Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Test #1817 Records: Ponting Proves his Point..


Ricky Ponting, who still bears the scar that he received from a Steve Harmison’s vicious delivery in the opening test of the last year’s Ashes at Lord’s and had to carry subsequent wounds of an Ashes defeat for the last 14 months, warned the English cricket team that it is not going to be that easy this time and England may have to endure a very painful and long journey in the current Ashes. First, he scored a magnificent 196 out of 602/9 declared and helped Australia register their highest total in any opening test innings of an Ashes series for 60 years. Then he chose not to enforce a follow on, saying that it would give his bowlers a break and a much needed rest. However, I think the main reason may have been to inflict more pain on an already crestfallen England and further expose their bowlers' inability to take wickets. He proved it by hitting a polished 60* in an unbroken partnership of 134 runs for the second wicket with Justin Langer.

Langer himself followed his first innings knock of 82 with an unbeaten 100 and proved that his travails with short pitched deliveries are long forgotten and anything pitched short would be duly dispatched to the boundary. The only wicket that fell in Australia's second innings score of 202 for 1 which lasted for 45.1 overs was that of Matthew Hayden via a run-out. After all, the so called Dad's army with only Michael Clarke being under the age of 30 (he is now 26) did teach a lesson or two to the young and youthful England who had just three players Ashley Giles, Paul Collingwood and Geraint Jones in their 30s. To make matters worse Australia's two oldest players Shane Warne and Glen McGrath took more wickets together than the entire English attack.

Following are some of the statistical highlights of this test match in which Australia drew first blood in their mission to regain the Ashes.

When Ricky Ponting reached the score of 12 during his second innings knock of 60*, he completed 9000 runs in test cricket and became the seventh batsman to do so.

Following is the list of all batsmen who have aggregated 9000 or more runs in a test career.

Ponting’s 32nd hundred also puts him in the 3rd place along with Steve Waugh in the list of top century makers. Sachin Tendulkar with 35, Brian Lara and Sunil Gavaskar with 34 each are the only others to have scored 30 or more hundreds in test cricket.

Ricky Ponting also completed 1000 test runs for the calendar year 2006 with the second run of his 2 nd innings score of 60*. Kevin Pietersen of England too reached the 1000 run mark for the current year when he crossed 61 during his second innings knock of 92. For Pietersen, this is the first of many more such years to come where as for Ponting this is the 4 th time that he has achieved this feat.

Brian Lara and Matthew Hayden with five times and Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar with four times each were the only other batsmen to have recorded this feat more than 3 times in a career. Hayden’s record is unique in the sense that he achieved it in five consecutive years starting from 2001. With just three more tests to go in this year and with the dismal form that he is currently in, Hayden will have an uphill task to keep the record going as he still needs 510 more runs to record 1000 runs for the year 2006.

Following is the list of all batsmen who have recorded 1000 or more runs during the calendar year 2006.

Ricky Ponting also completed 1000 runs at the Gabba and becomes the second batsman to do so after Greg Chappell. In all 37 players recorded 1000 runs or more at a single test venue in 52 instances. Alan Border, Greg Chappell, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara and Javed Miandad did it at three different venues whereas Ponting joins Mahela Jayawardane, Graham Gooch, John Wright and Sunil Gavaskar to have done it on two grounds.

Geraint Jones continued his career without a duck and holds the record for playing most innings in a test career without ever registering a duck. However he is in the fourth in the list of those playing the most innings before registering first duck in a test career. Aravinda De Silva has played a record number of 75 innings before getting out without scoring. Clive Lloyd of West Indies played 58 innings and Alan Davidson of Australia played 51 innings before recording their first no score innings.

Following is the list of all those players who were never dismissed for a duck in a test career spanning at least 30 innings

Australia's 602/9 decl is the 2nd highest score in an Ashes first test innings surpassing previous total of 601/8 decl in the first innings of an Ashes series at Brisbane in 1954-55 and 601/7 decl at Headingley in 1989. The highest score in the first innings of an opening test still belongs to Bradman's 1946/47 team which made 645 at the same venue in the first Ashes test after the World War II.

Ricky Ponting would not mind trading all the records that he achieved in this test for inflicting a whitewash on England to become only the second captain in Ashes history to do so after Warwick Armstrong’s 1920/21 Aussies. If the opening test is any indication of things to come in the current series, he may very well be proving a point that last year’s Ashes loss was just a blip in Aussies domination of world cricket.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Test #1816 Records : Lara and Yousuf , Heroes again.

Test #1816 West Indies in Pakistan (2nd Test) at Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan

Mohammad Yousuf’s phenomenal form with the bat during the current year continues as he plundered another fifty and a century in the 2nd test of their on going test series against West Indies. His aggregate for the current year now stands at 1562 and is just 148 runs short of Vivian Richards’s 30 yr old record of most test runs in a calendar year. With two more chances to bat in the third test, Mohammad Yousuf will be definitely looking at breaking that record and even if he falters in 190s, which denied him three double hundreds in this year, it will not stop him from achieving it.

Mohammad Yousuf is the first batsman in test cricket history to have got dismissed thrice in nervous 190s and his seventh hundred this year also equals the record for most number of centuries in a calendar year jointly held by Sir Vivian Richards and Aravinda De Silva. Like Mohammad Yousuf, Brian Lara too may aim for achieving a test record when he leads his team in the 3rd test at Karachi to become the first batsman to reach a career aggregate of 12000 test runs. With his 9th double hundred and 34th test hundred he is now just 96 runs short of that milestone.


Here are some of the other statistical highlights of this test match in which batsmen from both sides ruled the proceedings.

Brian Lara’s second hundred of the series is his 34th in test cricket which puts him just one century short of Tendulkar’s all time record for most centuries in test cricket.

Brian Lara’s 216 is his 19th score of 150 or more which eclipses Don Bradman’s record of 18 scores of 150+.

Brian Lara also achieved a rare feat of registering a century before lunch of a test match day. Coming to the wicket after West Indies lost their first wicket (Chris Gayle) on day 3 of the test match Brian Lara shred Pakistan bowling attack to pieces by reaching his century of just 77 balls in the penultimate over before lunch. He scored exactly hundred runs during the session before lunch and provides the 19th such occasion. He also provides only 6th occasion of a batsman scoring century before lunch starting his innings in the same session. Four of those occasions were on the first day of a test match. Lara also becomes the first player to hit a century before lunch on two separate occasions.

