Cricket
Steven Lynch, Editor of the updated edition of Wisden on the Ashes 7y

Two taking 20

Cricket

Is Paul Collingwood now the oldest man to play in a T20 international? asked David Firman from England
Paul Collingwood's appearance for the World XI against Pakistan in an official T20 international in Lahore last week - his first international match for six and a half years, at the age of 41 years and 110 days - puts him ninth on this particular list. It is headed by the former Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Campbell, who reappeared in two T20Is for Hong Kong in 2016 at the age of 44. Brad Hogg (43) and Sanath Jayasuriya (almost 42) appeared in T20 internationals for Test-playing countries when older than Collingwood. The oldest man to play a T20 match for England remains Paul Nixon, who was 36 years 80 days old when he played against Australia in Sydney in January 2007. One record Collingwood didn't beat was the longest gap between T20 internationals, which remains nine years 164 days, by his former Durham and England team-mate Liam Plunkett, between June 2006 and November 2015. For the full list of the oldest players in T20 internationals, click here.

Were the five run-outs in the third Pakistan-World XI match a record for T20 internationals? asked Arvind Naik from India
The deciding match in Lahore on the weekend provided the fourth instance of a T20 international containing five run-outs, although none of the previous games had as few wickets overall (12) as this one. But there has been one such match with six run-outs: four New Zealanders and two Indians went this way in Johannesburg during the inaugural World T20 tournament in September 2007. For the full list, click here. The record in any senior T20 match is seven run-outs, by Faisalabad Wolves (four) and Multan Tigers (three) in Karachi in September 2011.

Jim Laker and Tony Lock shared all 20 Australian wickets at Old Trafford in 1956. How many other Tests have seen a pair of bowlers take all 20? asked Richard Bartlett from England
Rather surprisingly, perhaps, there have been only five Tests other than Old Trafford 1956 in which two bowlers took all 20 opposition wickets to fall (Jim Laker famously took 19 for 90 in that one, while Tony Lock sweated buckets for 1 for 106). The first was in Melbourne in 1901-02, when Monty Noble (13 for 77) and Hugh Trumble (7 for 87) shared all 20 England wickets. The others were in Johannesburg in 1909-10, by Bert Vogler (12 for 181) and Aubrey Faulkner (8 for 160) for South Africa against England; at Edgbaston in 1909, by Colin Blythe (11 for 102) and George Hirst (9 for 86) for England v Australia; in Karachi in 1956-57, by Fazal Mahmood (13 for 114) and Khan Mohammad (7 for 112) for Pakistan v Australia; and at Lord's in 1972, by Bob Massie (16 for 137) and Dennis Lillee (4 for 140) for Australia v England. The near-misses include another collaboration between Laker and Lock, who shared 19 New Zealand wickets at Headingley in 1958.

Who's the only batsman to score a century in a T20 international in England? asked Jeremy Taylor from England
The only man to reach three figures to date in a T20 international in England certainly made it count: Australia's Aaron Finch chalked up 156 at Southampton in August 2013, which remains the highest score in T20 internationals. There's a near-miss in second place for matches in England: Alex Hales was bowled for 99 against West Indies at Trent Bridge in 2012. The highest score by a woman in a T20 international in England is Karen Rolton's 96 not out in Taunton in 2005, which helped Australia recover from 6 for 3.

What was the shortest ever one-day international? asked Hassan Ahmed from Pakistan
The shortest one-day international with a positive result lasted only 20 overs, or 120 balls. In Colombo in December 2001, Sri Lanka bowled Zimbabwe out for 38 in 15.4 overs - Chaminda Vaas took 8 for 19, still the best figures in ODIs - and Sri Lanka knocked off the runs in 4.2 overs to win by nine wickets. Sri Lanka also won the next two matches on the list: they beat Canada in Paarl during the 2003 World Cup in a match that lasted only 140 balls, and Zimbabwe in a 180-ball game in Harare in April 2004.

This answer excludes matches without a positive result: the shortest ODI in which there was any play at all lasted only two balls - the game between India and Sri Lanka in Mackay during the 1992 World Cup. There are also four complete washouts that count in the records because the toss was made. For the full list, click here.

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