which a bowler delivers the ball, and this style varies for each bowler. For example, both Shane Warne and Anil Kumble are leg-spinners but their delivery styles vary. So, too, for Murlitharan and Harbhajan - both off-spinners. So bowling action means the bowler's style of delivery and not what kind of balls he delivers.

Name: Wilfred
Question: 1.How many Indian players scored double centuries in away matches? 2. How many Indian bowlers got 10 wickets in away matches?

Answer 4: Indian batsmen have scored double centuries on foreign soil; Gavaskar being the only one to do so twice.

Batsman	Runs	For	vs	Inn	Test	Series	Venue
SM Gavaskar	221	Ind	Eng	2nd	4th	1979	The Oval
SM Gavaskar	220	Ind	WI	2nd	5th	1970-71	Port-of-Spain
SV Manjrekar	218	Ind	Pak	1st	3rd	1989-90	Lahore
DN Sardesai	212	Ind	WI	1st	1st	1970-71	Kingston
RJ Shastri	206	Ind	Aus	1st	3rd	1991-92	Sydney
NS Sidhu	201	Ind	WI	1st	2nd	1996-97	Port-of-Spain

The following Indian bowlers have captured 10 or more wickets in away Tests.

Bowler	Wkts	Runs	For	vs	Test	Series	1st	2nd	Venue
BS Chandrasekhar	12	104	Ind	Aus	3rd	1977-78	6/52	6/52	MCG
EAS Prasanna	11	140	Ind	NZ	1st	1975-76	3/64	8/76	Auckland
BKV Prasad	10	153	Ind	SA	1st	1996-97	5/60	5/93	Kingsmead
Chetan Sharma	10	188	Ind	Eng	3rd	1986	4/130	6/58	Edgbaston
BS Bedi	10	194	Ind	Aus	2nd	1977-78	5/89	5/105	Perth

Name: Shielesh Damle
Question: Mr Menon, What is the record for highest runs scored in a day in First Class cricket? Is it 729, scored by the Australians against Essex in 1948?

Answer 5: The most runs in any day of first-class cricket is 721, by the Australians against Essex at Southchurch Park, in Southend-on-Sea, on the first day of tourists' three-day match. It took place on May 15, 1948, before a packed Saturday crowd. The visiting team took advantage of a fast pitch and a small ground to score these runs in 5 hours 48 minutes.

Name: Vikas Diwakar
Question: Recently, you pointed out Sachin's dissappointing record in the fourth innings of Tests. Have we ever won a Test with him scoring runs in the fourth innings?

Answer 6: Tendulkar's scores in the fourth innings, when India won a Test match:

Summary

M	Inns	No	Runs	Avg	HS
8	8	4	187	46.75	44*

Name: Ravi
Question: Dear Mr. Menon, This is not a statistics or rule-related question per se. Since I didn't know who to ask this, I am sending it to you in the hope that you can shed some light on it. Recently, Sachin has been dismissed LBW a lot. Is it due to some technical flaw that has crept into his game? In general, if a batsman is dismissed often in this fashion (LBW), is there something in his technique that he should be looking to correct? Thanks a lot. Regards.

Answer 7: Recently, former Indian skipper and TV commentator Sunil Gavaskar, in his daily newspaper column, pointed out to a serious flaw in Tendulkar's batting. According to Gavaskar, Tendulkar is moving back and across something he rarely used to do. By doing this he is opening his right shoulder a bit, thus bringing his bat down at an angle unlike the impeccably straight way it usually comes down. This is just a slight movement, but it is making him to play across the line and get rapped on the pads. The former opening batsman also suggested that once Tendulkar stays still and moves only after the ball is delivered he should be able to get rid of this flaw.

Name: Sreekanth
Question: What do rules say about this situation? During the course of a run, if the batsman knocks off the stumps and thus makes it impossible for the fielder to run him out, will he be called for obstruction of field?

Answer 8: If the umpire feels that the batsman has deliberately knocked the stumps in order to deprive the fielder to run him out, he can give the batsman out for obstructing the field. However, if it was an inadvertant action on the part of the batsman, he will be allowed to continue with his batting,

Name: Parag Kulkarni
Question: What is the maximum number of runs that can be scored by running between the wickets? Is there any rule regarding this? Is it restricted to four? If not, can you tell any example of it? Please provide the answer.

Answer 9: There is no law with regard to the number of runs a batsman can take, as long as the ball is within the field of play, The batsman along with the non-striker can take any number of runs, until such time the ball passes the boundary ropes.

Name: Anthony
Question: I wanted to check if a guy named Agnello Gomes has ever represented Bombay (Mumbai). If my memory serves me right, he debuted with Amre in 92-93. Can you give some statistics on this player? Thanks, Anthony.

Answer 10: No cricketer by the name of Agnello Gomes has played first-class cricket in India, let alone Bombay/Mumbai. However, the former left-handed batsman Hilary Angelo "Larry" Gomes appeared in 60 Tests from 1976 to 1987 and 83 ODIs from 1978 to 1987 for the West Indies.

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