Loads of questions arise in your mind regarding the game of cricket and its records. Our expert cricket statistician Rajneesh Gupta will answer your questions in this regular feature.
Here are a few questions answered:
Name: Dugesh Jha
Country: India
Question: Which cricket player has the most number of man of the match awards in one-day and Test cricket? Which cricket player has the most man of the series awards in one-day and Tests?
Rajneesh Gupta:
Before the start of fourth ODI between India and England
Most man of the match awards in ODIs: 57 by India's Sachin Tendulkar
Most man of the match awards in Tests: 20 by South Africa's Jacques Kallis
Most man of the series awards in ODIs: 13 by India's Sachin Tendulkar
Most man of the series awards in Tests: 11 by Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan
Name: Elamaran
Country: India
Question: I think Indian cricket player Margashayam Venkataramana has a unique record. He has played only one Test (against the West Indies in 1989) & one ODI (against New Zealand in 1988). He was not out both in the Test and ODI he played though he failed to score a run. Does any other cricket player have this unique record (Played only one Test and ODI; not out in both in Test & ODIs
Did not score a run)?
Rajneesh Gupta:
Very fascinating question indeed. 25 players have appeared in just one ODI and remained unbeaten. In Test cricket, 36 players have played just one Test and remained unbeaten -- 23 in only innings in which they batted and 13 in both the innings.
Venkataramana and Australia's Phil Emery are the only two players to feature in both ODI and Test lists. Since Emery scored 11 and 8 in his only ODI and Test innings respectively, Venkataramana is the only player to play only one Test and ODI and remain not out without scoring a run.
Name: ggg
Country: India
Question: How is the follow-on barrier calculated?
Rajneesh Gupta:
Law 13 deals with your query, which says that
a) In a two-innings match of five days or more, the side which bats first and leads by at least 200 runs shall have the option of requiring the other side to follow their innings.
b) The same option shall be available in two-innings matches of shorter duration with the minimum required leads as follows:
(i) 150 runs in a match of three or four days
(ii) 100 runs in a two-days match
(iii) 75 runs in a one-day match
If no play takes place on the first day of a match of more than one day's duration, the above shall apply in accordance with number of days remaining from the actual start of the match.
Name: Hemant
Country: India
Question: Who has been hit for max number of sixes in Test cricket.
Rajneesh Gupta:
It is not easy to answer this question as conventional scorecards don't give details of sixes hit off the bowlers. Ross Smith, an Australian cricket statistician, has done a lot of research on this subject. As per his figures, Australia's Shane Warne has been hit for maximum sixes -- 170, followed by Muttiah Muralitharan (158). Harbhajan Singh (111), Anil Kumble (109) and Daniel Vettori (102) are the other bowlers to concede 100 sixes off their bowling. Among the pacers Mkhaya Ntini (57) has suffered the most. These figures are updated upto 31st August 2008, but it is unlikely that there will be some change among the top-five.
Name: Satish
Country: India
Question: What is a chinaman?
Rajneesh Gupta:
A left-arm bowler's off-break to a right-handed batsman is termed as chinaman. The bowler uses the wrist to spin the ball so that when it pitches it turns from off to leg for a right-handed batsman, i.e. from left to right from the bowler's perspective - the direction of turn is the same as that of a conventional right-handed off-spinner.
Some chinaman bowlers occasionally bowl the mirror image of a leg-spinner's googly, which turns in the opposite way. In this instance the ball turns away from the batsman, as if the bowler were an orthodox left-arm spinner.
The chinaman style of bowling is very rare, as not only is it difficult to bowl accurately, but the turn into the right-handed batsman is seen as less dangerous than the turn away from the batsman generated by an orthodox left-arm spinner, so virtually all left-armers choose to bowl orthodox. On the other hand, the chinaman bowler does have some compensating advantages. He can impart more spin than the finger-spinner, generally yielding more turn and bounce.
Name: Seema
Country: UAE
Question: How many cricketers have scored a century in their 100th Test match?
