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Was Alec Bedser's
twin brother Eric ever capped by England? THE JUDGE: Eric Bedser travelled to Australia with the MCC in 1950-51, but played in only one tour match. He played 443 matches for Surrey between 1939 and 1961, but never represented England in Test cricket. Alec bowled his heart out in 371 matches for Surrey, and took 236 wickets in 51 Tests. Which batsman
holds the record for most 'not outs' in Test cricket? THE JUDGE: It's more a bowler than a batsman. Tailender Bob Willis was not out in 55 Test match innings. He finished his 90-match Test career with an accumulation of 840 runs (av. 11 -50), with a top score of 28 - not out, of course. What was the
highest individual score in first-class cricket before
Brian Lara's 501? THE JUDGE: Hanif Mohammad's 499 for Karachi against Bahawalpur in 1958-9. Where were Nasser
Hussain and Min Patel born and educated?
Did England
football hero Geoff Hurst play County cricket for Essex? THE JUDGE: I got this reply from Sir Geoff , 'I played regular cricket for Essex seconds, but just once for the County team - against Lancashire at Liverpool in 1962. 1 went in at number 8, but I'm afraid I did not not trouble the scorer. I went for a duck in the first innings, and I was stranded at nought not out in the second. I then decided to concentrate full-time on football with West Ham. The first time Bobby Moore and I played in the same side was for the Essex schools cricket team!' My Dad swears he
saw Denis Compton playing cricket at Highbury football
stadium. Is he pulling my leg? Mark Seeger, Palmer's
Green, London THE JUDGE: This would have been in Denis Compton's benefit year of 1950 and they staged a full-scale all-star cricket match at Highbury for the great Arsenal and Middlesex all-rounder. That was the year Denis bowed out of football after playing for Arsenal in the 1950 FA Cup Final and helping them beat Liverpool 1-0. He concentrated full-time on cricket because of recurring knee problems that were being aggravated by his darting runs down the left wing. How many times
did the West Indies win under the captaincy of Clive
Lloyd? THE JUDGE: Lloyd's record as West Indies skipper: played 74, won 36, drawn 26, lost 12. His unmatchable team won a record 11 successive Tests in 1984, and went an astonishing 27 successive Test matches without a defeat between 1981 and 1985. Lloyd missed just one of those matches though injury, and Viv Richards took over as skipper. Who was the
bowler who took Don Bradman's wicket in his final Test? THE JUDGE: Eriic Hollies, the Warwickshire off spinner, was playing in his ninth of 13 Test matches, having made his debut back in 1935. For Don Bradman it was the fifty-second and final Test. The Don got a standing ovation as he walked out to the middle at the Oval on the afternoon of 14 August 1948. England captain Norman Yardley shook his hand and then called for three cheers from his players. Bradman was visibly moved by the reception and his concentration was not as finely tuned as usual as he played forward to a googly from Hollies and was clean bowled second ball for a duck. It was one of five wickets Hollies claimed for 131 runs in a marathon stint of 56 overs. Four runs would have taken Bradman's aggregate to 7,000 Test runs and his average to exactly 100. Australia (389) beat outclassed England (52 and 188) by an innings and 149 runs, so Bradman did not get another chance to bat. PREVIOUS CRICKET OOO MENU PAGE OOO THE JUDGE BOOK |
