What does Boxing Day of a Test mean?

Name: Naresh Barot
Country: India
Question: What is Sachin's batting average in the fourth inning of Tests in which result came?

Rajneesh Gupta: Upto the end of the just-concluded series against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar has batted in the fourth innings of a Test on 35 occasions. Out of these 7 ended in draw. This is how he performed in the remaining 28 result-oriented Tests:

	Inns	NO	Runs	Ave	Hs	100	50	0
Matches won	11	6	272	54.40	44*	0	0	1
Matches lost	17	0	398	23.41	136	1	2	1
TOTAL	28	6	670	30.45	136	1	2	2

Name: Pawan
Country: India
Question: Can you tell me which is the shortest Test ever played 'with a result'? Who was the man of the match in it?

Rajneesh Gupta: There have been 19 Tests in which a result was achieved in two days -- the most recent being New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Harare in August this year.

In terms of least number of balls bowled in a decided match, the Melbourne Test between Australia and South Africa in February 1932 heads the list.

This was a timeless Test but ended on the third day itself (with play washed off on the second day) as Australia thrashed South Africa by an innings and 72 runs despite scoring only 153 runs in their only innings.

The match lasted for only 656 balls. Man of the match is a recent phenomenon and no such award was in place at that time.

Name: Shalabh
Country: India
Question: On the last day (Dec 6, 2005) of the Chennai Test against Sri Lanka, Chaminda Vaas bowled 11 maiden overs without conceding any run. Is this a world record? Or is there any other example of such economical bowling?

Rajneesh Gupta: Vaas' performance surely is the best, one has seen in recent times, but it is nowhere near the world record in this category. India's Bapoo Nadkarni bowled 21 consecutive maidens (six-ball overs) against England at Madras in 1963-64.

In terms of eight-ball overs, the record is held by South Africa's Hugh Tayfield with 16 consecutive maidens against England at Durban in 1956-57.

Name: Bhuvnesh
Country: England
Question: How did the word 'chinaman' originate?

Rajneesh Gupta: 'Chinaman' is an unorthodox delivery for a left-arm spinner. The bowler uses his wrist to spin the ball so that when it pitches it turns from off to leg for a right-handed batsman, i.e. from left to right from the bowler's perspective. The action and direction of turn exactly mirror those of a leg spin bowler (who bowls right-handed).

This style of bowling is very uncommon, as not only is it difficult to master, but the "turn" into the right-handed batsman is usually less dangerous than the turn away from the batsman generated by a left-arm orthodox spin bowler.

Very few specialist bowlers of this type have played at Test level: the South African Paul Adams is perhaps the best-known recent practitioner, although his technique is highly unorthodox in every sense of the word. In recent times, Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg and Simon Katich have also bowled Chinaman as all-rounders for the Australian team.

In 2004, Dave Mohammed of the West Indies bowled this style in Tests against England. Perhaps the most famous practitioner of the art was West Indian all-rounder Garfield Sobers, although he performed it as a third bowling style. Previously, "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith bowled in this fashion for Australia in the 1930s.

The term "Chinaman" to describe this particular style of bowling is believed to relate to former West Indian spin bowler Ellis "Puss" Achong. Achong, a left-arm orthodox spinner and the first Test cricketer of Chinese ancestry, bowled a delivery turning from off to leg and had the English batsman Walter Robins stumped as a result. Legend has it that Robins, as he walked back to the pavilion, remarked to the umpire, "Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman."

Name: Sagar
Country: India
Question: What does Boxing Day of a Test mean?

Rajneesh Gupta: The word 'Boxing' has nothing to do with the sport; it has to do with boxes in which you put things.

During the Christmas season a lot of people attend church and while they are there, they donate money and other goodies to the poor.

The money and gifts are put in a box, and this is called a Christmas box. A priest opens the boxes the day after Christmas and he, in turn distributes the contents to the needy. This is why 26 December is called Boxing Day.

The first Test to start on Boxing Day was between Australia and West Indies in 1968-69 at Melbourne. But it was not until 1981-82 that the tradition really took off. Since then there has usually been a Test starting on Boxing Day at Melbourne.

Name: Murali Madhavan
Country: India
Question: In how many Tests has G.R.Vishwanath played in which Gavaskar has not played, and what is his average in those Tests, vis-a-vis those in which Gavaskar has played?

Rajneesh Gupta: Sunil Gavaskar missed only four Tests throughout his career -- three against West Indies in 1974-75 and one against Pakistan in 1986-87. This is how Viswanath performed in the three matches missed by Gavaskar in 1974-75:

Delhi 32 & 39 (WI won by an innings & 17 runs)

Kolkata 52 & 139 (Top scored in both innings as India won by 85 runs)

Madras 97* & 46 (India won by 100 runs)

Viswanath did not appear in Kolkata Test in 1986-87 as he had already retired by that time.

A comparative summary of Viswanath's batting:

	Tests	Inns	NO	Runs	Ave	Hs	100	50	0
with Gavaskar	88	149	9	5675	40.53	222	13	33	10
without Gavaskar	3	6	1	405	81.00	139	1	2	0

Name: Satish
Country: USA
Question: Who has been involved in most number of century partnerships in Tests & ODIs?

Rajneesh Gupta: In Test cricket Steve Waugh is on the top with 64 century partnerships, followed by former teammate Allan Border (63).

In One-Day Internationals, India's Sachin Tendulkar with 68 century partnerships heads the tally, with Sourav Ganguly (54) a distant second.

Name: John
Country: USA
Question: Among bowlers who have taken more than 400 Test wickets, who holds the record for going wicket less in an innings most times?

Rajneesh Gupta: Kapil Dev -- 57 times, followed by Courtney Walsh (43), Shane Warne (37) and Glenn McGrath (36).

Name: Vinayak
Country: India
Question: What exactly are the runs considered to follow-on the opposition in Test Cricket? Is it 1/3rd of runs of the team batting first? What are follow-on runs required if first team made 100 runs?

Rajneesh Gupta: In a two innings match of 5 days or more, the side which bats first and leads by at least 200 runs shall have the option of requiring the other side to follow their innings. The same option shall be available in two innings matches of shorter duration with the minimum-required leads as follows:
(i) 150 runs in a match of 3 or 4 days;

(ii) 100 runs in a 2-day match;

(iii) 75 runs in a 1-day match.

If no play takes place on the first day of a match of more than one day's duration, the first part of the above paragraph shall apply in accordance with the number of days remaining from the actual start of the match. The day on which play first commences shall count as a whole day for this purpose, irrespective of the time at which play starts.

Name: Samuel
Country: India
Question: Take the world's 3 great spinners: Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble who have taken -- 650, 550, 450 Test wickets respectively. Can you tell me what % of these wickets is from top 5 batsmen?

Rajneesh Gupta: