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The World Series taking place in Los Angeles this week has brought out tons of fans, including celebrities from all over. Game 3 brought Blue Jays fans like Justin and Hailey Bieber, while Game 4 on Tuesday brought royalty to Dodger Stadium with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sitting in the front row.

Game 5 on Wednesday night was no different. Some celebrities even made repeat appearances in Los Angeles, showing their true fandom for the Dodgers.

The World Series is headed back to Toronto on Friday, where the 2025 winner will either be crowned on Friday or Saturday.

So, who was in attendance to watch Game 5 in Los Angeles? Here are the celebrities that were there, in no particular order:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Andy Garcia

The Oscar winning DiCaprio attended Game 5 in Los Angeles. Actor and director Andy Garcia was also in attendance on Wednesday.

Jason Bateman

The Angels were considering multiple former franchise stars to become their next skipper, but they reportedly ruled out two big names in their managerial search after Ron Washington and interim Ray Montgomery's departure.

According to a report from 's Bob Nightengale, Los Angeles has informed five-time All-Star Torii Hunter that he is no longer in the running to become their next manager. Earlier Monday, the New York Post's Jon Heyman reported that Albert Pujols have broken off talks on the role as he receives interest from the Orioles and Padres for their openings.

Neither former franchise star possesses experience as a manager at the MLB level, but Pujols has found quick success as a manager in his native Dominican Republic. He's slated to manage their national team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Hunter joined the Angels as a special assistant to general manager Perry Minasian last year.

Who are the other candidates for the Angels' managerial vacancy?

Los Angeles could still look to a former player with Kurt Suzuki still in the mix, according to MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger. Suzuki has served as a special assistant to Minasian as well. Bollinger mentioned Rangers special assistant Nick Hundley, Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, former Orioles manager Brandon Hyde as well as former Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli as additional candidates linked to the Angels.

The Angels finished last season 72-90 and missed out on the playoffs for the 11th season in a row.

Australia learned lessons when they lost their first game of the T20 World Cup, while India’s best chances will be to repeat more of the same