Brian Lara’s hundred is the seventh fastest century in terms of number of balls received.

Brian Lara during his innings has also completed 1000 runs against pakistan. Having already amassed 1000 runs against Australia, England,India, South Africa and Sri Lanka Lara now joins Sachin Tendulkar of India as the only other batsman in test history to have aggregated 1000 runs or more against six different nations.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 100th test appearance puts him in the company of 41 other test cricketers who have appeared in a century of test matches for their country. He is 8th West Indian to join the club which consists of 10 Australians, 8 Englishmen, 6 Indians, 4 Pakistanis , 3 South Africans, 2 Sri Lankans and one New Zealander.

During the course of his innings Brian Lara hit 26 runs of Danish Kaneria’s 30th over making him the first batsman in test cricket to have registered 26 or more runs in an over on two separate occasions. Brian Lara already holds the record of scoring most runs in an over in tests having hit Robin Peterson's over for 28 runs in the 1st test of the 2003/04 series at Johannesburg.

During his 2nd innings score of 191 Mohammad Yousuf reached the career milestone of 6000 test runs. He thus becomes the 44th batsman in test cricket and 3rd Pakistani after Javed Miandad and Inzamam ul Haq.

During his 2nd innings knock of 56 Younis Khan reached the career milestone of 4000 test runs. He thus becomes the 97th batsman in test cricket and 8th Pakistani to do so.

During his knock of 89 Dwayne Bravo reached the milestone of 1000 test runs. He thus becomes the 426th batsman in test cricket and 46th West Indian.

It is very rare in test cricket that three batsmen from the same side hits a half century in each innings of a test match. Its only 7th such occasion when Pakistan’s Imran Farhat ( 74 & 76) , Younis Khan (56 & 56) and Mohammad Yousuf (56 & 191) did it in the Multan Test. Last time it happened was 30 years back, and then too it involved three Pakistani batsmen against NZ at Karachi in the 3rd test of the 1976/77. However the record for most batsmen scoring fifties in each innings either from one side or from both sides was achieved in the fourth test of the 1968/69 series at Adelaide. in which as many as four batsmen from Australia, Bill Lawry (62 & 89), Keith Stackpole (62 & 50), Ian Chappell (76 & 96) and Doug Walters (110 & 50) hit a fifty in each innings. Added to that two batsmen from WI, Basil Butcher (52 & 118) and Gary Sobers (110 & 52) too did achieve the record making it only occasion when six batsmen made fifty in each innings of the same test match. Other Test matches in which three batsmen from the same team scored fifties in each innings in chornological order are England vs. Australia in the 5th Test The Oval, 1948, India vs. West Indies at Kolkata in the 3rd test 1948/49, West Indies vs. England in the 4th Test Port of Spain, 1953/54 and West Indies vs. Australia in the 4th Test at Adelaide, 1960/61.

Mohammad Yousuf with his 4th test hundred in as many matches provides 14th instance of a batsman hitting a century in four consecutive tests. Don Bradman holds the record for making it to six consecutive tests whereas South Africa’s Jacques Kallis has done it in five consecutive tests. Bradman also provides two other such instances and Ken Barrington of England and Matthew Hayden of Australia are the only other batsmen to have done so on more than one occasion. They both did it twice in their test career.

If Brian Lara and Mohammad Yousuf continue their batting success from where they left of in the second test, Karachi test promises to be a feast for all statistically minded followers of the game.

Friday, November 24, 2006

DreamCricket.com Ashes Quiz

As per the request by many of you Cricket Lovers and Ashes Fans , I am putting all the hundred questions of the COUNTDOWN QUIZZES in this post for easy perusal. Those who wish to send their answers in one shot please do so by having the subject line on your email as "Answers to DreamCricket’s Ashes Countdown Quiz”. The last date for sending your answers is now extended to December 10th , 2006.

Q1- Q10 : Foreign Born Players.

Q1. England’s team for this winter’s Ashes has three players who were not born in England. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss were born in South Africa while Geraint Jones was born in Papua New Guinea. Though Monty Panesar is of Indian descent and Sajid Mahmood has his roots in Pakistan, they were both born in England and hence do not qualify as foreign born players representing England. The interesting question here is: which country, other than England obviously, holds the record for giving birth to more Test Cricketers who represented England in Ashes? Can you name the cricketers too?

Q2. In the first ever test match played at Melbourne in 1876/77, two cricketers who were making their test debut against the country in which they were born, were also making their first class debut. Name them.

Q3. The first ever test match had a player who was neither born in Australia nor in British Isles (i.e. England, Scotland, Ireland & Wales). Name this cricketer and his place of birth.

Q4. Only three players born in New Zealand ever played test cricket for Australia, the most famous of them being Clarrie Grimmett. However England fielded just one player born in New Zealand in a test match. Name him.

Q5. Both Maharaja Ranjitsinhji and his nephew Maharaja Duleepsinhji made a century on their Ashes debut against Australia with Ranji’s century coming in his maiden test. Duleepsinhji’s own nephew hit a century on debut in test cricket but narrowly missed hitting a century on debut against the Aussies, like his uncle and his uncle’s uncle before him. Name this nephew of Duleepsinhji.

Q6. Only one cricketer from each of the Ashes rivals went on to play and captain the country in which they were not born and against the country of their birth. Name them.

Q7. Who was the first cricketer to score a century in test cricket who was not born in England or in Australia?

Q8. Very rarely do two brothers make a test debut in the same match. The names that come to mind are the Grace Brothers for England and the Hearne Brothers for South Africa (born in Eng). These happened in the 19th century. However, one set of siblings made their debut for England in the same test against Australia in the 20th century. Who were they and where were they born?

Q9. Only one cricketer in the history of cricket holds the record for playing for Australia against England and for England against Australia. He was born in England but played test cricket for Australia first and then finished his test career there, while representing his birth country in between. Name him.

Q10. Name the cricketers to have been born in Peru and Italy who then went on to captain the English team in an Ashes Series.

Q11-Q20 : Bodyline Series (1932/33 Ashes).

Q11. Though the series was considered a failure for Bradman, he still led Australia both in the number of runs scored and batting averages even after missing the first test. Who made the most runs and led the batting averages for England?

