England’s 427 in the recent Lord’s Test contained no partnership of more than 100. What’s the highest Test score without a century stand?
You’re right that England’s 427 in their first innings against Sri Lanka at Lord’s last month did not include a hundred partnership – the highest was 92 for the seventh wicket between century-makers Joe Root and Gus Atkinson.
Rather surprisingly, there have been as many as 43 higher Test totals that did not include a hundred partnership. Biggest of all was Australia’s 533 against West Indies in Adelaide in 1968-69, when the highest of six half-century partnerships was 93 for the fifth wicket between Doug Walters and Paul Sheahan. Also in Adelaide, in 1985-86, India made 520 against Australia with a biggest stand of 95 for the first wicket between Sunil Gavaskar and Kris Srikkanth. The only other total of 500-plus without a century partnership is England’s 515 against Pakistan at Headingley in 2006, when the most substantial stand was 86.
I read that Jimmy Anderson had 109 different team-mates in Tests. Is that the record? And what’s the most for ODIs? asked Andrew Lewington from Ireland
Jimmy Anderson comes in fourth – narrowly – on this particular list with 109. Graham Gooch had 113 team-mates for England, and Frank Woolley 111, while Sachin Tendulkar played alongside 110 others for India. Wally Hammond (106) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (105) also had more than 100 Test team-mates.
If you include opposition players as well, Tendulkar is well clear of the pack, having played with or against 492 different players. Chanderpaul comes next with 426, Jacques Kallis 417, Anderson 416, Muthiah Muralidaran 415, and Mahela Jayawardene 404.
The one-day international record is held by Chris Gayle, who had 128 team-mates, five more than Tendulkar and six more than Shahid Afridi. Tendulkar played with or against 743 different men in ODIs, Jayawardene 725, Jayasuriya 714 and Afridi 711. In T20 internationals, Shoaib Malik had 90 team-mates,Rohit Sharma 88 and Afridi 87.
How often have England won all their Tests in a home summer, as they threatened to do this year? asked David Johnstone from England
at The Oval ended England’s hopes of winning six Tests out of six in a home summer for the first time, although they did win all seven (three against New Zealand and four against West Indies) at home in 2004. They also won all five Tests they played at home in 1959, against India – England’s only clean sweep in a five-Test series.
Long ago, in less crowded summers, England won all three Tests played at home against Australia in 1886, and all three against West Indies in 1928. Those were West Indies’ first official Tests, and they lost all three by an innings.
Who made the highest score by a captain in ODIs? Is it Rohit Sharma? asked Maneck Gupta from India
Rohit Sharma did make an unbeaten 208 while captaining against Sri Lanka in Mohali in December 2017 – but the highest is actually by another Indian, Virender Sehwag, who smashed 219 against West Indies in Indore in December 2011. The first non-Indian is Sanath Jayasuriya, with 189 as captain for Sri Lanka against India in Sharjah in October 2000.
In Tests and T20Is, the highest score by a captain is also the highest score overall: Brian Lara’s 400 not out for West Indies against England in Antigua in 2003-04, and 172 not out by Aaron Finch for Australia vs Zimbabwe in Harare in July 2018.
Is Josh Hull the youngest and the tallest player to represent England in a Test? asked Keith D’Souza from Spain
England’s new fast bowler Josh Hull, who had played only ten first-class matches before his Test debut at The Oval, is 6ft 7in tall (200.6cm). The only taller player to represent England is another recent fast bowler. Steven Finn, at 6ft 8in (203cm).
Heights weren’t always routinely recorded in quite the detail they are now. But among other England players who were around the same height as Hull were two other fast bowlers in David Larter and Chris Tremlett, while Tony Greig was there or thereabouts. After he’d finished playing, I bumped into him in a press box somewhere, and cheekily asked how tall he was: “Six foot seven while I was playing. But I seem to have shrunk a bit – only about six-five now!”
As for age, Hull turned 20 on August 20, about a fortnight before his Test debut. Eight younger men have played for England in a Test. Youngest of all is Rehan Ahmed, who was 18 years 126 days old when he won his first cap against Pakistan in Karachi in 2022-23; Brian Close was 18 years 149 days old on debut against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1949. Six 19-year-olds have played for England: Jack Crawford (1905-06), Denis Compton (1937), Ben Hollioake (1997), Haseeb Hameed (2016-17), Ian Peebles (1927-28) and Sam Curran (2018). The tenth-youngest now is Hull’s team-mate Shoaib Bashir.