Alex Malcolm07-Mar-2020Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana versus Megan SchuttSchutt started the year as the No.1 T20I bowler but has since slipped to No.2 while Verma has climbed to No.1 in the batting rankings after mauling Schutt at every opportunity.”They’ve got the wood on me,” Schutt said. “Smriti and Verma, they’ve got me covered. There are some plans we’re going to revisit as bowlers. Clearly, I don’t think I’m the best match-up to those two in the powerplay, they find me easy to play.”Verma has scored 33 runs in 14 balls off Schutt this year without being dismissed, including four boundaries in an over in the tournament opener. But despite her own doubts, Schutt is a good match-up for Mandhana having dismissed her four times for 55 runs in 44 balls since 2016. If it’s not Schutt bowling in the powerplay Australia have precious few other options. Ellyse Perry and Tayla Vlaeminck are the perfect match-ups for the India pair but both are unavailable due to injury.Verma has had trouble against extra pace bounce but has dominated everything else. Australia doesn’t have extra pace. The only other pace options they have from the semi-final side is Nicola Carey and Delissa Kimmince, but both bowl at well under 110kph. They tried the offspin of Molly Strano in Sydney without success after she had dismissed Verma five times in seven innings for Australia A and the Governor-General’s.ESPNcricinfo LtdHarmanpreet Kaur versus Jess JonassenKaur has had a tough tour of Australia. Since her outstanding 42 not out against England in the tri-series in Canberra she has only reached 20 twice in nine innings and has three single-figure scores in the World Cup. Jonassen has her measure. The left-arm spinner has claimed her three times in her career and Kaur has scored just 16 runs in 21 balls against her since 2016. Australia have a couple of good match-ups for India’s middle order. Kimmince has knocked over Jemimah Rodrigues three times for just 17 runs in 17 balls. The worry for Australia is Deepti Sharma who played a valuable innings in Sydney making 49 from 46. The left-handed Sharma has trouble scoring freely against Schutt and Kimmince, but if those two are forced to bowl a lot upfront, it could be left to two left-arm orthodox and a legspinner later in the innings if Australia pick the same side from the semi-final. Sharma can find the boundary hitting with the spin as she proved twice against Jonassen in the opening match of the World Cup. Molineux has a poor record against all of India’s players and Georgia Wareham has strategically not been selected against them.Alyssa Healy and Beth Mooney versus Deepti SharmaSharma and Shikha Pandey are the match-ups in the powerplay for Australia’s key pair. Like India, if Australia’s openers get away the game can disappear quickly. Sharma has been phenomenal against Australia’s dynamic duo getting Healy twice and Mooney three times and conceding well under a run-a-ball. India cannot turn to Rajeshwari Gayakwad or Radha Yadav against Healy and Mooney as both have feasted on the left-arm orthodox. It is strange for Healy, a right-hander, to prefer the ball spinning away but the way she uses her feet and her hand path and bat swing means she is much more comfortable creating room and going inside-out over the offside. Sharma can bowl wide of the crease and angle in which cramps Healy. Mooney oddly doesn’t sweep Sharma very often despite the fact she bowls over the wicket pitching the ball outside leg stump. Pandey is a gamble. Mooney has scored 49 off 32 against her for one dismissal but Pandey has caused Healy some concern. Poonam Yadav has got Healy twice but she is unlikely in the powerplay with only two fielders out.Poonam Yadav celebrates•Getty ImagesMeg Lanning or Ash Gardner at No.3 versus India’s spinnersThis is an interesting debate for Australia. Lanning has taken control at No.3 in the last two games against New Zealand and South Africa, going against Australia’s previous plan of sending Gardner out at No.3 if Healy falls first. But Lanning’s career strike-rate drops from 117 to 103 against India and she’s never made a half-century, while Gardner’s record against India and at No.3 overall is outstanding compared to her career numbers. Both of Gardner’s career half-centuries have come at No.3 including 93 against India in the tri-series. She also averages 26.23 at No.3 and strikes at 133.13 compared to her career rates of 21.50 and 127.97. Against India, she averages 32.42 and strikes at 135.11. Lanning has fallen to Radha and Gayakwad twice each and Sharma once. There is a case to be made for Australia to get Gardner to bat as high as possible for this game. That will be weighed up against Lanning’s current form, her experience, her leadership, and her record in big finals. But Gardner was Player of the Match in the last World Cup final against England in the West Indies in 2018 where set batted No. 3Australia versus Poonam YadavThe fear is real for Australia after Yadav ripped through them taking 4 for 19 in the opening game. “We will talk about Poonam Yadav,” Lanning said. “There’s a lot of learnings from that first game that we feel like we can implement. We’ll do all our research over the next few days, have a look at them, but also how we can play. I’ve got no doubt we’ll be able to adapt.”The MCG is a vastly different surface to the Sydney Showground with much more grass and less turn. Poonam has taken just one wicket in each of the past two games partly because of the lessons other sides have learned. Australia tried to play Poonam’s slower than normal legspin off the front foot and all four of Poonam’s victims fell either advancing down the track or lunging forward and not reading the spin correctly. A back-foot blueprint was provided by New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr who sat deep in her crease and moved outside off stump to pull her twice over backward square. But it’s one thing knowing what to do, it’s quite another being able to execute under pressure in a World Cup final.