Q12. Which English batsman after making a century on his test debut in the first test of the series played only one more test in the bodyline series. He returned to England after having an argument with his captain Douglas Jardine, and did not further participate in the series.

Q13. Harold Larwood, the Bodyline attack enabler took most number of wickets in the test series. But another bowler who refused to bowl according to the so called leg theory went on to claim the second highest number of wickets in the series for England. Who is he?

Q14. Bert Ironmonger , the Australian left arm spinner , made his first class debut when he was 46 yrs old four years prior to the Bodyline Series. He was one of the only three bowlers who took more than 10 wickets in the series for Australia along with Bill O'Reilly (27) and Tim Wall (16). Ironmonger took 15 wickets in the four tests @ 27.13. What unique record does he share with W.G. Grace, Wilfred Rhodes and George Gunn of England?

Q15. How do you connect India's great all-rounder Vinoo Mankad and the Chappell brothers to the Bodyline Series?

Q16. Insipte of numerous bodyblows taken by most of the Aussie players, four Australians managed to play in all five tests. Name them.

Q17. For three Australians the series provided their only test appearance and put them in the One Test Wonder Club. Who are they?

Q18. Which Australian cricketer declined a knighthood in 1934 and later said if it was awarded for his professional work rather than playing cricket, he would have accepted it.

Q19. In the only test match that Australia won, Bradman hit his only century of the series. However in the same test he was dismissed for a first ball duck in the first innings. Who was the bowler and what was so special about the dismissal?

Q20. Two of the English cricketers who took part in the Bodyline series were later captured as POWs during World War II. One of them returned back home but the other player died of wounds he suffered during the attack. Name them.


Q21-Q30 : Bradman's Invincibles (1948 Ashes).

Q21. The final innings of Bradman, a second ball duck, got more applause than any of his 29 centuries. Listening to the thunderous applause, the bowler Eric Hollies told one of his teammates “"Best ball I I've bowled all season and they are clapping him!". Later that day he called another teammate and said “He never saw it, Tom”. Name these two teammates.

Q22. For holding Bradman’s batting average under 100, Eric Hollies certainly deserves another question. What unique record does he hold in first class cricket, which presumably will never be broken?

Q23. One of Bradman’s team members on 1948 tour was just 54 days old when the Don made his test debut. Who was he?

Q24. Like Bradman, another great cricketer too ended his test career with a second ball duck during this series. Name him.

Q25. England started the series disastrously losing 8 wickets for 74 runs in the first test. However their ninth wicket pair rescued them with a partnership of 89 runs. They both registered their highest test scores during the test series. Who are they and what are their highest test scores?

Q26. During their England tour the "Invincibles" won 23 of their 34 matches. How many of them were innings victories?

Q27. Playing against the Essex the Aussies established a team batting record in first class cricket. What is it?

Q28. Another team record, which they achieved in a test match during the series, stood for nearly 28 years before being overtaken by the Indian team of mid 70s. What was the record?

Q29. In the final test of the series England was bowled out for a paltry total of 52. No batsman except Len Hutton reached double figures. Hutton very narrowly missed recording a rare feat in that match. What is it?

Q30. Who are the only Aussie members of 1948 Invincibles who did not play in any test match during the series?

Q31-Q40 : Ashes in 1950s.

Q31. England regained the Ashes last summer after 16 years in 8 attempts, but the 1953 Englishmen waited even longer to regain the Ashes. How many years and how many attempts did they take to bring back the Ashes?

Q32. Which Australian great ended the tour with an amazing knock of 135 in a first class match which included 11 sixes though he could make just 15 runs in the test series?

Q33. Australia lost the 1953 series with a 0-1 margin, their loss coming in the fifth test of their tour. What is so remarkable about that loss?

Q34. Which English cricketer took more wickets during the 1953 series than the runs he made?

Q35. Three cricketers, who played a major part in regaining the Ashes for England in 1953 in the final test at the Oval, were not selected for the 1954/55 Ashes tour. Name them.

Q36. In the first test of the 1954/55 a player who made his test debut went on to achieve a first which at that time was thought an impossible thing. Who is the cricketer and what first did he achieve in test cricket?

Q37. The 1954/55 series was totally dominated by bowlers to an extent that more than 300 runs in an innings were scored only twice by each team in that series with Frank ‘Typhoon’ Tyson being the leading wicket taker for both sides. Which test matches witnessed 300+ scores in that series and who scored them.

Q38. The last test match of 1954/55 saw debut of a cricketer who 38 years later became the first referee to suspend a player for abusing an umpire. Name him.

Q39. 1956 series was totally dominated by Jim Laker with that unbelievable 19 for 90 at Old Trafford in the 4th test. Laker did take ten wickets in innings against Australia in a tour match earlier that summer. There is a remarkable coincidence in both those innings. What is it?

Q40. Four of the Australian bowlers were the main discussion topic during the 1958/59 series because of their doubtful actions which lead the English touring party to believe they were chucking. Name the bowlers.

Q41-Q50 : Ashes in 1960s.

Q41. Which Australian batsman was once described as “ a corpse with pads on” by an English reporter for his hard to watch and difficult to dismiss batting style, made his test debut during the 1961 series.

Q42. Raman Subba Row hit a century in the first test of the 1961 Ashes and carried on the tradition of century on Ashes debut by a player of Indian descent. Who were the other English players of Indian origin who hit a century on their Ashes Debut before him ?

Q43. What Ashes record does Raman Subba Row share with RA Duff, MA Leyland, WH Ponsford and Mark Waugh.

Q44. During the 1962/63 series, an English bowler broke the test record held by his team’s Assistant manager. Name the bowler and the Assistant Manager of the MCC team.

Q45. Which Australian cricketer made his test debut during the 1962/63 Ashes and has a New Zealand Test Venue’s name as his middle name. He also wrote an autobiography titled Bowled Over.

Q46. By scoring a triple hundred in the fourth test of the 1964 series whose record did Bob Simpson emulate and what is the record?

Q47. During their 1964 England tour Australia lost only four matches. Three of them to Glamorgan, Warwickshire and Essex. Which was the only other team to have beaten Australia during that trip and where was the match played.

Q48. This Australian cricketer made his test debut during their 1961 Ashes tour to England and ended his test career during the 1965/66 series in Australia. He captained Australia in two of the first three tests of that series before getting sidelined. Name him.

Q49. He appeared in three of the five tests of 1968 series and a feat he achieved thirty years prior to that is yet to be emulated. Who is he and what is his unique feat?

