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Rediff.com  » Cricket » Ask the Expert: Who has scored most 70s & 80s in Tests and ODIs?
This article was first published 12 years ago

Ask the Expert: Who has scored most 70s & 80s in Tests and ODIs?

Last updated on: November 1, 2011 09:14 IST

Image: Inzamam ul Haq

If you have a question relating to cricket and did not know who to ask, bounce them off to Rajneesh Gupta. Each week he will pick questions readers send him and provide answers. Your queries should be addressed to: Ask Rajneesh on Facebook or askrajneesh@rediffmail.com

Rajneesh's answers some questions he received from readers last week:

We all know who has scored maximum centuries and nineties in all formats of cricket. But could you please let me know who has scored the most 70s & 80s in Tests and ODIs? - Sudip Mukherjee

In Tests, West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul has most scores in 70s (19), followed by England's Alec Stewart (15) and Australia's Allan Border (13).

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Allan Border shares the record of most 80s in Tests with England's Mike Atherton, on 11 occasions. India's Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid and West Indies' Brian Lara have 10 such scores.

Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq has 21 scores in the 70s in ODIs -- most for any batsman. Dravid has 17 such scores, while Pakistan's Javed Miandad, Zimbabwe's Andy Flower and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara have 15 scores between 70 and 79.

South Africa's Jacques Kallis has maximum scores in the 80s in ODIs (19), followed by two Indians -- Sachin Tendulkar (18) and Sourav Ganguly (16).

When every batsman scored 50-plus runs?

Image: Lance Klusener
Are there instances in ODIs when every batsman who took guard scored 50-plus runs? Similarly, every bowler who bowled got at least two wickets? - Amit

There have been 19 occasions in ODIs when only two players batted in an innings and both of them reached 50. There are two instances when three players batted in one innings and all three scored a fifty.

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In the South Africa v Kenya game at Kimberley in October 2001, openers Boeta Dippenaar score an unbeaten 74, Herschelle Gibbs 70 and number three Lance Klusener an unbeaten 75.

In the West Indies v Australia game at St.George's in June 2003, Chris Gayle scored 60, Wavell Hinds an unbeaten 103 and Brian Lara an unbeaten 75.

There is only one instance when five bowlers bowled in an innings and took two wickets each. This happened recently, in the World Cup semi-final between India and Pakistan at Mohali, when Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh each took two wickets in Pakistan's innings.

Out 'Obstructing the field'

Image: Steven Waugh
Has anybody been declared out handled the ball and obstructing the field in Tests? If yes, please let us know the instances. Also, kindly give the one-day instances as well.  - Hanif Muhammed

Seven batsmen have been dismissed 'Handled the ball' in Test cricket. They are: South Africa's Russell Endean (v England,Cape Town, 1956-57), Australia's Andrew Hilditch (v Pakistan, Perth, 1978-79), Pakistan's Mohsin Khan (v Australia, Karachi, 1982-83), West Indies' Desmond Haynes (v India, Mumbai WS, 1983-84), England's Graham Gooch (v Australia, Manchester, 1993), Australia's Steve Waugh (v India, Chennai, 2000-01) and England's Michael Vaughan (v India, Bangalore, 2001-02).

The players to suffer this fate in ODIs are: India's Mohinder Amarnath (v Australia, Melbourne, 1985-86) and South Africa's Daryll Cullinan (v West Indies, Durban, 1998-99)

Only one player has been given out 'Obstructing the field' in Test cricket. England's Len Hutton suffered this fate against South Africa at the Oval in 1951. Hutton had scored 27 in England's second innings when a ball from Athol Rowan lifted abruptly and struck Hutton on the glove.

It ran up his arm and it appeared to him that it would fall on to his wicket. Hutton flicked the ball with his bat and missed it, but it fell neither on his stumps nor into Endean's gloves. The wicketkeeper had been obstructed and the South Africans rightly appealed and umpire Dai Davies signalled Hutton out.

Hutton did not willfully obstruct the wicketkeeper, but he had willfully waved his bat, an action that prevented the wicketkeeper from getting to the ball.

Pakistan's Rameez Raja (v England, Karachi, 1987-88), India's Mohinder Amarnath (v Sri Lanka, Ahmedabad, 1989-90) and Pakistan's Inzamam-ul-Haq (v India, Peshawar, 2005-06) have been dismissed in this mode in ODIs. Rameez was given out on 99 when looking for a second run off the final delivery off Pakistan's innings to reach his hundred.