We discuss the pros and cons of each of the potential replacements

Sruthi Ravindranath13-Jan-2021Jalaj SaxenaSaxena, now 34, has been waiting to make the step up to the highest level for a really long time. The offspinning-allrounder is a first-class veteran with 123 matches to his name, matches in which he has scored 6334 runs and picked up 347 wickets, putting up outstanding numbers year after year. He’s hit over 500 runs in six out of the last eight Ranji Trophy seasons, and has taken over 40 wickets in three out of the last five seasons. Saxena seemed to have fallen off the selectors’ radar after being kept out of the India A frame for nearly six years, but returned to play against England Lions and South Africa A in 2019. He made 138 runs in four games then, with highest of 61* and picked up nine wickets.In his favour: With R Ashwin as the primary spinner, Jadeja usually plays as the second spinner and a lower-middle order batsman. Of the options, Saxena probably comes closest to being as versatile as Jadeja is, and might be the best fit in Jadeja’s absence.Against him: Saxena’s experience is definitely a plus point, but would India prefer a younger player? Also, if Ashwin is fit, would they want a second off spinner? Saxena’s performances have certainly not dipped over the years, and most recently, he returned 3 for 13 in Kerala’s opening Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match, playing after nearly a year. But seeing that he has been in and out of the ‘A’ side, one wonders if the selectors want to turn to him again or not.Axar PatelThe left-arm spinner picked up 27 wickets in six matches in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy season, and also made handy contributions with the bat in Gujarat’s run to the semi-final. A regular in the India A teams for a while now, Patel has 134 wickets and 1665 runs in 39 first-class games.In his favour: He’s played for India and has been a regular in the IPL and in the frame for the Indian white-ball sides, known for his match-winning cameos and monstrous hits in the shorter formats, and also has one first-class century and 13 half-centuries to his name. Patel, almost 27 now, also provides the left-arm spin option and has grown as a strike bowler, especially in the shorter formats, having added new dimensions to his bowling over the years. Knowledge of playing in home conditions in Gujarat might also come in handy for the two Tests scheduled to be played at the new stadium in Ahmedabad.Against him: Lack of first-class games at home. While he comes with international experience, having played 38 ODIs and 11 T20Is, will Patel’s lack of red-ball experience – 15 Ranji games in the last three seasons – have an impact on his selection? It does seem like he has been slotted in as a short-format player, and not one for the waiting game.Jayant Yadav has the experience of playing England in home Tests•AFPJayant YadavFour wickets on his India debut. The first India No. 9 to hit a Test century. Just when his international career was about to take off, Yadav hit a roadblock with a finger injury, and eventually fell out of favour after playing four Tests across 2016 and 2017. He returned to the domestic circuit for the 2018-19 season and picked up ten wickets in six games for Haryana, and in the 2019-20 season picked up nine wickets in just two games.In his favour: He’s a more-than-useful lower-order batsman besides being a specialist spinner, with 2172 first-class runs – including a career-best 211 – and 162 wickets. There’s a fair bit of ability there, not to mention Test-playing experience.Against him: Injuries have denied him game time in the last few years – he’s played just eight Ranji matches in the last couple of seasons. He doesn’t have the weight of recent performances on his side, even if reputation and ability are very much on his side.Shahbaz NadeemPerhaps the best left-arm spinner in India for the past many years, Nadeem is perhaps the No. 1 candidate to slot in for Jadeja even if he isn’t quite the batsman some of the others are. Nadeem has 443 first-class wickets, 83 of which have come for India A at an average of under 30. After years of picking up wickets by the sacksful across formats, Nadeem was rewarded with a Test debut against South Africa at home in 2019 – his only Test so far – where he finished with match figures of 4 for 40.In his favour: He’s featured regularly for India A and has impressed across the world, and his class is beyond doubt. Since 2017, he has picked up 75 wickets in 18 matches – there’s form on his side too, even though he isn’t getting any younger at 31.Against him: He is a specialist bowler, with a first-class batting average of 14.64. Not quite the bowling allrounder one would ideally want to replace Jadeja with.

Jaykishan Plaha tells of physical and mental struggles after training accident involving Australia star

Valkerie Baynes25-May-2021Since Jaykishan Plaha was floored by a ball, driven at point-blank range by David Warner into his head during a net session at the 2019 World Cup, he has been trying to show that he is so much more than “that guy who got hit”. But that was just part of the problem.A fractured skull, severe concussion that led to a temporary loss of feeling and strength down his right side, anxiety and depression followed as he came to terms with the setback in his cricket career, and the net-bowling opportunities he had enjoyed with some of the world’s best players dried up in that moment. Things spiralled so badly that he began to feel like he “didn’t want to be here”.”The ball before, one of the guys actually asked me to swap nets,” Plaha recalls. “I was like, ‘no, I’m all right, I want to bowl to David Warner, I’m liking this, I’m liking how it’s going’.”I bowled an inswinger and the ball came crashing straight at me. I thought either it’s going to take my eye out, or it’s going to hit me one way or another, hit my nose maybe. When the ball hit me, I heard a loud beep in my ear which was a concussion. So the right side of my whole body switched off completely. I couldn’t feel anything, that’s the reason why I dropped to the floor.”I was just in a state of shock, I could see everyone three times. Everyone came rushing over, David Warner was obviously shocked.”David Warner looks on after net bowler Jaykishan Plaha was struck on the head by a ball•Dibyangshu Sarkar/AFP via Getty ImagesThankfully there was top medical support on hand at the Kia Oval as Australia and India prepared for their group stage match that day. Plaha was taken for CT scans, which revealed a depressed fracture to the left side of his skull. He was able to walk again within a day or two and was released from hospital after four days.He began to regain strength in his right side and “everything was responding pretty good”, but then came the blackouts and his progress stalled. A recovery that was expected to take six weeks took seven months.”In my mind, I just thought ‘I’m not going to be the same player’,” Plaha says. “Whenever I was going out, shopping or something, everyone knows about it, so they’ll be like, ‘oh you’re the guy that got hit’. When people keep saying it, you get frustrated, then I just stopped going outside.”It did affect me very, very badly. I was getting very angry. I was getting anxiety, depression. I would just sit there on my own in the house, I just wanted to be left alone.”It was all down to myself to pick myself up and understand what was going on because I was slowly getting to a stage where I didn’t want to be here no more.”