Q50. Australia may very well have won the 1968 Ashes series but for the intervention of spectators on the field and subsequent deadly spell of 4 wickets in 27 balls by an English bowler which resulted in a dramatic victory for England. What was the incident and who was the bowler?

Q51-Q60 : Ashes in 1970s.

Q51. Which successful English batsmen of 1970/71 Ashes tour wrote an autobiography titled “Bootboy to President” and what is so odd about his last appearance in first class cricket.

Q52. Dennis Lillee made his debut in the sixth test of the 1970/71 series at Adelaide and opened the bowling a fast bowler who holds a unique record in ODIs. Four years later Lillee paired up with another fast bowler with last name. Name the bowler and the unique record he holds in ODIs which can never be surpassed.

Q53. Lord’s test of the 1972 Ashes will always be remembered as Massie’s Test. Which English batsman denied Bob Massie the record of 'claiming the wickets of all eleven opponents in a test match at least once' and be a part of an exclusive club? Also name the six current members of that exclusive club.

Q54. Tony Greig became the third English cricketer to achieve this feat in 1972 test series and only one other English player did it ever since. What rare feat did Tony Greig achieve and which other English cricketers achieved the same apart from Tony Greig?

Q55. During the 1974-75 series England’s captain Mike Denness has done something that no other cricketer has done either before him or ever since. What is it?

Q56. Who in 1974-75 Ashes played test cricket again after missing 62 tests for his country?

Q57. Which Englishman made his Ashes test debut in the first test of the 1975 Series and made his last appearance in Ashes in 1993 at Leeds?

Q58. What distinction does the fourth test match of the 1975 series holds in the history of cricket in England?

Q59. Which cricketer’s account of 1978/79 Ashes series has chapters named “Sacked”, “Skinned Alive” and “Slaughtered” and what is the title of the book?

Q60. The 1979/80 series between Australia and England saw the return of all WSC cricketers back to the test scene. It was played with an agreement that Ashes will not be yet stake. That season marked the beginning of a cricket tradition which still continues after 26 years. What is it?

Q61-Q70 : Ashes in 1980s.

Q61. In the centenary test played at Lord’s in 1980, the Australian vice Captain Kim Hughes became only the third cricketer achieve a certain feat. Three more players recorded the same feat in last 25 years. What is this rare feat and who else have registered this feat in test cricket.

Q62. Which cricketer who played in the 1980 centenary test later ended his life tragically by committing suicide?

Q63. Which well known name in test cricket has started and ended his test career during the 1981 Ashes?

Q64. During the sixth test match of the 1981 Ashes series, Dirk Welham of Australia hit a century on debut and became the second batsman in the history of test cricket to achieve two different records. He still remains as the last cricketer to have achieved both those records. Whose and what records did he emulate?

Q65. What unique distinction does English opener Graeme Fowler, who played his only Ashes tests during the 1982/83 series, hold in the history of cricket which he achieved while playing for Lancashire in 1982.

Q66. This English Cricketer had a more successful career in football playing for Manchester United and his only test appearance during the 1985 Ashes. Incidentally his son too made a single appearance in test cricket 16 year later. Name the father and son.

Q67. This Australian cricketer played his last test during the 1986/87 Ashes. He holds the distinction of being the first player to have batted as night watchman in both innings of a test match. He also headed the first class bowling averages for the Australian team when they toured England in 1993. Name him.

Q68. Which current member of the academy team for England was just one and half year old when his father was fined $500 for showing his anger at getting out in the Bicentenary Test match played at SCG in 1987/88 England’s trip to down under? Name his father and the reason why he was fined.

Q69. By claiming 41 wickets in the 1989 Ashes Australia’s Terry Alderman achieved a unique distinction. Shane Warne might want to emulate it when he takes on the Englishmen during this winter’s Ashes. What unique record does Terry Alderman holds in the test cricket history?

Q70. This Australian cricketer made his test debut during Australia’s 1989 Ashes campaign and his nephew is now one of the leading batsmen in Australia. Name the uncle and nephew.

Q71-Q80 : Ashes in 1990s.

Q71. Which Australian cricketer who took couple of catches as substitute during the 1990-91 Ashes went on to play for another country in One Day Internationals?

Q72. England’s victory in the 6th test at The Oval in 1993 Ashes was their first in 7 years. How many Ashes tests did they go winless during that period?

Q73. Which cricketer topped the bowling averages for his country in 1994/95 Ashes later went on to appear in a Television realty show? Also name the show.

Q74. One of the victims of this Australian bowler’s hat-trick went on to perform a hat-trick himself five years later against Australia. Name both of them.

Q75. Excluding Steve Waugh what is so unique about the Australian team that toured England in 1997?

Q76. Which Australian batsman hit three test hundreds on two separate occasions in an Ashes series but could not even hit a first class fifty during their 1997 Ashes tour?

Q77. What unwanted record does Steve Waugh hold that he achieved in the last Ashes test of the 90s decade?

Q78. This cricketer holds the record as the only player in the history of cricket to have played more than 100 tests in a single decade, which he achieved in 1990s. Name him.

Q79. Only one player has played in every Ashes test played during the decade of 90s. Name him.

Q80. During the 1990s decade Australia had just two captains in Ashes Tests. How many did England have and who are they?

Q81-Q90 : Ashes in 2000s.

Q81. In the first Ashes test of the new millennium as many as four Australians and five Englishmen made their Ashes Debut. Name them.

Q82. Which cricketer made his test debut during the 2001 Ashes who was earlier when on the verge of test match inclusion on a tour of Sri Lanka but was quarantined for having chicken fox?

Q83. During the 2001 Ashes England had just three century partnerships in 5 tests. Two of them involved Mark Butcher for the 2nd wicket. Once with Michael Atherton in the 1st test at Birmingham and once with Nasser Hussain in the 4th test at Leeds. Who were involved in the other century stand?

Q84. In the final test of the 2001 Ashes played at the Oval Mark Waugh broke a test record which he went on to better later and still holds it. Which test record?

Q85. Australia won both 2001 and 2002-03 Ashes series with the same margin 4-1. Another coincidence is both the series were decided in same number of playing days. How many days did Australia take to retain the Ashes in these series?

Q86. In the first test of the 2002/03 series Australia has done something which they have not done for 10 years in an Ashes test. What is it?

