And what’s the worst economy rate for a bowler with ten or more wickets in a Test series?
Steven Lynch12-Aug-2025Is it right that only Don Bradman scored more runs in a Test series in which he was captain than Shubman Gill? asked Narender Singh from India
That is correct: India’s captain Shubman Gill amassed 754 runs in the exciting 2025 Test series against England. Among captains, he’s behind only Don Bradman, who made 810 in the 1936-37 Ashes. The Don started that series – his first as captain – with innings of 38, 0 and 0, but made 270 in the third Test, 212 in the fourth and 169 in the fifth as Australia uniquely came from 2-0 down to win the series 3-2.Bradman also leads the way overall for any series, whether captain or not, having scored 974 in the 1930 Ashes in England. Gill’s haul puts him 19th on that list. The Don only played in 11 Test series in his career, but scored 680 or more runs in six of them.New Zealand’s innings in the second Test against Zimbabwe included three scores of 150-plus. Was this unique? asked Nirmal Mendis from Sri Lanka
New Zealand’s total of 601 for 3 declared in their thumping win over Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last week included 153 from Devon Conway, and undefeated innings of 150 and 165 from Henry Nicholls and Rachin Ravindra.This was only the third Test innings to contain three individual contributions of 150 or more. The first was England’s 903 for 7 declared against Australia at The Oval in August 1938: Len Hutton made 364, Maurice Leyland 187 and Joe Hardstaff 169 not out. Another distinguished trio achieved the feat as India ran up 676 for 7 against Sri Lanka in Kanpur in December 1986: Sunil Gavaskar 176, Mohammad Azharuddin 199 and Kapil Dev 163.New Zealand’s recent effort uniquely involved three left-hand batters (of the others, only Leyland was a left-hander).Brendan Taylor has been recalled by Zimbabwe aged 39. Will he be their oldest Test player? asked Richard Martin from Zimbabwe
Having served his 3.5-year ban, Brendan Taylor made his comeback for Zimbabwe in the second Test in Bulawayo last week. It wasn’t exactly a memorable return, as Zimbabwe suffered their heaviest Test defeat.Taylor is 39 years six months old – but that’s almost six months younger than his captain, Craig Ervine, who was born on August 19, 1985.Two veterans of Zimbabwe’s inaugural Test in October 1992 played their final matches when older than Taylor and Ervine. Dave Houghton, their first Test captain, was 40 years three months old during his final Test, against New Zealand in Bulawayo in September 1997, while offspinner John Traicos made his debut for Zimbabwe aged 45, and played his final Test a few months later, against India in Delhi in March 1993. Sikandar Raza, who also played in the current series, is also 39, while Sean Williams turns 39 in September. The current quartet are the four oldest active Test cricketers.John Traicos was 45 when he debuted for Zimbabwe in 1992•Getty ImagesWhat’s the worst economy rate for a bowler with ten or more wickets in a Test series? I’m guessing it might be Prasidh Krishna, as his was nearly five in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series asked Mohammad Arquam Siddique from India
That’s quite a good spot, as Prasidh Krishna’s 14 wickets in the just-concluded series cost 37.07 apiece, with the runs coming at a rate of 4.94 an over. Only four men have taken ten or more wickets in a series at a higher economy rate. West Indies’ Shamar Joseph picked up 13 in Australia in 2023-24, while going for 5.05 an over; Neil Wagner’s 11 in New Zealand’s home series against England in 2022-23 came at 5.68 an over; another West Indian, Alzarri Joesph, took ten in England in 2024 at 6.12 an over: and top of the pile is the Pakistan legspinner Zahid Mahmood, with 12 wickets at home to England in 2022-23 while going for 6.94 an over (his series figures were 62.3-3-434-12). I just read that Essex scored 560 against Sussex in 1933 without anyone making a hundred. Was that the highest total without one? asked Graham Ferris from the Philippines
Essex made 560 for 9 declared against Sussex in Leyton in September 1933, and the highest individual contribution was Jack O’Connor’s 93 (there were eight other scores between 28 and 88). That’s quite a high score without a century, but it wasn’t even a record at the time: in Derby in August 1899, William Gunn’s 90 was the highest contribution to Nottinghamshire’s total of 581 against Derbyshire.The 560 has since been pushed down to tenth on the overall list. Essex are also currently ninth, with 569 against Kent in Chelmsford in July 2016, when Ravi Bopara made 94 and Ryan ten Doeschate 91.The highest first-class total without a century is now Surrey’s 671 for 9 declared against Kent in Beckenham in May 2022: Ollie Pope scored 96, Jamie Overton 93 and Ben Foakes 91. Everyone made double figures in that innings; Hashim Amla (12) was the only one not to reach 20.The highest Test total not to include an individual century is Sri Lanka’s 531 against Bangladesh in Chattogram in March 2024, which featured 93 from Kusal Mendis and 92 not out by the unrelated Kamindu Mendis.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