“When I started playing again, someone was like, ‘oh, this guy was bowling to David Warner and now he’s playing with us, he’s not the same’. Stuff like that affects you mentally”Jay Plaha

Plaha, 25 and from west London, started out as a spinner, picking up fast bowling relatively late as a 17-year-old, but he was always a kid who just loved the game and it took him far. Before the World Cup, he was a net bowler for India and Pakistan tours of England and enjoyed a stint in the Kolkata Knight Riders nets during the 2019 IPL.Like most young players with ambitions to play at the highest level, Plaha has always put pressure on himself to perform. The opportunities on offer as a net bowler for elite teams also brings pressure; not only are you able to talk to and learn from the best, you’re in prime position to be seen by the best too. When he was injured, he feared all that could be over.”When I started playing again, I had a match and someone was like, ‘oh, this guy was bowling to David Warner and now he’s playing with us, he’s not the same’, stuff like that, and it does affect you mentally,” Plaha says.Plaha’s family recognised that he might be suffering with mental health problems after the accident and supported him as he sought help from a specialist.”As men, we’ve been told we have to look a certain way… we have to talk a certain way”•Kamini Plaha”That period of time, I was struggling really bad and I think if I didn’t ask for help, it would have been a very, very different story and it would have had a different impact on my whole life,” he says.”As men, we’ve been told that we have to look a certain way, we have to be built a certain way, we have to talk a certain way.”But inside there’s a lot of people out there, including myself, that don’t show it. We just smile it off, we laugh: ‘We’re all right, we’re okay, we’re fine.’ But when we go back home, you lock yourself in, headphones in. It’s a very, very dangerous place to be in, your own mind can be a very, very dangerous place to be in.”When the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the UK went into lockdown for the first time last year, Plaha weighed 86kg compared to his usual 72kg. He took time off work, began training in the gym again, started boxing and playing NFL with friends and got into better physical shape than ever. He also began a video diary, documenting his experience over two years with a YouTube series called “The Comeback”. But his comeback wasn’t easy.”In the garden I was working with my dad, countless hours with tennis balls, I thought a tennis ball was going to kill me,” he says.Warner is reunited with net bowler Plaha after the training accident•ICC via GettyBut he has found something of that young kid who just loved the game. Now playing for Staines & Laleham CC in the Surrey Championship Division Four, he says he has gained pace and become a batting allrounder – he leads the club’s batting rankings with 174 runs from five innings and a highest score of 85 not out. His return to bowling has progressed more slowly this season due to a calf injury.Plaha hopes to go on to play in the Surrey Premier Division and plans to spend a few months honing his game in Australia with the aim of eventually securing a professional contract.”I’m seeing my options now, and that’s the main thing,” Plaha says. “Seeing that, you know, ‘he had a head injury but he’s gone to the top’. That’s what the dream is right now.”

Pat Cummins enjoys “luxury” of rotating his quicks as Scott Boland and Cameron Green continue to thrive

Alex Malcolm15-Jan-2022Only four times in 104 Test matches has Nathan Lyon not been required to bowl in a completed innings, and two of those have come in the last three Tests.Lyon’s main contributions on the second day in Hobart were three hooked sixes while batting and a stunning catch at point, as Australia’s four-pronged fast bowling cartel carved through England again.England’s inept batting aside, this innings was slightly different to the three others where Lyon has been a spectator. In Cape Town 2011, Adelaide 2020, and Melbourne 2021 Australia’s quicks routed their opposition for under 100 inside 28 overs.Related

Travis Head and Cameron Green flourish under pressure to show their Test pedigree

Pat Cummins takes four as England stutter again on 17-wicket day

As it happened – Australia vs England, 5th Test, Hobart, 2nd day

But here England made 188 and batted for nearly 48 overs. Admittedly it is a green seamer at Bellerive where England have played without a spinner and 22 of the 23 wickets to go down in two days have fallen to seam, with Rory Burns’ run out the only outlier.Pat Cummins was magnificent again, picking up four wickets for the 14th time since 2017, more than any other bowler in world cricket, and Mitchell Starc bagged three. Scott Boland and Cameron Green picked up one apiece but both bowled far better than their figures suggested, with Boland’s Test average finally reaching double figures as luck eluded him for the first time with two catches shelled in the slips.There was a moment when Lyon could have been used. Ollie Pope and Sam Billings cracked five boundaries in five overs off Starc and Cummins as both men flagged towards the end of their respective five-over spells, which were both their second bursts of the innings.Lyon’s stranglehold over Pope in the first two Tests would have crossed Cummins’ mind. But instead, he turned Boland with eight overs under his belt already. The 32-year-old metronome from Melbourne locked in on a length again and never let up. Pope duly nicked a ball he didn’t need to play at. Chris Woakes nicked Boland’s next ball straight to first slip and David Warner dropped it. Usman Khawaja dropped a similarly hot chance at third slip off Woakes two overs later.The discovery of Boland and Green has had a two-fold effect on Australia’s attack. In seaming or bouncy conditions, Australia can continue to attack with two quicks at either end after the new ball. But Australia’s two least-experienced quicks aren’t just attacking England, they are defending at the same time, grinding scoring to a halt which is usually Lyon’s role in the first innings in Australia.Although Green’s final figures of 1 for 45 were a tad expensive, the control of length that he and Boland demonstrated was exceptional. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, the pair bowled 48 balls on a good length at an economy rate of 1.62. No other bowler in the game has an economy rate under 2.4 from good-length balls. Cummins took four wickets off good length balls but his economy rate was 4.12 while Starc only bowled 15 good length balls and conceded 20 runs (or 8 runs per over).Boland and Green also beat the bat relentlessly as they have all series and produced three nicks although only one was held. Cummins can’t believe his luck as a captain having four high-class quicks to rotate through on a daily basis.”I just felt like, especially in cool conditions, we could just have two quicks operating, then just literally switch both ends and the next two quicks operate, it’s just a real luxury at the moment,” Cummins said. “Everyone’s bowling so well. Nathan Lyon, I’m sure would have done a great job. He’s been fantastic this series and to not even need him it’s a sign that we’re in a really good place. Again, I think everyone bowled around between 10 and 15 overs. So hopefully we’ve got some fresh legs going to the second innings as well. Scott has been obviously fantastic but Greeny as an allrounder, he’s a genuine fourth quick, keeps a tight, takes big wickets.”Cameron Green had Sam Billings caught on the hook•Getty ImagesIn the grand scheme of things, it gives Australia extraordinary depth. Josh Hazlewood has only played one Test this series while Jhye Richardson took five wickets in the fourth innings in Adelaide and is running the drinks in Hobart despite being fully fit.Both Cummins and Starc have stressed throughout the summer that the quick bowlers don’t want to be rested or rotated. But the emergence of Boland and Richardson and Starc’s finish to the series might finally give the selectors the ammunition to make such a brave call that they didn’t against India last summer.As well as Starc has bowled in this Ashes series, taking 18 wickets and leading Australia’s attack at times, he has the second-highest average and second highest strike-rate of Australia’s seven quicks used and he is the only one to play all five games.It is worth noting his diminishing returns in long series across his career. He averages under 25 in the first two Tests of any series and 30.47 in the third. But that drops away to 41 in fourth Tests and fifth Tests. His strike-rate drops to 67.8 and 74 in fourth and fifth Tests as well. He picked up three wickets in Hobart but two were tailenders and he wasn’t as menacing as he usually is in pink-ball games. Given he bowls at high-pace and maximum effort all the time there is certainly a case for him to be managed differently across long Test series moving forward, despite his want to play as much as possible.The same can apply to all of the quicks, especially since the only one to play in the IPL and the T20 World Cup prior to the Ashes, Hazlewood, broke down with a side strain in the first Test.Boland only added to his already tremendous value by producing an incredible nightwatchman effort in brutal batting conditions, after Australia slumped to 3 for 33. He faced 25 balls and was unbeaten copping blows on the hands and body as he shielded Steven Smith from the strike.Lyon, so often the man tasked for such a difficult assignment, was once again a spectator. For the first time in a long time, Australia are building options across the board.

