Also: what is the largest difference between a team’s successive innings in ODIs?
Steven Lynch05-May-2020Which country has the best record overall at the World Cup, in terms of win percentage? asked Alan McBride from Canada
Not surprisingly, since they have won the World Cup five times, Australia come out on top of this list: they have won 74% of their World Cup matches – 69 out of 94 (which also included a tie and a no-result). India come next with a 64% success rate (53 wins out of 84, again with a tie and a no-result), then New Zealand (61.93%), South Africa (61.90%) and England (59.75%).The least successful team is Scotland, who have played 14 World Cup matches and lost the lot. Namibia (six games) and Bermuda (three) have also not recorded a win; Afghanistan have won one out of 15 (6.66%).What, based on average, is the best bowling performance in a Test (with a minimum of ten wickets)? Johnny Briggs’s 15 for 28 against South Africa must be close! asked Tony Woods from Australia
Johnny Briggs’s 15 for 28 for England against South Africa in Cape Town in 1888-89 – he took 7 for 17 and 8 for 11 – does indeed come out on top of this list, his average being 1.84 runs per wicket. In second place is another slow left-armer, 49-year-old Bert “Dainty” Ironmonger, who took 11 for 24 – 5 for 6 and 6 for 18 – to average 2.18 on a rain-affected “sticky dog” for Australia against South Africa in Melbourne in 1931-32.In third place is a much more recent performance: Glenn McGrath ripped out 10 for 27 as Australia monstered West Indies in Brisbane in 2000-01. McGrath’s full figures were astonishing: 20-12-17-6 in the first innings, and 13-9-10-4 in the second. Also in Brisbane, in 1947-48, left-armer Ernie Toshack took 11 for 31 – 5 for 2 and 6 for 29 – against India.Pakistan were bowled out for 105 by West Indies in their first match of the 2019 World Cup, but made 348 in the next – 243 more – against England. What’s the biggest difference between successive innings in one-day internationals? asked Umair from India
This is a difficult one, since really you have to discount matches affected by the weather – if you don’t, then England set the overall record against West Indies in 2017 by making 21 for 0 in a no-result at Trent Bridge, then 369 for 9 in the next game in Bristol.The record for completed matches would appear to be 330, by Pakistan in 2018 – and they won both of them! After bowling Zimbabwe out cheaply in Bulawayo they knocked off 69 for 1, then in the next match hammered 399 for 1, a difference of 330, also in Bulawayo.But I suspect what you really mean is being bowled out and losing, then running up a big score and winning (or vice versa). The record for this seems to be a difference of 310 runs. It was achieved by South Africa, who amassed 418 for 5 against Zimbabwe in Potchefstroom in 2006-07, but were bowled out for 108 by New Zealand in their next match, in Mumbai.Lord Hawke (left) captained in 565 first-class matches, while WG Grace (extreme right) skippered in 637•Getty ImagesThe famous old Yorkshireman Lord Hawke apparently captained in 565 first-class matches. Is this a record? And, since he only played 633, does he have the highest percentage too? asked Graham Williamson from… Yorkshire
Those remarkable statistics for Lord Hawke, who captained Yorkshire from 1883 to 1910, are indeed true. Only WG Grace (637 matches) skippered in more first-class matches; Arthur Carr and MJK Smith come next, with 414 and 404.But there is someone who captained in a higher proportion of his first-class games – and he’s another autocratic Yorkshireman. Brian Sellers played 344 matches in a career that stretched from 1932 to 1948, and captained in 334 of them (97%).As a follow-up to last week’s question about bowlers taking eight wickets on debut without a five-for, who has done this most often overall in Tests? asked Ashok from the United States
The ever-dependable Statsguru informs me that there have been no fewer than 157 instances of a bowler taking eight wickets in a Test without a five-for, or four in each innings. Two usual suspects lead the way: Shane Warne did it seven times, and Muttiah Muralitharan six. Three other Australians, all pace bowlers, managed it three times: Wayne Clark, Brett Lee and Dennis Lillee.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
