And who is the Test centurion with the lowest batting average?
Steven Lynch07-Oct-2025I heard that Shivam Dube has played 36 T20Is without defeat. Is this a record? What are the equivalent records for ODIs and Tests? asked Nirmal Balaraman from the United States
India actually lost two of Shivam Dube’s first five T20 internationals (against Bangladesh and West Indies late in 2019), but since then he’s played 36 more without tasting defeat: that includes four tied games (all won by India in a super over), a no-result and one match which was abandoned after the toss was made. His 34 successive wins (ignoring no-results and abandonments, but including super-over victories) is easily a record for men’s T20Is: Pascal Murungi of Uganda has not lost any of his last 26 matches (his most recent was in December 2024), while Jasprit Bumrah is currently on a run of 23.There is a longer run in women’s one-day internationals, at least until Dube wins his next three games: the Australian pair of Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen won 36 and 35 completed matches respectively before a narrow loss to England in Bristol in July 2023. The record for women’s T20 internationals is a run of 23 successive wins by England’s Laura Marsh between January 2011 and October 2012.The record for men’s ODIs is 20 wins in a row, set by four team-mates whose run all came to an end when Australia lost to West Indies in Port-of-Spain in May 2003: Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting. (Hayden and Hogg missed that defeat, but returned for the next game, which they also lost.) The Test record is also an Australian preserve: McGrath, Justin Langer, Michael Slater and Mark Waugh all won 16 successive matches before March 2001, and that was matched by Hayden, Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Hussey and Brett Lee up to January 2008. Both runs were ended by defeats by India, in Kolkata in 2001 and in Perth in 2008.Which bowler has dismissed most batters out stumped in Tests? asked Nijat Ahmed from India
There are no great surprises in the aggregate numbers: Muthiah Muralidaran, the top Test wicket-taker, leads the way with 47 stumping victims, with Shane Warne second on 36, one ahead of another Sri Lankan, Rangana Herath. The Australian offspinner Nathan Lyon currently has 28 stumping victims, as did Clarrie Grimmett.Grimmett only took 216 Test wickets, so 12.96% of his victims came via stumpings. That’s the most for anyone with over 100 wickets apart from the Indian legspinner Subhash “Fergie” Gupte, whose 149 included 20 stumpings (13.42%). Another Australian legspinner, Arthur Mailey, took 99 Test wickets, of which 18 (18.18%) were stumped.Nine West Indians reached double figures in a recent T20 international against Australia. Was this a record? asked Victor Persaud from Trinidad
The match you’re referring to was the fourth in the series in the Caribbean in July: West Indies made 205 for 9 against Australia in Basseterre, with nine batters reaching double figures. This was actually the third such instance in T20 internationals, and the second this year: Austria (223 for 8) did it against Slovenia in Latschach in May, which followed the first instance, by Tanzania (176) against Uganda in Kigali (Rwanda) in December 2022.The record for women’s T20Is is eight, by Australia (153 for 8) against England in Canberra in 2011.Jerome Taylor, with one hundred and one 50 in 73 Test innings, has the lowest batting average of anyone who has made a Test century – 12.96•Getty ImagesWhich non-wicketkeeper took over 100 Test catches but finished his career without taking a single Test wicket? asked Azweer from India
I think there are actually ten people who fit the bill here. New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming held on to 171 catches in the field, but never bowled in his 111 Tests, let alone took a wicket. He did not take any in first-class cricket either, although he did pick one up in an ODI (Marcel Schewe of the Netherlands during the 1996 World Cup in Vadodara).Brian Lara took 164 catches but no wickets, Matthew Hayden 128, Virat Kohli and Andrew Strauss 121, Colin Cowdrey 120, Hashim Amla 108, Mohammad Azharuddin and Graham Thorpe 105, and Ajinkya Rahane 102. Here’s the list of those with 100 or more catches in the field.Which player who has scored a Test century has the lowest average? And how about ODIs? asked David Collins from England
The lowest career average by a batter with a Test century is 12.96, by the West Indian fast bowler Jerome Taylor, whose 106 against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2008 – which remained his only century – was over 2.5 times his previous-highest first-class score, 40 for Leicestershire against Derbyshire in 2007.He was only the second man, after his namesake Bruce Taylor on debut for New Zealand against India in Calcutta in March 1965, to score his maiden century in a Test having never previously reached 50 in a first-class innings. They have since been joined by Curtis Campher, with 111 for Ireland against Sri Lanka in April 2023 (he still has no other first-class scores of 50 or more).The next-lowest career Test averages by centurions belong to the Pakistan pair of Yasir Shah (14.12) and Saqlain Mushtaq (14.48). Australia’s Jason Gillespie, with 18.73, has the lowest of anyone with a double-century.The lowest ODI average by a man with a century to his name is 16.44, by the big-hitting West Indian Carlos Brathwaite, who slammed a memorable 101 against New Zealand during the 2019 World Cup. He’s just ahead of another West Indian, Xavier Marshall (17.52), and Australia’s Trevor Chappell (17.61).For the record, the lowest in T20 internationals is 15.06, by Slovenia’s Izaz Ali, who scored 118 in one innings and a total of 123 in his 15 others to date.And there’s an update to one of last week’s questions, via Ivan Monaghan from Australia
In the answer to the question about the man with the most Test runs but the fewest nineties, I didn’t spot that Greg Chappell’s only score in the nineties was not out – an undefeated 98 against England in Sydney in January 1980. This means that Greg has the most Test runs without ever being out in the nineties – his 7110 just shades the 6996 of Don Bradman.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
