Also: Has anyone lost more Tests at an overseas venue than Tendulkar has at the MCG?
Steven Lynch21-Jan-2020Marnus Labuschagne did not bat, bowl or take a catch in his first one-day international – yet Australia won it by ten wickets. Has anyone else managed this feat? asked Andrew Balding from Australia
I was quite surprised to discover that Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, against India in Mumbai last week, became the 37th player to finish on the winning side in his first one-day international without batting, bowling or taking a catch. The list is headed by none other than Viv Richards, who had a quiet time for West Indies against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford during the first World Cup in 1975. The list also includes Jeremy Coney, Mark Waugh, Jonty Rhodes, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mushfiqur Rahim.Only one of the other 36 instances, though, ended in a ten-wicket win (Richards’ was by nine, as were four of the others). By a remarkable coincidence, the man concerned in that one – South Africa’s Martin van Jaarsveld – was, like Labuschagne, born in Klerksdorp, about 100 miles from Johannesburg. In van Jaarsveld’s first ODI, in Benoni in 2002-03, South Africa beat Bangladesh by ten wickets. He did, however, effect a run-out in Bangladesh’s innings.For the full list of the players who finished on the winning side in their first ODI without batting, bowling or taking a catch, click here.Mark Wood hit five sixes in the third Test, but scored only 12 other runs. Was this the lowest Test score to include five sixes? asked William Green from England
Rather surprisingly perhaps, Mark Wood’s 42 for England in Port Elizabeth last week comes in only third on this particular list. The record was set just two months ago, also against South Africa: Umesh Yadav clouted five sixes in Ranchi, but was out for 31 (from just ten balls). Two months before that, Kemar Roach belted five sixes in a defiant 38 for West Indies against India in Antigua.Umesh Yadav smashed five sixes in his 10-ball 31 against South Africa in Ranchi last year•BCCIThe recent ODI at Rajkot featured nearly 650 runs but no individual hundreds – was this a record? And what would be the equivalent record without a half-century? asked V Siddhesh from India
The match aggregate of 644 runs in last week’s one-day international in Rajkot, in which Shikhar Dhawan and Steve Smith both fell just short of centuries, stands fourth on this particular list. Top is the 656 runs in the match between South Africa (326 for 3) and Australia (330 for 7) in Port Elizabeth in 2001-02, when the highest individual score was Ricky Ponting’s 92 (Darren Lehmann made 91).The others to shade the Rajkot game were India (329 for 7) v England (320 for 8) in Bristol in 2007 (649 runs, including 99 by Sachin Tendulkar), and England (351 for 9) v Pakistan (297) at Headingley in 2019 (648; Sarfraz Ahmed 97). In all, there have now been 23 ODIs that featured 600 or more runs but no individual centuries.The most runs in an ODI without a half-century is 468, by England (243) and West Indies (225) in Chennai during the 2011 World Cup, when the highest individual score was 49 by Andre Russell.Sachin Tendulkar lost five Test matches at the MCG. Is this the highest number of defeats for a player at one venue overseas? asked Nirad from India
Sachin Tendulkar is one of 11 players who have had the misfortune to lose five Tests at a single overseas venue. The England pair of Jack Hobbs and Tom Hayward also lost five in Melbourne, while Willie Bates, Johnny Briggs, Wilfred Rhodes, Herbert Strudwick and Frank Woolley (all England) lost five in Sydney, as did South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, whose tally includes the Super Series Test for the World XI at the SCG in 2005. Two early Australians, Jack Blackham and Syd Gregory, finished on the losing side five times at The Oval.But the great Surrey and England opener Jack Hobbs leads the way here, as he lost six Tests in Sydney – in 1907-08 and 1911-12, and twice each in 1920-21 and 1924-25. Hobbs did, however, finish on the winning side five times in Melbourne – a record matched for overseas Tests only by Johnny Briggs, with five wins for England in Sydney. It should be pointed out that Ashes tours down under until the late 1920s usually included two matches in both Sydney and Melbourne.Following on from last week’s question about the most balls faced by a batsman in a T20 match, what’s the record for a one-day international? Has anyone faced more than Rohit Sharma’s 173? asked Ninad Parab from Canada
Rohit Sharma faced 173 balls in making his ODI-record 264 for India against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in November 2014. That was the longest innings in a 50-over ODI, beating the previous record by one – Ashish Bagai made 137 not out from 172 balls for Canada against Scotland in Nairobi in 2006-07.However, there were four longer innings (and another of 173 balls) in the days when an ODI innings lasted 60 overs rather than 50. On the opening day of the inaugural World Cup, in 1975, Glenn Turner batted for 201 balls in making 171 not out for New Zealand against East Africa at Edgbaston. Turner also lies second on this list, with 114 not out from 177 balls a week later, against India at Old Trafford. For the full list, click here.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions