And what has been the lowest match aggregate by a player while still top scoring for his team in a Test?
Steven Lynch20-Dec-2022Harry Brook has scored three centuries in his first six Test innings. How many others have done this? asked Brian Robinson from England
England’s new batting star Harry Brook is only the fifth player – and the first Englishman – to have scored three hundreds in his first six Test innings. Mohammad Azharuddin leads the way: he made three centuries in his first four innings (he’s the only man to score hundreds in his first three Tests). Azhar’s fourth hundred came in his 25th Test innings for India.George Headley of West Indies, Arthur Morris of Australia and India’s Vinod Kambli all had three centuries after six innings. Sunil Gavaskar had two after six innings, but then made two hundreds in his next Test to have four in eight. Neil Harvey of Australia and the West Indian opener Conrad Hunte also scored three centuries in their first seven Test innings.Tagenarine Chanderpaul top-scored in both innings in Adelaide with an aggregate of only 64 runs. Is this the lowest number for a player top-scoring in both innings of a Test? asked Sharan Samarawickrama on Facebook
Tagenarine Chanderpaul, in only his second Test, was indeed West Indies’ top scorer in both innings of their heavy defeat in Adelaide earlier this month. Rather surprisingly perhaps, his match aggregate of 64 runs – 47 and 17 – comes in only joint ninth on this particular list (considering only matches in which a team was bowled out twice). On top is Frank Hearne, who top-scored with 24 and 23 for South Africa against England in Cape Town in 1891-92.Four of the top eight date from the 19th century, and another from 1903-04 (Reginald “Tip” Foster with 18 and 30 for England vs Australia in Melbourne). The three more recent instances were by Sunil Gavaskar (39 and 24 for India vs England in Madras in 1976-77), Nick Knight (26 and 34 for England vs West Indies at Edgbaston in 2000), and R Ashwin (29 and 33 not out from No. 8 for India vs England at Lord’s in 2018).Arjun Tendulkar recently emulated his famous father by scoring a century on first-class debut. Have any other father-and-son pairings done this? asked Mahesh Bhandari from India
Arjun Tendulkar, batting at No. 7 for Goa, scored 120 on his first-class debut last week against Rajasthan in a Ranji Trophy match in Porvorim. Back in 1988-89, the 15-year-old Sachin Tendulkar started his career with 100 not out against Gujarat at the Wankhede Stadium in Bombay (now Mumbai).Three other fathers and sons have started their first-class careers with centuries – and it’s largely an Indian specialty. Babubhai Patel scored 131 (after a duck in the first innings) for Bombay against Western India in Poona in 1935-36, and his son Yogendra Patel hit 101 not out for Mysore vs Hyderabad in Secunderabad in 1961-62.The Indian Test opener Pankaj Roy made 112 not out on his first-class debut, aged 17, for Bengal against United Provinces in Calcutta in 1946-47, while his son Pranab Roy – also a Test opener – hit 104 in his first match for Bengal, against Assam in Dibrugarh in 1978-79.And two more Test players – one for India, the other for Pakistan – produced the other instance. Jahangir Khan made 108 for Muslims against Hindus in Lahore in 1928-29, and his son Majid Khan hit 111 not out for Lahore B against Khairpur in Lahore in 1961-62. Both were in their teens when they made their debuts; Majid was only 15 at the time, and had earlier taken 6 for 67. Majid’s son Bazid Khan, also a Test player, couldn’t continue the sequence: he was out for 13 in the only innings of his debut, for Lahore in 1997-98.Holly Colvin was not yet 16 when she made her debut for England•Chris Ison/PA Photos/Getty ImagesRehan Ahmed became the youngest man to play a Test for England in Karachi. But which woman was younger when she made her England Test debut? asked Lucia Lagunas Reyes from the Netherlands
You’re right that the Leicestershire legspinner Rehan Ahmed became England’s youngest Test cricketer in the third Test against Pakistan in Karachi last weekend; at 18 years 126 days, he was 23 days younger than Brian Close, the only other 18-year-old to play for England, against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1949.Several female players have been younger when they played their first Tests for England. The youngest of all was slow left-armer Holly Colvin, who was a month short of her 16th birthday when she played against Australia in Hove in 2005. Charlotte Edwards was 16 in her first Test, against New Zealand in Guildford in 1996, while Sarah Taylor (in 2006), Isa Guha (2002), Laura Harper (2001), Lydia Greenway (2002-03) and Sarah Collyer (1998) were all 17. For the overall list of the youngest players in women’s Tests, which is headed by a 12-year-old from Pakistan, click here.Regarding last week’s question about the longest gaps between a player’s first one-day international and his Test debut, what’s the record the other way round – longest wait after Test debut before first ODI? asked Michael Hutton from England
The leaders here date from the era before one-day internationals. Top of the list is Brian Close, who made his Test debut in 1949 (as we’ve seen above, he was England’s youngest Test player until last weekend), and captained England in three one-day internationals in 1972, some 23 years later. The Worcestershire left-arm spinner Norman Gifford made his Test debut in 1964, and almost 21 years later was a rather surprising choice as England’s captain when some senior players were rested for a one-day tournament in Sharjah in March 1985.Bob Simpson made his Test debut for Australia in December 1957, and played his first ODI over 20 years later in February 1978. The England offspinner Fred Titmus won his first Test cap in June 1955, and played his first ODI in March 1975. And the great Garry Sobers made his Test debut at 17 in March 1954, and played what turned out to be his only one-day international 19.5 years later, against England at Headingley in 1973.Of people whose Test debut came during the time ODIs were being played, the longest wait is by the New Zealand fast bowler Kerry Walmsley, who won his first Test cap in March 1995 and played his first ODI more than eight and a half years later in November 2003. That’s unless you count John Traicos, who made his Test debut for South Africa in February 1970 (about a year before the inaugural one-day international), and played his first ODIs more than 13 years later, for Zimbabwe, during the 1983 World Cup. I could have made it clearer last week that I was talking about ODI debut then first Test, so apologies if anyone was confused by that.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