Who has scored the most first-class hundreds without ever making a double-century?

Steven Lynch19-Apr-2022Dewald Brevis made his IPL debut before playing a single first-class match. I know some Indians have done this, but is it unique for an overseas player? asked Shekhar Mehra from India
Mumbai Indians’ 18-year-old South African signing Dewald Brevis – one of the stars of the recent Under-19 World Cup – is actually the sixth overseas player to appear in the IPL before making his first-class debut. The first was the Jamaican seamer Krishmar Santokie, for Mumbai Indians in 2014, and he’s been followed by the Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane in 2018, Australian allrounder Chris Green in 2020, and the hard-hitting Singapore-born batter Tim David in 2021.Santokie played a dozen T20Is for West Indies, and 119 T20 matches in all, but never did appear in a first-class match; Green (137 T20 games) and David (91, including 14 internationals) have not yet played first-class cricket. Mujeeb has played just one first-class match to date, and it was a Test – Afghanistan’s first one, against India in Bengaluru in 2018.No fewer than 63 Indians have played in the IPL before making their first-class debuts.I notice that Shan Masood has a List A average of 57.46. Is he top of the list? asked Tom McGuirk from Canada
The Pakistan left-hander Shan Masood, who has made such a good start to his county career with Derbyshire, is actually third on this list at the moment (given a qualification of 50 innings). His current List A average of 57.46 puts him just behind Michael Bevan (57.86), but ahead of Virat Kohli (56.83) and Babar Azam (56.07).The identity of the top man is rather a surprise: it’s Warwickshire’s Sam Hain, who’s yet to play for England despite a List A average of 59.78.Keshav Maharaj took seven wickets in the second innings of both recent Tests against Bangladesh. How many people have done this? asked Richie Knight from South Africa
South Africa’s slow left-armer Keshav Maharaj, who took 7 for 32 in Durban and 7 for 40 in Gqeberha, was only the tenth man to take seven-fors in successive Test matches, a list headed by the old England bowler George Lohmann, who actually did it in three consecutive matches, against South Africa in 1895-96.The others to manage two were England’s Tich Freeman (1929), Clarrie Grimmett (in what turned out to be his final two Tests for Australia in 1935-36), England’s Alec Bedser (in his first two, in 1946), South Africa’s Hugh Tayfield (1956-57; he took 8 for 69 and 9 for 113), Tony Lock of England (1958), the distinguished Pakistan trio of Imran Khan (in the year 1982), Abdul Qadir (in the year 1987) and Waqar Younis (1990-91), and India’s Harbhajan Singh (in two matches against Australia in 2000-01 in which he took 28 wickets in all). Of these, only Tayfield, Lock and Maharaj took both their seven-fors in the second innings.Keshav Maharaj became the tenth man to take seven-fors in consecutive Tests•AFP/Getty ImagesWho has scored the most first-class hundreds without ever making a double-century? asked Gokul Mohan from the UAE
The leader here is the New Zealand opener John Wright, who made 59 first-class centuries with a highest score of 192, for Canterbury against Central Districts in New Plymouth in 1986-87. Next come the former England batter Arthur Milton, whose 56 first-class centuries included a highest score of 170, and Bill Athey (55, highest score 184). The most first-class runs without a double-century is 34,994, by Brian Close, whose 52 tons included a highest of 198 for Yorkshire against Surrey at The Oval in 1960.In Tests, both Mohammad Azharuddin (highest score 199) and Colin Cowdrey (182) made 22 centuries without a double, while Alec Stewart scored 8463 runs with 15 centuries, the highest being 190.Further to last week’s question about one-cap wonders, how many people have played just the one Test for Australia? asked Kraig Tyrrell from Australia
To date, 72 men have been lucky enough – or unfortunate enough, depending on your point of view – to win just one Test cap for Australia. That includes a few who might yet play again, notably opener Will Pucovski and seamer Michael Neser, who both made their debuts during 2021. The stories of the other 70 have been collected together in a beautifully produced book, Fifteen Minutes of Fame, by the industrious Melbourne writer Ken Piesse (for details, see his website www.cricketbooks.com.au).There are also 40 women (again including some current players), who have played one Test for Australia.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

And what’s the lowest score a batter has a Player-of-the-Match award for?

