Also: who is the oldest umpire to stand a first-class match?
Steven Lynch18-Feb-2020I read that Naseem Shah was described as the youngest bowler to take a Test hat-trick. Whose record did he break? asked Steve Dillon from England
Pakistan’s Naseem Shah, who turned 17 on the weekend, took a hat-trick last week when he was still 16, against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. He broke the record of legspinner Alok Kapali, who was 19 when he achieved the feat for Bangladesh against Pakistan, in Peshawar in 2003 (Kapali took only three more wickets in 16 other Tests). Abdul Razzaq was 20 when he took a hat-trick for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2000.The oldest man to take a Test hat-trick was 38-year-old Rangana Herath, for Sri Lanka against Australia in Galle in August 2016. He was about three months older than the England offspinner Tom Goddard when he took one against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1938-39. For the full list, click here.Two batsmen scored 200 for Chandigarh the other day – from No. 7 and No. 8. Is this unique? And was Chandigarh’s first-innings lead of 609 a record too? asked Rahul Bhasin from India
The match in question was the Ranji Trophy Plate Group encounter between Chandigarh and Manipur in Kolkata, which had excited number crunchers even before it started, as according to the Association of Cricket Statisticians it was the 60,000th first-class match ever played.Chandigarh were in a spot of bother at 136 for 5, but Uday Kaul made 148, putting on 221 with Bipul Sharma, who then added a further 172 with Gurinder Singh. That ended when Sharma was out for 200, but Chandigarh’s captain, Manan Vohra, didn’t declare until Singh also reached 200. Singh, in his more usual role as a left-arm spinner, then took 5 for 19 as Manipur were skittled for 63.This was the first time in first-class history that Nos. 7 and 8 both scored double-centuries – but there is an instance of Nos. 7 and 9 reaching 200, again in the Ranji Trophy. For Haryana against Karnataka in Hubli in 2012-13, Amit Mishra scored 202 not out and Jayant Yadav 211, most of them during an eighth-wicket partnership of 392.Chandigarh’s first-innings lead of 609 was the fourth highest in India – on top are Holkar (912 for 8), who led Mysore (190) by 722 runs in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Indore in 1945-46 – but the biggest in all first-class cricket remains 886, by Victoria (1107) over New South Wales (221) in Melbourne in 1926-27. In Pakistan’s Ayub Trophy in Lahore in 1964-65, Pakistan Railways scored 910 for 6 before bowling Dera Ismail Khan out for 32 (they thus conceded a lead of 878) and 27.Umpires Maurice Tate and John Langridge (right) walk out for a game in 1956•Getty ImagesR Ashwin has now taken 362 wickets in 70 Tests. Is that the most after 70? I know he held this record for a while, but does he still? asked Milind Bhaskar from India
You’re right that R Ashwin held this mark for a while. He still has the most wickets after every number of Tests from 39 (when he had 220) to 65 (342). But Muttiah Muralitharan was level with Ashwin after their 66th Tests, with 350 wickets – and 11 more in his next game put Murali in front, where he has remained. He had 382 wickets after 70 Tests, so Ashwin has a fair bit of ground to make up if he is to get back in front.I noticed that Patsy Hendren’s brother Denis umpired a first-class match when he was nearly 75. Was he the oldest umpire in any first-class fixture? asked Lawrence Cartwright from England
Denis Hendren played a few first-class matches for Middlesex between 1905 and 1919. His brother, Patsy Hendren, was much better known, scoring 170 centuries (second only to Jack Hobbs) in a career that stretched to 1937, when he was 48.Denis Hendren took up umpiring, joining the county panel in 1931 and eventually standing in 390 first-class matches. He did not officiate in the County Championship after 1949, but stood in many university games over the next eight seasons, including ten in 1957. His last was Oxford University against Leicestershire in the Parks in June, three months before his 75th birthday. The oldest known umpire in a Championship match was John Langridge, who was 73 when he stood in his 557th and last first-class game, between Leicestershire and Yorkshire at Grace Road in 1983. Before taking up umpiring, Langridge had played 574 first-class matches, all but seven of them for Sussex.Five umpires older than Hendren are known to have officiated in first-class matches. The oldest of all – and the only octogenarian – was William Bock, who was 81 when he stood in Wellington’s game against Otago at the Basin Reserve in January 1928.In a tough quiz the other day we were asked to name the batsmen who made the highest score for and against Middlesex in 50-over cricket – apparently it was the same score, and both in 2019? asked Mike Everett from England
This peculiar double was indeed achieved inside a fortnight in 2019, during the Royal London Cup. First Luke Wright blasted 166 for Sussex at Lord’s, breaking the old record by anyone against Middlesex in a List A match, Chris Adams’ 163, also for Sussex, at Arundel 20 years earlier, in a 45-over game. Then Max Holden hit 166 for Middlesex against Kent in Canterbury, breaking the county’s previous-highest – also 163 – by Andrew Strauss against Surrey at The Oval in 2008.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions