Where does Shikhar Dhawan's 71-ball hundred stand on the list of the fastest for India in ODIs? asked Milind Raj from India
There have been ten faster centuries for India in one-day internationals than Shikhar Dhawan's spectacular effort in Dambulla last week. Four of them came from the flashing blade of Virender Sehwag, who reached 100 in 60 balls against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2008-09, and in 66 balls against Sri Lanka in Rajkot in 2009-10. He needed 69 balls against New Zealand in Colombo in 2001 and the same number against West Indies in Indore in 2011-12. The fastest of all for India was hammered by Virat Kohli in just 52 balls against Australia in Jaipur in 2013-14; a fortnight later he reached 100 in 61 deliveries against the same opponents in Nagpur. Mohammad Azharuddin reached 100 in 62 balls against New Zealand in Baroda in 1988-89, while Kedar Jadhav needed 65 against England in Pune in 2016-17, Suresh Raina 66 against Hong Kong in Karachi in 2008, and Yusuf Pathan 68 against South Africa in Centurion in 2010-11. Sachin Tendulkar's fastest ODI hundred also took 71 balls, against Zimbabwe in Sharjah in 1998-99.
I saw a list of the leading wicket-takers in England-West Indies Tests, and all of them were West Indian! Who's the top Englishman on the list? asked Adrian Barrett from England
The seven leading wicket-takers - and eight of the top ten - in England-West Indies Tests are from the Caribbean. Curtly Ambrose leads the way with 164 English scalps. Then come Courtney Walsh (145), Malcolm Marshall (127), Garry Sobers (102), Lance Gibbs (100), Michael Holding (96) and Joel Garner (92), all before the leading Englishman, Fred Trueman (86). Next come Sonny Ramadhin (80) and John Snow (72). The leading current wicket-takers, though, are both English: James Anderson had 58 after the demolition at Edgbaston, and Stuart Broad 49.
Who were the last pair of brothers to play together for West Indies before Kyle and Shai Hope? asked Mervyn Hartman from Australia
Kyle Hope joined his younger brother Shai as a Test player in last week's day-night match at Edgbaston. They were the 12th pair of brothers (including two pairs of half-brothers) to play for West Indies in Tests, but the first to take the field together since Darren Bravo's debut series, in Sri Lanka in 2010-11, which were the final Tests in which his half-brother Dwayne Bravo played.
The first pair of West Indian Test-playing brothers were Edwin and Wilton St Hill, from Trinidad, who both appeared during the first series in the Caribbean, against England in 1929-30, although not together. Later in the 1930s, George "Jackie" Grant and his brother Rolph both captained West Indies. Victor Stollmeyer joined his brother Jeff in one Test in England in 1939, while spinners John and Jimmy Cameron played ether side of the Second World War. Since then Cyril and Robert Christiani, Roy and Norman Marshall, Denis and Eric Atkinson, Bryan and Charlie Davis, and Robert and Marlon Samuels all won West Indian caps (not necessarily together), as did the fast-bowling half-brothers Pedro Collins and Fidel Edwards. They played six Tests together, sharing the new ball in four of them.
Was Alastair Cook's 243 the highest Test score in Birmingham? asked Brian Mills from New Zealand
Alastair Cook's 243 against West Indies last week was the fifth-highest individual score at Edgbaston, a list headed by… Alastair Cook, who made 294 there against India in 2011. Cook's recent innings was the ninth double-century in a Test at Edgbaston: the only other man to score two there is another left-hander, David Gower, with 215 against Australia in 1985 and 200 not out against India in 1979. Peter May lies second, with an undefeated 285 against West Indies in 1957. Then come the only two overseas names on the list: Graeme Smith amassed 277 for South Africa in 2003, and Zaheer Abbas 274 for Pakistan in 1971. The list is rounded off by David "Bumble" Lloyd, who made 214 not out against India in 1974, and Nasser Hussain, with 207 against Australia in 1997.
I noticed that ML Jaisimha of India took a wicket every 233 balls in Tests. Is this the worst strike rate of all? asked Rajesh Bhasin from India
In defence of ML Jaisimha, it should be said that he was hardly a frontline bowler in Tests, even though he sometimes had to take the new ball. He was really in the side for his attractive batting, which brought him 2056 runs and three centuries in 39 Tests. But it's true that he managed only nine wickets, at a strike rate of 233. Given a minimum of 2000 balls bowled, the only bowler with a worse strike rate is the Sri Lankan legspinner Asoka de Silva - later a Test umpire - whose ten Tests produced only eight wickets, at a rate of one every 291 balls. The worst for anyone with more than 50 wickets belongs to Carl Hooper, whose 102 Tests produced 114 wickets at a strike rate of one every 121 balls.
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