Q87. Name the cricketer who holds the record for playing most number of tests before making an Ashes test debut, which he did during 2005 Ashes.

Q88. Shane Warne took both his 400th and 600th wicket in Ashes tests and Adam Gilchrist caught them on both occasions. Who were his victims?

Q89. One of the greatest test matches ever played , the Edgbaston test will go down in the history of Ashes as the closest ever test match finish. However England did something on the first day of that match which eluded them for more than four decades. What is it?

Q90. What was the name of the substitute who ran out Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes and how many first class matches did he play in 2005 season.

Q91-Q100 : Ashes Superlatives.

Q91. Who was the first player in the Ashes to be out stumped?

Q92. Which bowler holds the record for conceding the most number of runs in an innings of an Ashes Test?

Q93. What is the highest total in the first innings of an Ashes test for a team that went on to lose the test match?

Q94. Who holds the record for hitting the fastest fifty in an Ashes test?

Q95. Who is the youngest player to have scored a double hundred in an Ashes Test?

Q96. Who is the oldest cricketer to have made his test debut in the Ashes?

Q97. Who holds the record for the slowest hundred in an Ashes test?

Q98. What is the lowest total in an Ashes test which included a hundred?

Q99. Who holds the record for hitting the least number of hundreds in Ashes in spite of aggregating 1000 or more runs?

Q100. Who was the last batsman to have hit a triple hundred in the Ashes as a captain of his team?

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Happy Quizzing.


Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Ashes Countdown 1

Ashes Superlatives Quiz

With less than twenty four hours to go for the Ashes kick off at Brisbane, in this edition of the Ashes countdown, let us look at the some of the superlatives in the Ashes i.e. the first, the most, the highest, the fastest, the youngest, the oldest, the slowest, the lowest, the least and the last!

Ashes Countdown 1 Quiz : Ashes Superlatives.


Q91. Who was the first player in the Ashes to be out stumped?

Q92. Which bowler holds the record for conceding the most number of runs in an innings of an Ashes Test?

Q93. What is the highest total in the first innings of an Ashes test for a team that went on to lose the test match?

Q94. Who holds the record for hitting the fastest fifty in an Ashes test?

Q95. Who is the youngest player to have scored a double hundred in an Ashes Test?

Q96. Who is the oldest cricketer to have made his test debut in the Ashes?

Q97. Who holds the record for the slowest hundred in an Ashes test?

Q98. What is the lowest total in an Ashes test which included a hundred?

Q99. Who holds the record for hitting the least number of hundreds in Ashes in spite of aggregating 1000 or more runs?

Q100. Who was the last batsman to have hit a triple hundred in the Ashes as a captain of his team?

This is the tenth and last of the 10 quizzes for the Ashes Countdown. Three winners will be selected at the end of the 10th quiz after tabulating all the results. The winners will be awarded exciting prizes courtesy of dreamcricket.com. In the event of a tie, we will have a tie-breaker among the top three positions.

Please do not forget to mail your answers to vijay@dreamcricket.com having the subject line as "Answers to Ashes Countdown XX Quiz" . Replace XX with the Countdown number.

As per the request by many Ashes fans , I will be putting all the hundred questions in one post on my blog before the end of the first test at Brisbane. Those who wish to send their answers in one shot please do so by having the subject line on your email as "Answers to DreamCricket’s Ashes Countdown Quiz”. The last date for sending your answers is now extended to December 10th , 2006. Results will be posted by 15th December.

Happy Quizzing…

Ashes Countdown 2

Ashes in New Millenium Quiz.

If the current trend holds good the Ashes in new millennium will be the dominated by Australians again. Led by Steve Waugh they have already won two Ashes series with 4-1 margins in 2001 and 2002/03. However, last year’s 2-1 loss put the onus on their captain Ricky Ponting to regain the Ashes and remove the tag of being the only captain not to have won the Ashes in last quarter century. He has already proved what a great batsman he is, yet unless he wins an Ashes series his name will not be as revered as his predecessors Steve Waugh, Mark Taylor and Alan Border. Ricky Ponting as of today with 1114 runs from 15 tests @ 44.56 with 4 hundreds is the top run getter in Ashes during this decade from either side. Matthew Hayden with 1048 runs from 15 tests @ 43.67 and England’s Marcus Trescothick with 1013 runs from 15 tests @ 33.77 are the only other batsmen to have aggregated more than 1000 runs during the last three Ashes series played in 2000s.

Ponting, Hayden and Trescothick are three of the five cricketers to have played in all 15 Ashes test played in new millennium. Damien Martyn and Adam Gilchrist of Australia are the other players who appeared in each and every one of those fifteen encounters. For the record, Hayden (7065 from 77 tests @ 56.07) & Ponting (6700 from 72 tests @ 64.42) are the leading run-scorers not only in Ashes but also for all countries. They both have highest number of centuries by any players in test cricket with 25 each. Rahul Dravid of India (6351 from 70 tests @ 63.51) & Jacques Kallis of South Africa (6184 from 70 tests @ 62.46) are the only other batsmen to have made 6000+ runs among others. With Marcus Trescothick already back in England both Ponting and Hayden now have a chance to widen the gap between them and any other English batsman for scoring most number of runs in this decade.


As far as bowling is concerned its Aussies all the way. Shane Warne, Glen McGrath, Jason Gillespie & Brett Lee have all taken more than 40 wickets in the three Ashes series played so far in this decade. They all played in 13 tests except McGrath who played only 12. Shane Warne leads the list with 85 wickets which included six 5-fors and three 10-fors. For England Andy Caddick has highest number of wickets with 35 from 9 tests. Muralitharan leads the list among all the bowlers in the world with a seemingly unassailable tally of 430 wkts from 60 tests @ 19.28 during this decade. Shane Warne is a distant second with 334 wickets in same number of tests @ 24.81. Muralitharan has thirty nine 5-fors and sixteen 10-fors in this decade compared to Warne’s twenty 5-fors and six 10-fors. Glen McGrath, Jason Gillespie & Brett Lee of Australia, Anil Kumble & Harbhajan Singh of India and Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock of South Africa have all taken 200+ wickets during this decade. Chaminda Vaas missed being in their company by just one wicket. He has 199 wickets @29.63 from 60 tests. For England Andrew Flintoff has taken more wickets than any other bowler with 180 wickets from 57 tests @ 30.78. Kevin Pietersen, who just played one Ashes series like Flintoff has topped both runs and batting averages in 2005 Ashes. He will be looking to better that this winter.

