And was USA’s defeat of Pakistan the biggest World Cup upset?
Steven Lynch11-Jun-2024Was the United States’ victory over Pakistan the biggest shock in a World Cup? asked Jack Wilkins from England
There aren’t official rankings for this sort of thing, so this will be a personal view, but the USA’s win over Pakistan after a Super Over in Dallas last week must be near the top of the list. In terms of the T20 World Cup, it was the 14th win by a non-Test-playing country over a Test nation (the 15th soon followed, when Canada beat Ireland in New York.) That number includes two wins apiece by Afghanistan and Ireland before they had Test status.I’m inclined to think that Netherlands’ victory over England at Lord’s in the opening match in 2009 was actually more of a shock, given that it was 15 years ago and the Associate nations were less well prepared then. The Dutch beat England again, by a whopping 45 runs, in Chattogram in 2014, and upset South Africa in Adelaide in the last T20 World Cup in 2022. Also in that tournament, Scotland beat West Indies convincingly in Hobart, the day after Namibia hammered Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the opening match of the tournament in Geelong.There have been 16 similar upsets in the one-day international World Cups, nine of them by teams who later acquired Test status (five by Ireland alone). The biggest surprise probably remains Kenya’s big win over West Indies in Pune in 1996, although Ireland scoring 329 to beat England in Bengaluru in 2011 must be high on the list too. And in last year’s 50-over World Cup, Netherlands beat South Africa by 38 runs in Dharamsala, and a week later crushed Bangladesh by 87 in Kolkata.Frank Nsubuga conceded only four runs in Uganda’s T20 World Cup win the other day. Was this a record? asked Samuel Nagendra from Uganda
Offspinner Frank Nsubuga had the outstanding figures of 4-2-4-2 in Uganda’s T20 World Cup win over Papua New Guinea in Providence (Guyana) last week. This wasn’t quite the most miserly four-over spell in all T20Is: for Canada against Panama in Coolidge (Antigua) in November 2021, slow left-armer Saad Bin Zafar delivered four maidens, finishing with 4-4-0-2.His figures were, however, the most economical for a full four overs in a T20 World Cup match. Going into the current tournament, the record was eight runs conceded, by three bowlers, the most notable figures being Ajantha Mendis’ 6 for 8 for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe in Hambantota in 2012. However, two days before Nsubuga’s performance, Anrich Nortje finished with 4-0-7-4 for South Africa against Sri Lanka in New York.Nsubuga has done this sort of thing before: against Tanzania in Kigali (Rwanda) in December 2022 he had figures of 4-1-4-2, while against Rwanda in Kigali in October 2021 he returned 4-1-5-2.At 43, Nsubuga is the second-oldest player to appear in a T20 World Cup, after Ryan Campbell, who was 44 when he represented Hong Kong in March 2016.How many people have been out for 299? asked Kyle Longworth from England
Only two batters have had the mortification of being dismissed for 299 in first-class matches. The first was New Zealand’s Martin Crowe, in a Test against Sri Lanka in Wellington in 1990-91. Distracted by the upcoming milestone, he pushed at a gentle medium-pace devliery from his opposite number as captain, Arjuna Ranatunga, and was caught behind. “I had choked,” wrote Crowe. “I didn’t concentrate. I forgot to say ‘Keep still, watch the ball’. Out for 299 – tell me it’s not true! Tears streamed down my face as I realised that this opportunity might never happen again.” It didn’t, for Crowe anyway: and it was another 23 years before Brendon McCullum finally completed New Zealand’s first Test triple-century, against India in February 2014, also at the Basin Reserve.A similar fate befell Glamorgan’s Michael Powell in a Championship match against Gloucestershire in Cheltenham in 2006: after 667 minutes, he was caught behind for 299. According to one report, Powell “trudged off the field as if he had just got a first-ball duck”, after narrowly failing to match WG Grace, the only other man to score a triple-century at Cheltenham College.There have also been two scores of 299 not out in first-class cricket. The first was by Australia’s Don Bradman, in a Test against South Africa in Adelaide in 1931-32. He was left stranded when the No. 11 Hugh “Pud” Thurlow was run out. Irving Rosenwater, in his exhaustive biography of Bradman, puts the lie to the generally held belief that the run-out was caused by Bradman trying to reach 300: “In fact, had Thurlow made his ground safely, Bradman’s score would still have been 299… Thurlow was run out, having been sent back by Bradman.” A seamer from Queensland, Thurlow did not score a run, take a wicket or make a catch in what turned out to be his only Test.Many years later, in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in Pune in 1988-89, Maharashtra’s Shantanu Sugwekar also finished with 299 not out. He could have fewer complaints about his No. 11: Anil Walhekar survived for 110 minutes, scoring 38 and helping to add 102, before being bowled with Sugwekar one short of 300. Sugwekar was more worried about his partner: “The moment he saw the stumps rattled, he started crying,” he told journalist Akash Sarkar in 2014. “He was crying so much, I didn’t know how to react. I told him jo hota hai hota hai [whatever happens, happens]. Only after I came back and sat down in the pavilion, I realised I had missed a triple-hundred.”Martin Crowe was the first man to be out for 299 in Tests, against Sri Lanka in 1991•Getty ImagesFurther to last week’s question about the men who scored two centuries in the same Test, has a woman ever done this? asked Joslyn Richardson from Australia
I did remember to check this in connection with last week’s answer. No woman has ever scored two centuries in the same Test: the closest was by India’s Sandhya Agarwal, who made 143 and 83 against Australia in Mumbai in 1983-84.New Zealand’s Emily Drumm had a notable double of 161 not out and 62 not out against Australia in Christchurch in 1994-95, and there were similar what-might-have-beens for the distinguished England trio of Rachael Heyhoe-Flint (113 and 59 not out against New Zealand in Scarborough in 1966), Enid Bakewell (114 and 66 not out vs New Zealand in Christchurch in 1968-69) and Jan Brittin (146 and 59 not out vs Australia in Guildford in 1998). For the list of those who have scored two half-centuries in the same women’s Test, click here.I’ve been told that two of the not very many instances of a bowler taking ten wickets in a first-class innings happened on the same day. Is this true? And when was it? asked Jamie Friston from England
There have only been 84 instances of a bowler taking all ten wickets in an innings in 11-a-side first-class matches. But it’s correct that two of these happened on the same day – Monday, June 20, 1921. At Cardiff Arms Park, Glamorgan (in their first season in the County Championship) were starting the second innings of their match against Derbyshire, in which 20 wickets had fallen on the first day. The procession continued: Glamorgan were all out for 106, with seamer Billy Bestwick taking all ten wickets for 40. Bestwick was 46 at the time, and remains the oldest bowler to have performed this feat in first-class cricket. He was well known for enjoying a pint or two of beer, as the Derbyshire historian John Shawcroft recalled: “It was a remarkable performance, and it indicates just why the county adopted a tacit policy of turning a blind eye to some of his drinking adventures. Derbyshire accepted Bestwick for what he was – a magnificent bowler whose behaviour, because of his drinking, was sometimes erratic, but who gave of his best on the field.”Meanwhile, not far away at New Road, Worcestershire were resuming their first innings against Somerset, having reached 108 for 4 overnight. Slow left-armer Jack White, who would make his Test debut for England a couple of weeks later, had taken all four – and he now worked his way through the rest, finishing with 10 for 76 as Worcestershire advanced to 237, exactly equalling Somerset’s first-day total. White was an amateur, a point made by the Times in their headline: “Ten wickets in an innings – Mr JC White and Bestwick”.By chance, two days later Derbyshire met Somerset in a Championship match in Derby. White took 13 more wickets as his side won, while Bestwick collected five. There’s a photograph in the Somerset museum of the two all-ten men shaking hands.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