And how rare is it for a batter to be dismissed for 99 and 0 as Harry Brook was?
Steven Lynch01-Jul-2025India lost the first Test against England despite having five individual centurions. Has this ever happened before? asked Krishna Saha from Bangladesh, and many others
India’s feat of losing the first Test against England at Headingley last week is not only unique in Test cricket, it has never happened before in more than 63,000 matches in all first-class cricket.There was only one previous case of a team scoring four centuries in a Test but losing. This was by Australia in a timeless match against England in Melbourne in 1928-29. That included 112 from Don Bradman, his maiden century, in his second Test.There have been 11 further instances of a team scoring three individual hundreds in a Test but losing.Rishabh Pant scored two centuries in the first Test in England. How many wicketkeepers have done this in Tests? asked Mark McKenzie from Scotland
That stunning double of 134 and 118 by Rishabh Pant in the first Test against England at Headingley last week was only the second time anyone has scored twin centuries in a Test match in which he was also the designated wicketkeeper.The other one was Zimbabwe’s Andy Flower, with 142 and 199 not out against South Africa in Harare in 2001.Pant was the seventh man to score two centuries in a Test for India (Sunil Gavaskar achieved the feat three times, and Rahul Dravid twice), but the first to do it against England. The only other player to score two centuries in a Test at Headingley was Shai Hope of West Indies in 2017. Jonny Bairstow (against India at Edgbaston in 2022) and Kumar Sangakkara (twice) also achieved the feat, but not in matches in which they kept wicket.Harry Brook scored 99 and 0 in the first Test. How rare is this? asked Orlando Coelho from India
The England batter Harry Brook followed up his 99 in the first innings at Headingley last week with a first-ball duck in the second. He’s only the fifth man to be out for 99 and 0 in the same Test, following Pankaj Roy (India against Australia in Delhi in 1959), Mushtaq Mohammad (Pakistan vs England in Karachi in 1973), Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan vs West Indies in Bridgetown in 2017) and Babar Azam (Pakistan vs Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2018).Two other men have made 0 and 99 not out in the same Test: Geoffrey Boycott for England against Australia in Perth in 1979, and Andrew Hall for South Africa vs England at Headingley in 2003.Only four other batters before Harry Brook have been dismissed for 99 and 0 in the same Test•Getty ImagesIndia’s first-innings 471 at Headingley included three individual centurions. Was this the lowest total to include three hundreds (and three ducks!)? asked Sandeep Koparde from India
You’re right that India’s 471 at Headingley last week was the lowest completed Test innings to contain three individual centuries. The previous mark was South Africa’s 475 against England in Centurion in 2016 (Stephen Cook 115 on debut, Hashim Amla 109 and Quinton de Kock 129 not out). Australia’s 494 all out against England at Headingley in 1926 also contained three individual centuries, as did West Indies’ 497 against India in Kolkata late in 2002.Leaving aside the all-out stipulation, the lowest Test total to include three hundreds is South Africa’s 393 for 3 declared against England at Lord’s in 2008.The highest Test total to include three dismissals for ducks is Afghanistan’s 699 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2024. There were also three individual centuries (two of them over 200).I heard that Dilip Doshi once had figures of 8-7-1-1 in a one-day game in England but was dropped for the next match. Is this correct? asked Rahman Ashwini from India
Remarkably, it is true. Dilip Doshi, the left-arm spinner who sadly died last week aged 77, was playing for Nottinghamshire in 1977. He conceded only a single in his eight overs as Northamptonshire were skittled for 43 in their Sunday League game at Wantage Road in June.Their next match in the competition was against Kent at Canterbury a fortnight later. Doshi recounted in his entertaining autobiography Spin Punch: “I changed at around 12.30 for the two o’clock start, but was informed ‘Thank you, but Kenny Watson is playing in this one.’ I was aghast. After all, I had won them the last match. Kent players such as Derek Underwood could hardly believe this.”The explanation seems to be that Nottinghamshire had three overseas players on their books – Doshi, the South African allrounder Clive Rice, and Watson, another seamer from South Africa – and only two could play in any game. According to Doshi, “Rice felt there was no place for the slow bowler in limited-overs cricket, and he sold this idea to the cricket committee.”Doshi was a late starter in Test cricket, mainly because the left-arm spinner role in the Indian team was held down for many years by Bishan Singh Bedi. Doshi finally got a chance in 1979-80, when he was nearly 32. He still finished with 114 Test wickets: at the time he was only the second bowler (after Australia’s Clarrie Grimmett) to make it to 100 after making his debut when over 30. They have since been joined by Saeed Ajmal (Pakistan), Ryan Harris (Australia), Mohammad Rafique (Bangladesh) and Bruce Yardley (Australia).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