In this edition of Ashes Countdown Quiz, let us look at the New Heroes in New Millennium.

Ashes Countdown 2 Quiz: Ashes in New Millennium.



Q81. In the first Ashes test of the new millennium as many as four Australians and five Englishmen made their Ashes Debut. Name them.

Q82. Which cricketer made his test debut during the 2001 Ashes who was earlier when on the verge of test match inclusion on a tour of Sri Lanka but was quarantined for having chicken fox?

Q83. During the 2001 Ashes England had just three century partnerships in 5 tests. Two of them involved Mark Butcher for the 2nd wicket. Once with Michael Atherton in the 1st test at Birmingham and once with Nasser Hussain in the 4th test at Leeds. Who were involved in the other century stand?

Q84. In the final test of the 2001 Ashes played at the Oval Mark Waugh broke a test record which he went on to better later and still holds it. Which test record?

Q85. Australia won both 2001 and 2002-03 Ashes series with the same margin 4-1. Another coincidence is both the series were decided in same number of playing days. How many days did Australia take to retain the Ashes in these series?

Q86. In the first test of the 2002/03 series Australia has done something which they have not done for 10 years in an Ashes test. What is it?

Q87. Name the cricketer who holds the record for playing most number of tests before making an Ashes test debut, which he did during 2005 Ashes.

Q88. Shane Warne took both his 400th and 600th wicket in Ashes tests and Adam Gilchrist caught them on both occasions. Who were his victims?

Q89. One of the greatest test matches ever played , the Edgbaston test will go down in the history of Ashes as the closest ever test match finish. However England did something on the first day of that match which eluded them for more than four decades. What is it?

Q90. What was the name of the substitute who ran out Ricky Ponting during the 2005 Ashes and how many first class matches did he play in 2005 season.

This is the ninth of the 10 quizzes for the Ashes Countdown. Three winners will be selected at the end of the 10th quiz after tabulating all the results. The winners will be awarded exciting prizes courtesy of dreamcricket.com. In the event of a tie, we will have a tie-breaker among the top three positions.

Please do not forget to mail your answers to vijay@dreamcricket.com before 27th November, 2006 having the subject line as "Answers to Ashes Countdown XX Quiz" . Replace XX with the Countdown number.


Happy Quizzing....


Monday, November 20, 2006

Ashes Countdown 3

The Enduring Nineties


There is no exaggeration in saying that the decade of nineties in Ashes history belongs to the Waugh twins (Steve and Mark) as much as it does to Australia. Australia won every Ashes Series played during 90s by convincing margins. They won 1990-91 series with 3-0 margin, 1993 series with 4-1, 1994-95 with 3-1, 1997 with 3-2 and 1998-99 with 3-1. The elder of the brothers by minutes, Steve Waugh, made sure that the closely fought series of 1997 was theirs by hitting two tremendous tons on an unplayable wicket during the 3rd test at Old Trafford. During the 90s Waugh brothers scored most runs in Ashes than any other cricketer. They played in 22 tests of the 27 tests together. In the first series of the decade Steve Waugh played in the first three tests and was dropped in favor of his younger brother who played in the remaining two tests of that series.

In 24 Ashes Tests during the 90s decade Mark Waugh recorded most runs by any player from either side by scoring 1774 runs @ 45.48 including 4 hundreds and 10 fifties. He also took 13 wickets and 34 catches during that period. His aggregate was marginally higher than Steve Waugh's record during the same period. Steve Waugh in 25 tests scored 1731 runs @ 54.09 including 5 hundreds and 8 fifties. Steve Waugh also took 5 wickets and 13 catches.

Australia won almost every time when one of the twin brothers hit a hundred in an Ashes test except once when Steve Waugh would have taken them to a victory had it not been for inspired spells by Darren Gough and Dean Headley in the 4th test at Melbourne in 1998/99 series. Steve Waugh in that test was left high and dry on 30 while Australia fell short of victory target by just 12 runs. The other time they did not register a victory in spite of Waugh hundred in an Ashes test match was when Mark Waugh made his test debut in the fourth test of the 1990/91 series at Adelaide which ended in a tame draw as Graham Gooch and Michael Atherton added 203 runs for the 1st wicket and played out the major part of last day.

1990s also marked the beginning of the golden era for Australia and their dominance over every cricket team in the world. First it was Alan Border and then Mark Taylor along with their tireless coach John Buchanan built a team and a pool of talented cricketers whose exploits still continue to blow away their opponents.

Let us look at some other trivial facts and records of Nineties during which the England had to endure a decade full of Ashes defeats.

Ashes Countdown Quiz 3: The Enduring Nineties


Q71. Which Australian cricketer who took couple of catches as substitute during the 1990-91 Ashes went on to play for another country in One Day Internationals?

Q72. England’s victory in the 6th test at The Oval in 1993 Ashes was their first in 7 years. How many Ashes tests did they go winless during that period?

Q73. Which cricketer topped the bowling averages for his country in 1994/95 Ashes later went on to appear in a Television realty show? Also name the show.

Q74. One of the victims of this Australian bowler’s hat-trick went on to perform a hat-trick himself five years later against Australia. Name both of them.

Q75. Excluding Steve Waugh what is so unique about the Australian team that toured England in 1997?

Q76. Which Australian batsman hit three test hundreds on two separate occasions in an Ashes series but could not even hit a first class fifty during their 1997 Ashes tour?

Q77. What unwanted record does Steve Waugh hold that he achieved in the last Ashes test of the 90s decade?

Q78. This cricketer holds the record as the only player in the history of cricket to have played more than 100 tests in a single decade, which he achieved in 1990s. Name him.

Q79. Only one player has played in every Ashes test played during the decade of 90s. Name him.

Q80. During the 1990s decade Australia had just two captains in Ashes Tests. How many did England have and who are they?

This is the eigth of the 10 quizzes for the Ashes Countdown. Three winners will be selected at the end of the 10th quiz after tabulating all the results. The winners will be awarded exciting prizes courtesy of dreamcricket.com. In the event of a tie, we will have a tie-breaker among the top three positions.

Please do not forget to mail your answers to vijay@dreamcricket.com before 27th November, 2006 having the subject line as "Answers to Ashes Countdown XX Quiz" . Replace XX with the Countdown number.

Happy Quizzing....

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Ashes Countdown 4

Enthralling Eighties Quiz

No single cricketer has ever dominated the battles between Australia and England in one decade as Ian Terence Botham did during the 1980s. In 27 Ashes tests he played during the eighties starting from the 2nd test of the 1979-80 test series to the fifth test of the 1989 Ashes in England, Botham’s test figures read 1324 runs @ 30.79 , 104 wickets @ 30.27 and 45 catches @ 1.67. He also hit 4 hundreds and 4 fifties and had five 5-wkt hauls and a 10-wkt haul. His overall record during that decade (1st Jan 1980 to 31 Dec 1989) was even more stellar with 75 tests yielding 258 wkts @ 32.40 4051 runs @ 33.76 and 79 catches @ 1.05. He started the decade by top scoring with 27 in England’s 1st innings total of 123 and then returning with figures of 4 for 28 helping England to bowl the Aussies for 145 in the 2nd test of the 1979/80 series. In the next test at Melbourne he made a glorious 119* in the 2nd innings in another England loss.

He then single handedly won the test match for England against India at Bombay in the Jubilee Test with an unparalleled all round performance of hitting a century and taking 10 wickets in the same match. First he took 6 wickets 58 runs in India’s first innings total of 242, five of the victims coming via Bob Taylor’s record breaking effort behind the stumps. He then paired up with Bob Taylor again to add 171 runs for the 6th wicket after England were reeling at 58 for 5, though he has to thank India’s captain Gundappa Viswanath ’s generosity of calling back Bob Taylor after he was given out. Botham changed the whole complexion of the game as England gained a lead of 54 runs and when India batted again he took 7 for 48 making his match analysis 13 for 106 runs in addition to his century in England’s first innings. But that was not the last of test matches that he has lent his name to during the 80s.


Botham was appointed as captain of England after that 1980 Golden Jubilee test in India. But the burden of leading the side in addition to the absence of one of the shrewdest minds of English cricket, Mike Brearley whom Botham has replaced resulted in some lackluster performances from him. He led England against the mighty West Indies led by Clive Lloyd and did well enough as a captain by keeping the margins to 0-1 and 0-2 in two back to back test series losses. He also led England to a draw in the Centenary test at Lord’s against a strong Australian side, though he may have to thank the weather gods for that. But it was his performance in those matches which left a lot to be desired and made his critics looking for his head. He made just one half century in 17 innings of those ten tests and did not produce even a single 5-wkt haul in an innings. Many of his critics thought his days of glory were behind him and wanted Mike Brearley to lead the battered England side against the Aussies in 1981 Ashes. And when England lost the 1st test at Trent Bridge and in the second test at Lord’s Botham bagged a pair lasting just four balls at the crease and resigned from the captaincy, everyone thought it’s only a matter of when Botham would be dropped from the English team. But all that changed in the next test at Leeds as Botham’s brilliance resurfaced again with the appointment of Mike Brearley as the captain of the remaining four tests. With Botham producing an innings of a lifetime and Bob Willis doing the same while bowling, England won the test after being asked to follow-on in one of the most remarkable turnarounds the game has ever seen. That Botham’s test of 1981 Ashes transformed a whole nation into a euphoria that lingered for more than a quarter century till last year’s Ashes victory with Freddie Flintoff’s comparable deeds.

It was a decade of enthralling and entertaining cricket by both Aussies and England and by the end of the decade Australia built an all conquering team and regained the Ashes in 1989 in England with Alan Border becoming the first captain since Bill Woodfull in 1934 to have regained the Ashes in England.

Let us look at some trivia about the enthralling eighties in this edition of Ashes countdown quiz.

Ashes Countdown 8 Quiz: Enthralling Eighties.


Q61. In the centenary test played at Lord’s in 1980, the Australian vice Captain Kim Hughes became only the third cricketer achieve a certain feat. Three more players recorded the same feat in last 25 years. What is this rare feat and who else have registered this feat in test cricket.

Q62. Which cricketer who played in the 1980 centenary test later ended his life tragically by committing suicide?

Q63. Which well known name in test cricket has started and ended his test career during the 1981 Ashes?

Q64. During the sixth test match of the 1981 Ashes series, Dirk Welham of Australia hit a century on debut and became the second batsman in the history of test cricket to achieve two different records. He still remains as the last cricketer to have achieved both those records. Whose and what records did he emulate?

Q65. What unique distinction does English opener Graeme Fowler, who played his only Ashes tests during the 1982/83 series, hold in the history of cricket which he achieved while playing for Lancashire in 1982.

Q66. This English Cricketer had a more successful career in football playing for Manchester United and his only test appearance during the 1985 Ashes. Incidentally his son too made a single appearance in test cricket 16 year later. Name the father and son.

Q67. This Australian cricketer played his last test during the 1986/87 Ashes. He holds the distinction of being the first player to have batted as night watchman in both innings of a test match. He also headed the first class bowling averages for the Australian team when they toured England in 1993. Name him.

Q68. Which current member of the academy team for England was just one and half year old when his father was fined $500 for showing his anger at getting out in the Bicentenary Test match played at SCG in 1987/88 England’s trip to down under? Name his father and the reason why he was fined.

Q69. By claiming 41 wickets in the 1989 Ashes Australia’s Terry Alderman achieved a unique distinction. Shane Warne might want to emulate it when he takes on the Englishmen during this winter’s Ashes. What unique record does Terry Alderman holds in the test cricket history?

Q70. This Australian cricketer made his test debut during Australia’s 1989 Ashes campaign and his nephew is now one of the leading batsmen in Australia. Name the uncle and nephew.

This is the seventh of the 10 quizzes for the Ashes Countdown. Three winners will be selected at the end of the 10th quiz after tabulating all the results. The winners will be awarded exciting prizes courtesy of dreamcricket.com. In the event of a tie, we will have a tie-breaker among the top three positions.

Please do not forget to mail your answers to vijay@dreamcricket.com before 27th November, 2006 having the subject line as "Answers to Ashes Countdown XX Quiz" . Replace XX with the Countdown number.

Happy Quizzing....


