Nelson strikes again! Australia were all out for 111 at Cape Town. How often has Nelson proved fatal in the fourth innings of a Test? asked Peter Callaghan from England
Australia were rolled for 111 as South Africa won the third Test and the series in Cape Town last week. It turns out that this is something of an Aussie specialty: there have been seven instances of a team being dismissed for 111 in the fourth innings of a Test, and six of them have been by Australia.
That includes some famous Tests: England's Botham-inspired victory after following on at Headingley in 1981, a collapse in the face of Frank Tyson (7 for 27) in Melbourne in 1955, and the five-run defeat to South Africa in Sydney in 1994.
The one exception is South Africa's 111 all out (one batter retired hurt) against England at Lord's in 1955.
Simon Harmer took 6 for 16 in 21.1 overs at Cape Town. Has anyone bowled more overs in a Test for fewer runs? asked Ekky Ahluwalia from South Africa
Offspinner Simon Harmer finished with 21.1-14-16-6 as South Africa dismantled Australia for 111 to win the third Test (and the series) in Cape Town last week. There have been quite a few longer spells that produced fewer runs, notably the Indian slow left-armer Bapu Nadkarni's scarcely believable figures of 32-27-5-0 against England in Madras in 1964.
But the only cheaper six-for than Harmer's, having sent down more than 120 deliveries, was recorded by Max Walker, with 16-8-15-6 (these were eight-ball overs) for Australia against Pakistan in Sydney in 1973.
Is Graeme Cremer the first player to have two gaps of more than six years between Test appearances? asked Ian Hill via Facebook
Former captain Graeme Cremer was recalled for Zimbabwe's Test against Afghanistan in Sharjah last week. It was his 19th Test, but the first since December 2017. Cremer also went more than six years between his sixth cap (in August 2005) and his seventh (January 2012).
The only other player I can find with two gaps of more than six years in his Test career is the England offspinner Fred Titmus. He won his first two caps against South Africa in 1955, but did not appear again for almost seven years, winning a recall when Pakistan toured England in 1962. He was then a regular member of the side until the serious boating accident that deprived him of four toes in the Caribbean early in 1968, but was recalled for England's 1974-75 tour of Australia. Titmus played four more Tests there, taking his total to 53, in which he claimed 153 wickets at 32.22.
Brian Bennett, who's 22, captained 41-year-old Craig Ervine in Zimbabwe's Test in Sharjah. Is this the biggest difference between a captain and one of his older players? asked Michael Pollock from England
There was a difference of more than 18 years between Brian Bennett - born in November 2003 and captaining Zimbabwe for the first time at the age of 22 - and Craig Ervine (born August 1985) in the Test against Afghanistan in Sharjah last week. This is actually the third-biggest negative age difference between a captain and one of his team: Bob Wyatt (born May 1901) was also 18+ years younger than Jack Hobbs (born December 1882) against Australia at The Oval in 1930, but four years earlier Percy Chapman (September 1900) had been almost 23 years younger than Wilfred Rhodes - who was born in October 1877 and made his Test debut before Chapman was conceived - in the Ashes decider against Australia at The Oval in August 1926.
Graeme Cremer's inclusion last week, not long after his 40th birthday in September, meant Zimbabwe's side included three players who were over 40 (also Ervine and Brendan Taylor). This was the first such instance in Tests since 1951, when South Africa included Dudley Nourse, Eric Rowan and Geoff Chubb in all their five matches in England. Bennett actually occupies third, fourth and seventh places on this particular list.
Is Antum Naqvi, who made his debut for Zimbabwe last week, the first Test player born in Belgium? Are there many others born in mainland Europe? asked Kevin Briggs from Scotland
It's true that Antum Naqvi, who won his first cap for Zimbabwe against Afghanistan in Sharjah last week, is the first Test player to have been born in Belgium. Naqvi, who was born in Brussels in 1999, has had a varied life: he is a qualified pilot who was brought up in Australia, moved to Zimbabwe in time for the 2022-23 domestic season, and the following summer hit 300 not out for MidWest Rhinos against Matabeleland Tuskers in Harare. He might have played for Zimbabwe before, but there were doubts about his eligibility, which now seem to have been resolved.
He is the seventh player born on mainland Europe to play a Test match. The other countries involved are Germany (the England pair of Donald Carr and Paul Terry), Denmark (Amjad Khan of England), Italy (England captain Ted Dexter), Norway (Buster Nupen of South Africa) and Portugal (another South African, Dick Westcott). The recent Australian allrounder Moises Henriques was also born in Portugal, but on the island of Madeira. After four Tests and 40 white-ball games for Australia, Henriques - who's now 39 - made his T20I debut for Portugal in August, and a few days later hit 111 against the Czech Republic in Vantaa (Finland).
Shiva Jayaraman of Cricinfo's stats team helped with some of the above answers.
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