Australia were 0 for 3 against Bangladesh the other day. Have they ever been 0 for 3 (or worse!) in an international match before? asked Anand from the United States
Australia dipped to 0 for 3 in the second ODI in Mirpur last week, before recovering to score 187 (which still wasn't enough). The only other time the Aussies have been 0 for 3 in an official international was in a remarkable rain-affected Test in Brisbane in December 1950. They staggered to 32 for 7 before declaring to get England - who had earlier declared themselves at 68 for 7 - in again on an almost unplayable pitch: needing 193 to win, they were soon 46 for 8, and slipped to defeat.
There are only three other instances of a team being 0 for 3 in an ODI: by Pakistan against New Zealand at Edgbaston during the 1983 World Cup; Pakistan vs South Africa in Lahore in 1997; and Bangladesh against Sri Lanka in Pietermaritzburg during the 2003 World Cup, when Chaminda Vaas took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match.
There have been five other instances in Tests - including the only case in men's internationals of 0 for 4, by India against England at Headingley in 1952 - and three in T20Is. For the full list, which shows the occasions when the fourth-wicket pair came together with the score still on 0, click here. There have been no such instances in women's Tests or ODIs, but five in WT20Is.
Joe Root is set to resume the England captaincy after 47 Tests. Is this a record? asked Peter Cooper from England, among others
The fallout from the nightclub incident involving Ben Stokes after the first Test against New Zealand at Lord's meant that Joe Root regained the England captaincy for the Oval Test, after 47 matches back in the ranks since his last match in charge, in Grenada in March 2022. He scored 4063 runs in those matches at 54.90, with 16 centuries.
Pakistan's Waqar Younis also had 47 matches between captaincy stints in December 1993 and May 2001, but the leader in this regard is Waqar's sometime Surrey team-mate Alec Stewart, who led England in two matches early in 1993 while Graham Gooch was injured, and then took over permanently in June 1998, having played 49 Tests in the meantime.
How many England players have made the highest score of the Test on debut? And is Emilio Gay's 57 the lowest of these scores? asked Mike Wilkins from England
In all, 15 players have made the top score of the match on Test debut for England. The most recent before Emilio Gay's fighting 57 at Lord's last week also did it at Lord's: Matt Prior in 2007, and Andrew Strauss in 2004. The first to do it for England was KS Ranjitsinhji, with 154 not out against Australia at Old Trafford in 1896.
The highest score involved was Reginald "Tip" Foster's 287 on debut against Australia in Sydney in 1903. Gay's 57 was indeed the lowest by a player top-scoring in the match on their Test debut for England; the only lower score for any country is 51, by India's Dattu Phadkar against Australia in Sydney in 1947.
What's the highest individual score in the women's T20 World Cup? asked Kelly Moreton from Australia
There had been six centuries in the women's T20 World Cup before Danni Wyatt-Hodge made the seventh on the opening day of the current tournament. The highest of them was 126, by Meg Lanning for Australia against Ireland in Sylhet in 2014.
In second place is Deandra Dottin, who made 112 not out for West Indies against South Africa in St Kitts in 2010. She came in at No. 6 and hurtled to three figures in just 38 balls, still easily the fastest hundred in women's T20 internationals.
How often has each innings of a Test featured a different bowler taking at least five wickets, as happened at Lord's? asked Daren Fawkes from Australia
You're right that all four innings in the recent Lord's featured a different bowler taking a five-for, giving a lot of work to the man who does the engraving on MCC's honours boards. Kyle Jamieson took 5 for 62 and Nathan Smith 6 for 70 for New Zealand, while Ollie Robinson took 5 for 39 and Gus Atkinson 5 for 30 for England.
It was actually the 12th occasion that a different bowler took at least five wickets in all four innings of a Test: the first such instance was in the Ashes match in Sydney in 1885, and the most recent was the game between South Africa and West Indies in Centurion early in 2023.
The second such case is an interesting one: in the Ashes match at Bramall Lane in 1902 - the only Test ever played in Sheffield - there were, uniquely, five five-fors, by four different bowlers (Australia's Monty Noble took one in each innings).
Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo's stats team helped with some of the above answers.
Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions
