Saturday 21 June 2014

Wicketkeepers had Scored One-Day International Century for England.



One-day centuries by England wicketkeepers are rare one, when Jos Buttler with his excellent know of 121 at Lord's on May 31 2014 was actually the second man to score one. The only other England keeper to reach three figures in an ODI was Alec Stewart, who did it four times including twice in three days in 2000, against Zimbabwe at Edgbaston and West Indies at Trent Bridge. The other hundreds came against Pakistan at The Oval in 1992, and India in Sharjah in 1997. Jos Buttler century took him only 61 balls, the fastest for England in ODIs, beating the Kevin Pietersen 69 balls hundred against South Africa in East London in Feb 2005.


Both Wicketkeepers scored a century in the same One day international



The match at Lord's on May 31 2014, when Kumar Sangakkara made 112 for Sri Lanka and Jos Buttler replied with brilliant 121 for England actually provided 5th instance of both wicketkeepers scoring hundreds in the same one-day international. Kumar Sangakkara was involved in two of those as well:

  1. Against India in Jaipur in October 2005, Kumar Sangakkara made 138 not out and MS Dhoni 183 not out
  2. Then against South Africa in Johannesburg in January 2012 Kumar Sangakkara scored 102 and AB de Villiers 125 not out.
  3. In Harare in August 2007 de Villiers made 107 for South Africa and Tatenda Taibu 107 not out for Zimbabwe,
  4. In a World Cup qualifier in Lincoln in New Zealand Wesley Barresi of the Netherlands smacked 137 not out and Irfan Karim 108 for Kenya.

Joe Root England’s Fourth Youngest Double Centurion



Joe Root is fourth on the list of youngest man to score a double century for England.  The other three batsmen have scored double-centuries for England at a younger age than 23-year-old Joe Root, who made 200 not out against Sri Lanka at Lord's: Len Hutton scored 364 runs v Australia at The Oval in 1938, David Gower scored 200 not out against India at Edgbaston in 1979 and Bill Edrich scored 219 v South Africa in Durban in 1938-39 were all at 22. The only younger batsmen to make Test double-centuries at Lord's were Don Bradman, who was just 21 when he made his superb 254 the innings he rated the best of all his many masterpieces - for Australia against England in 1930, and Graeme Smith, who was 22 when he hit 259 for South Africa in 2003.

Shane Shillingford’s 53 Not out Highest No 11 Score’s



Shane Shillingford's hit five sixes in his rapid 53 not out in Kingston against New Zealand is indeed a record for any No. 11 in a Test, however the previous mark of four was shared by

  • Bill Voce (England v South Africa in Johannesburg in 1930-31,
  • Alan Connolly (Australia v India in Calcutta in 1969-70,
  • Sylvester Clarke (West Indies v Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1980-81,
  • Mushtaq Ahmed (Pakistan v South Africa in Rawalpindi in 1997-98
  • Al-Amin Hossain (Bangladesh v Sri Lanka in Mirpur in 2013-14.

Moreover; Shillingford was only the 16th No. 11 ever to score a half-century in a Test cricket, and he got the fifty in just 25 balls a rate beaten only by Jacques Kallis, who reached his fifty in 24 balls for South Africa against Zimbabwe in Cape Town in 2004-05. Shillingford was also only the tenth No. 11 to top-score in a Test innings, a list headed by Ashton Agar with his 98 on debut for Australia against England at Trent Bridge in 2013.
Shane Shillingford the first No. 11 to hit five sixes in a Test innings © WICB Media-Randy Brooks Photo

Mark Craig Excellent Test Debut against West Indies



Mark Craig hit his first ball in Test cricket for six. As far as records reveals, no one has ever hit their very first ball in Test cricket for six before, as New Zealand's Mark Craig did in Kingston. More importantly 6 others players are known to have opened their accounts in Tests with a six but not first ball. Otago's Mark Craig became the only New Zealander to take eight wickets on his Test debut in Kingston. The previous-best was by another off spinner, Paul Wiseman, who took 7 for 143 on his debut, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in May 1998. 
Australia's Eric Freeman in 1967-68.
Carlisle Best of West Indies in 1985-86.
Zimbabwe's Keith Dabengwa in 2005.
Dale Richards of West Indies in 2009.
Bangladesh pair of Shafiul Islam and Jahurul Islam in 2009-10. Both Shafiul and Jahurul started their Test batting careers with two sixes before any other scoring shots.
Mark Craig took the best figures for a New Zealand debutant, West Indies v New Zealand, 1st Test, Kingston, 4th day, June 11, 2014 Photo AP