Saturday, November 18, 2006

Test #1815 Records : Lara’s dominace in defeats

Test #1815 West Indies in Pakistan (1st Test) at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Brian Lara's record in defeats for West Indies is quite impressive which goes on to prove that he seldom fails to perform under pressure. Their loss to Pakistan in the recently concluded test is their 62nd test defeat that Lara involved in. His tally now in all those test matches that West Indies lost since his test debut on the same ground 15 years back is 5267 runs @42.47 with 14 hundreds and 22 fifties. He extends his record of most runs and centuries scored by a batsman in a losing cause. Sachin Tendulkar of India is a distant second in the number of hundreds in a defeats, 8 in 37 tests whereas England’s Alec Stewart stands second in the list of most runs scored in defeats, 2993 runs. But remarkably none of his 15 hundreds was scored in those 54 defeats England suffered. Though he may try his very best to avoid, very soon Lara’s teammate Shivnarine Chanderpaul may push Alec Stewart from that position as he is just 40 runs short of overtaking Stewart’s aggregate. Chanderpaul’s 2954 runs in 48 West Indian defeats includes 3 hundreds and 18 fifties.


Here are some of the statistical highlights of this test match:

With his twin scores of 61 & 122, Brian Lara provides the 30tht occasion of a captain top scoring in both completed innings of a test match for his side. Following is the list of all those instances.

Younis Khan during his first innings knock of 11 completed 1000 runs during this year and joins Rahul Dravid and his team mate Mohammad Yousuf as the only batsmen to do so during this calendar year. Following is the lsit of their record for the year 2006.



Mohammad Yousuf provides 51st instance of a player aggregating 1000 or more runs at a single venue. He now has 1037 runs at Lahore @94.30 and hit 5 hundreds at this venue. He thus becomes only the third batsman to aggregate 1000 or more runs at Lahore. Javed Miandad with 1122 in 17 tests and Zaheer Abbas, with 1093 in 10 tests are the only other batsmen to have record in excess of 1000 runs at this venue.

When Chris Gayle took the wicket of Kamran Akmal in Pakistan’s first innings he reached the milestone of 50 wickets. Since he has already scored more than 1000 runs and took 50+ catches in his test career, he becomes the 20th all rounder in test history to have scored 1000+ runs and taken 50+ wickets & 50+ catches. He now has 4124 runs @ 38.54 , 51 wkts @ 36.25 and 65 catches @ 1.05 from 62 tests. Twelve of the 20 all rounders who achieved this record made 4000+ runs.

With the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif from the Pakistani bowling line up Umar Gul took the responsibility of spearheading their attack and played a major part in their 9 wicket victory. His third 5wkt haul in an innings also brought him 50 test wickets. He now has 54 wickets in 12 Tests @ 29.70.

Ashes Countdown 5

Turbulent Seventies Quiz

The game has changed more drastically during the seventies than any in other decade. No one will argue about it if they just get reminded of some of the events that took place during this decade.

It all started with a ban on South Africa owing to their apartheid policies. Then a complete washed out test match at Melbourne in 1970/71 series led to the addition of a 7th test match to the series. More importantly it also led to the first ever official One Day International cricket match between two nations. The popularity of ODIs resulted in a World Cup tournament for the shorter version of the game five years later.

South Africa’s absence in test cricket resulted in hastily arranged unofficial test series against Rest of the world by England and Australia with Garfield Sobers coming out as the most dominant player from both those series.

For the first time the Ashes series included six test matches. Ray Illingworth led England regained Ashes for the first time in sixteen years. The Chappell Era unfolded and the names of Chappell, Lillee, Thomson and Marsh became very familiar to the cricket lovers all across the world. England and Australia played a centenary test to celebrate the 100 years of test cricket and with a remarkable coincidence, the result was same as the first ever test match, a victory for Australia by 45 runs.

But the biggest impact on the game came not from cricketing authorities but from a media mogul called Kerry Packer, though England might thank him as they won a test series with 5-1 margin. Only time England ever registered five wins in a test series against Australia can be attributed to Packer as most of the Australian leading players were barred from playing test cricket because of their participation in Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. In the end ACB had to cut a truce with Packer and cricket has changed permanently from the way we knew till then.

In this edition of Ashes Countdown Quiz let us touch the tumultuous times of the turbulent Seventies.

Ashes Countdown 5 quiz: Turbulent Seventies


Q51. Which successful English batsmen of 1970/71 Ashes tour wrote an autobiography titled “Bootboy to President” and what is so odd about his last appearance in first class cricket.

Q52. Dennis Lillee made his debut in the sixth test of the 1970/71 series at Adelaide and opened the bowling a fast bowler who holds a unique record in ODIs. Four years later Lillee paired up with another fast bowler with last name. Name the bowler and the unique record he holds in ODIs which can never be surpassed.

Q53. Lord’s test of the 1972 Ashes will always be remembered as Massie’s Test. Which English batsman denied Bob Massie the record of 'claiming the wickets of all eleven opponents in a test match at least once' and be a part of an exclusive club? Also name the six current members of that exclusive club.

Q54. Tony Greig became the third English cricketer to achieve this feat in 1972 test series and only one other English player did it ever since. What rare feat did Tony Greig achieve and which other English cricketers achieved the same apart from Tony Greig?

Q55. During the 1974-75 series England’s captain Mike Denness has done something that no other cricketer has done either before him or ever since. What is it?

Q56. Who in 1974-75 Ashes played test cricket again after missing 62 tests for his country?

Q57. Which Englishman made his Ashes test debut in the first test of the 1975 Series and made his last appearance in Ashes in 1993 at Leeds?

Q58. What distinction does the fourth test match of the 1975 series holds in the history of cricket in England?

Q59. Which cricketer’s account of 1978/79 Ashes series has chapters named “Sacked”, “Skinned Alive” and “Slaughtered” and what is the title of the book?

Q60. The 1979/80 series between Australia and England saw the return of all WSC cricketers back to the test scene. It was played with an agreement that Ashes will not be yet stake. That season marked the beginning of a cricket tradition which still continues after 26 years. What is it?

This is the sixth of the 10 quizzes for the Ashes Countdown. Three winners will be selected at the end of the 10th quiz after tabulating all the results. The winners will be awarded exciting prizes courtesy of dreamcricket.com. In the event of a tie, we will have a tie-breaker among the top three positions.

Please do not forget to mail your answers to
vijay@dreamcricket.com before 27th November, 2006 having the subject line as "Answers to Ashes Countdown XX Quiz" . Replace XX with the Countdown number.

Happy Quizzing....