Josh Inglis got to his hundred very quickly in the first Test in Galle. Was it the fastest by anyone making their debut? asked Keith Hartwell from Australia
Australia's Yorkshire-born batter Josh Inglis zoomed to 100 on his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Galle last month in just 90 balls. This has been bettered on debut only by India's Shikhar Dhawan, who got there in 85 balls against Australia in Mohali in March 2013: he finished with 187 from 174 deliveries. The previous fastest debut century for Australia came up in 126 balls, by Mark Waugh against England in Adelaide in January 1991.
Kavem Hodge scored a hundred the other day in an innings in which no one else managed double figures. Is this unique in first-class cricket? asked Remi Durant from England
This remarkable innings happened last week during the West Indian domestic competition: in Kingstown (St Vincent), the West Indies Test batter Kavem Hodge made 126 in Windward Islands' total of 166 against Trinidad & Tobago. Two others scored nine, but no one else made it into double figures.
There have been two previous instances of this in a completed first-class innings. For Worcestershire against Glamorgan in Swansea in 1977, the New Zealand opener Glenn Turner carried his bat for 141 in a total of 169, in which the next-highest score was seven, by the No. 9 Norman Gifford. More recently, in a domestic match in Rawalpindi in Pakistan in September 2023, Zeeshan Malik made 108 in the home side's total of 144 against Faisalabad: the next-highest contribution was nine extras.
Nick Welch scored 90 on Test debut for Zimbabwe the other day. Has anyone scored a hundred in their first Test for them? asked Dion Brooks from Zimbabwe
Nick Welch was out for 90 in his first Test innings for Zimbabwe, against Ireland in Bulawayo at the weekend. That was the nearest any Zimbabwean has yet come to scoring a hundred on Test debut without getting there: Takudzwanashe Kaitano made 87 against Bangladesh in Harare in 2021.
But three men have scored a century in their first Test for Zimbabwe. Dave Houghton did it in their inaugural Test, with 121 against India in Harare in 1992, while Hamilton Masakadza hit 117 as a 17-year-old debutant against West Indies in Harare in 2001. More recently, Gary Ballance made 137 not out against West Indies in Bulawayo in February 2023, in his first Test for Zimbabwe after 23 for England; it turned out to be his only Test for his native country.
For the list of all those who have reached 50 on Test debut for Zimbabwe, click here.
Johnathan Campbell captained Zimbabwe in his first Test. And also followed his father as a Test captain. How rare are these two things?! asked Tim McAndrew from England
Johnathan Campbell was pressed into service as Zimbabwe's captain on his debut against Ireland in Bulawayo last week after Craig Ervine's withdrawal. If you exclude those who skippered in their country's first-ever Test matches, Campbell is only the third to do this in over half a century (since England's Tony Lewis against India in 1972): Lee Germon captained New Zealand on debut against India in Bengaluru in 1995, and just last February, Neil Brand skippered South Africa in his first Test, against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui. For the full list, which does include countries' inaugural Tests, click here.
Campbell is the fourth son to follow his father as a captain in Test cricket - in his case Alistair Campbell, who led Zimbabwe in 21 of his 60 matches. The earlier pairs were Frank and George Mann (who both captained England on their Test debuts), the Nawab of Pataudi senior and junior (India), and Colin and Chris Cowdrey (England).
Sachin Tendulkar captained India in 25 Tests but won only four of them. Is his win percentage of 16% the worst among all Test captains? asked Vivek Seth from Australia
You're right that Sachin Tendulkar won only four of his 25 Tests as captain. But that win percentage isn't the worst, as the "%W" column in this list shows. Considering everyone who skippered in 25 or more Tests, John Reid (New Zealand) won only three of his 34 matches in charge (8.82%), Kapil Dev (India) four out of 34 (11.76%), Kim Hughes (Australia) four out of 28 (14.28%), and David Gower (England) five out of 32 (15.62%). The highest win percentage of all belongs to Steve Waugh, who won 41 of his 57 Tests as captain of Australia - 71.92%.
Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo's stats team helped with some of the above answers.
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