Rajneesh Gupta:
A total of 46 players have appeared in 100 Tests six of them have scored a hundred in their 100th Tests with Australia's Ricky Ponting being the only one to have scored hundred in both innings of his 100th Test.
| Runs | Batsman | Opponent | Venue | Season |
| 104 | Colin Cowdrey (Eng) | v Australia | Birmingham | 1968 |
| 145 | Javed Miandad (Pak) | v India | Lahore | 1989-90 |
| 149 | Gordon Greenidge (WI) | v England | St.John's | 1989-90 |
| 105 | Alec Stewart (Eng) | v West Indies | Manchester | 2000 |
| 184 | Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pak) | v India | Bangalore | 2004-05 |
| 120 & 143* | Ricky Ponting (Aus) | v South Africa | Sydney | 2005-06 |
Name: Hiten Modasia
Country: India
Question: If a bowler bowls a no-ball and the batsman hits it in air and fielder catches the same, and during this time batsman takes two runs, do these two runs count or not?
Rajneesh Gupta:
These two runs will count in the batsman's account because he cannot be dismissed caught off a no-ball and the team will get three runs (two runs + one penalty run for the no-ball).
Name: Mohit Sharma
Country: India
Question: Generally Tendulkar in ODIs does not face the first ball of the match. How many times he has faced the first ball?
Rajneesh Gupta:
Out of 295 occasions in which Tendulkar has opened the innings for India in a one-day international, he has faced the first ball of the innings only 47 times! The last such occasion was way back in July 2004 against Sri Lanka at Colombo (RPS). Whether this is because of some superstition, only Tendulkar can tell, but one thing is sure this 'tactics' have proved fruitful for the little master as the following table suggests.
Tendulkar as opener in ODIs
| Inns | Runs | Hs | Avg | SR | 100 | 50 | |
| When faced the first ball | 47 | 1625 | 120 | 36.11 | 82.82 | 2 | 9 |
| When DID NOT face the first ball | 248 | 11620 | 186* | 50.52 | 88.06 | 36 | 59 |
Name: Afif
Country: India
Question: If a team has to score the same runs till the last ball and the bowler bowls a no-ball but a run-out occurs, who will win the match?
Rajneesh Gupta:
The side batting second wins the match as soon as the umpire signals the no-ball. Whatever happens thereafter is of no significance.
Name: Ramakrishna
Country: India
Question: What is powerplay?
Name: Satya
Country: India
Question: Sir, please give me details about Powerplays.
Rajneesh Gupta:
The Powerplay is a rule concerning fielding restrictions in One Day Internationals which came into existence in 2005. Before that only two fielders were allowed outside the 30-yard circle for first 15 overs.
In an effort to keep the game more exciting during the middle overs, this rule was amended to apply not only to the first 10 overs of every innings, but also in two blocks of five overs; powerplays, which will be used at the discretion of the fielding captain.
The first block of 10 overs of an innings is known as Powerplay One. The fielding restrictions during this period are exactly the same as per the old ODI rules with only two players being allowed to stand outside the 30-yard circle and two fielders required to be placed in close catching position.
The first block of five overs is known as Powerplay Two and the second block of five overs, with identical parameters to Powerplay Two, is known as Powerplay Three.
The first One Day International to be played with Powerplays was between England and Australia at Leeds on July 7, 2005 and was then finalized after a trial period in 2006, unlike the supersub rule which was scrapped after being pioneered at the same time. The rule was included as part of the playing conditions for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.
In October 2007, the rule was amended to give the fielding captain a choice to station one extra man outside the fielding restriction area in either of second or third powerplay.
In October 2008, the Powerplay rule underwent a major change. Now the batting side can decide when to introduce either the second or the third powerplay during their innings. The fielding side is compensated somewhat as they can now station three fielders outside the 30-yard circle in both second and third powerplays.
The umpire will signal the start of a powerplay by moving his arm in a circular motion over his head. To indicate that the batting side has taken the powerplay, the umpire will tap his hands above his head after the signal.