Is there any batsman who has scored double century in both innings of a Test? - Abdul Mueed

This feat has yet not been achieved in Test cricket. The best performance came from Australia's Allan Border. Playing against Pakistan, at Lahore in 1979-80, Border scored an unbeaten 150 in the first innings and followed it up with 153 in the second.

When Sachin got to a hundred with a six

Image: Sachin Tendulkar

Name all the bowlers Sachin has hit for a six to bring up his centuries in Test cricket. - Aziz Sayed and Himanshu

Sachin has brought up his century with a six on six occasions -- more than any other batsman in Test chronicles. Here-under is the complete list:

Opponents

Bowler            

Venue        

Season     

West Indies

Courtney Walsh    

Nagpur       

1994-95

England

Min Patel         

Birmingham   

1996

New Zealand

Daniel Vettori

Wellington

1998-99

Australia

Colin Miller

Chennai      

2000-01

Australia

Nathan Hauritz

Bangalore

2010-11

South Africa

Morne Morkel

Cape Town

2010-11

 Can you name the Test players who scored highest career runs for each batting position from 1 to 11, also please give details of runs scored. - Lancy

 The following table lists the leading run scorers in Test cricket from # 1 to # 11: 

#

Batsman

Inns

Runs

Hs

Avg

100

50

1

SM Gavaskar (Ind)

186

8511

221

48.08

29

35

2

ML Hayden (Aus)

144

7351

380

55.27

28

22

3

R Dravid (Ind)

206

10011

270

53.82

27

47

4

SR Tendulkar (Ind)

244

12536

248

57.50

44

51

5

SR Waugh (Aus)

142

6754

200

56.28

24

29

6

SR Waugh (Aus)

79

3165

177

51.04

6

16

7

AC Gilchrist (Aus)

100

3948

204

46.44

12

18

8

DL Vettori (NZ)

66

2210

140

40.18

4

13

9

DL Vettori (NZ)

51

1075

137

23.88

1

4

10

Waqar Younis (Pak)

48

496

45

11.80

0

0

11

M Muralitharan (SL)

98

623

43

11.32

0

0

How many players have contributed in all fields?

Image: John Reid

How many players have scored runs with a decent average, had catches and run-outs as a fielder, took wickets as a bowler and also did wicketkeeping and got stumping and caught behinds. - Mr Infinity 

The recording of fielders effecting a run-out is a recent phenomenon and we don't have these details for matches from earlier era. If we remove this condition, we are left with nine players who have scored runs, taken catches in the field, have kept wickets, taken catches as a keeper, have effected stumpings and taken wickets.

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The complete list is as under. New Zealand's John Reid is the only player to have taken a five-wicket haul also (apart from fulfilling the other criteria).

 

Mts

Runs

Avg

Ct

St

Wkts

Avg

Aamer Malik (Pak)

14

565

35.31

15

1

1

89.00

RJ Christiani (WI)

22

896

26.35

19

2

3

36.00

AB de Villiers (SA)

66

4741

47.41

93

1

2

49.50

Javed Miandad (Pak)

124

8832

52.57

93

1

17

40.12

VL Manjrekar (Ind)

55

3208

39.12

19

2

1

44.00

JR Reid (NZ)

58

3428

33.28

43

1

85

33.35

JED Sealy (WI)

11

478

28.12

6

1

3

31.33

T Taibu (Zim)

26

1457

31.00

54

4

1

27.00

CL Walcott (WI)

44

3798

56.69

53

11

11

37.09


When a Test match lasted just 10 minutes!

Image: Chris Gayle and Andrew Strauss

Which is the shortest Test played till date in terms of overs bowled? - Ishan Krishna 

The shortest Test match was played between West Indies and England at North Sound in February 2009. The match lasted just 10 minutes as England made 7 for no loss in 1.4 overs.

The match was abandoned because the bowlers were unable to get any solid foothold in an overly sandy outfield.  The Test was moved to the old Antigua Recreation Ground that started two days later. For all statistical purposes these were treated as two different Tests. 

The shortest Test match that produced a result was played between Australia and South Africa at Melbourne in February 1932. The match lasted just 109.2 overs, as Australia thrashed South Africa by an innings and 72 runs.