Steven Lynch14-Jun-2022I spotted that Mustafizur Rahman took 28 wickets in his first ten ODIs. Was this a record? And what’s the most by anyone in any spell of ten ODIs? asked Khaled Hossain from Bangladesh
Mustafizur Rahman’s tally of 28 wickets in his first ten one-day internationals for Bangladesh – starting with 5 for 50 and 6 for 43 against India in June 2015 – has been bettered only by another left-arm seamer, New Zealand’s Mitchell McClenaghan, who managed 29; the West Indian Ottis Gibson also took 28.The purplest ten-match patch at any stage in ODIs belongs to Pakistan’s Waqar Younis, who claimed 35 wickets in ten games between April and November 1990, a run that included five five-fors, three of them in succession, and even one wicketless match. Ajantha Mendis once took 34 wickets in ten ODIs for Sri Lanka, while Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and Oman’s Bilal Khan (earlier this year) have both managed 32.All nine Bengal players who batted reached 50 in their recent match against Jharkhand – is this a record? asked Peter Dayson-Smith from England, among others
This was reasonably fresh in the memory, as a few weeks ago I answered a similar question after seven Surrey players reached 50 in an innings against Kent. And so it’s easy to confirm that Bengal’s nine half-centuries against Jharkhand in Bengaluru last week is a record for any first-class innings, beating eight by the Australian tourists in their match against Oxford and Cambridge University Past and Present in Portsmouth in 1893. There have been 26 instances of seven scores of 50 or more in an innings, including Surrey’s total of 671 in that match in Beckenham in May, which remains the highest in first-class cricket without an individual century.In the same round of Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, in Alur, Mumbai thrashed Uttarakhand by 725 runs, another first-class record: the previous-heaviest defeat by a runs margin was 685, by New South Wales against Queensland in Sydney in 1929-30, in the match in which Don Bradman made 452 not out, the highest score in first-class cricket at the time. There have been heavier innings defeats, the grand-daddy of them all being Pakistan Railways’ victory over Dera Ismail Khan in Lahore in 1964-65, by the little matter of an innings and 851.What’s the lowest all-out Test total that included a 200-run partnership? asked Vipul Shah from India
There have so far been four completed innings in Tests which were less than 300 but nonetheless featured a partnership of 200 or more. Lowest of all is Australia’s 284 against West Indies in Brisbane in 1968-69, which included a stand of 217 between Bill Lawry and Ian Chappell (no one else made more than 17).When Pakistan made 288 against West Indies in Georgetown in 1999-2000, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq put on 206, quite a recovery from 39 for 5. India’s 293 against England at Headingley in 1952 included a partnership of 222 by Vijay Hazare and Vijay Manjrekar, while South Africa made 296 vs India in Kolkata in 2009-10, with a stand of 209 between Alviro Petersen (who was making his debut) and Hashim Amla. New Zealand’s 283 against West Indies in Kingston in 1984-85 included a stand of 210 between Geoff Howarth and Jeff Crowe – but only nine wickets fell in that one as Jeremy Coney had broken his arm and was unable to bat.If we look at innings which were not all-out, Pakistan’s 230 for 3 to beat New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1984-85 included a partnership of 212 between Mudassar Nazar and Javed Miandad.Asif Ali faced only seven balls and made 25 runs in his Player-of-the-Match performance against Afghanistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup•ICC via GettyI noticed that Aiden Markram has played 31 Tests, and has not yet taken part in a draw – is this a record? asked Keith McKenzie from South Africa
You’re right that the South African batter Aiden Markram has so far taken part in 19 Test victories and 12 defeats – and no draws yet. This is indeed a record: Jason Gillespie took part in 26 Tests before playing in a draw, while his Australian team-mates Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden had 22 and 21 respectively; the 19th-century England allrounder Johnny Briggs played 20 Tests before his first draw.Markram currently has the most Tests in a complete career without a draw, although he might yet lose that distinction. George Lohmann, another 19th-century Englishman, played 18 Tests without ever featuring in a draw; next comes Alok Kapali, who played 17 Tests for Bangladesh and lost them all. Keaton Jennings has so far appeared in 17 Tests for England, all of which ended in definite results, while Shimron Hetmyer has played 16 for West Indies.In the second match in Sri Lanka, Matthew Wade was Man of the Match for his 26 not out from 26 balls; he didn’t bowl, or make any catches or run-outs. Has anyone won the award after scoring fewer than this as their only formal contribution to a T20 international? asked Rohan Kennedy from Australia
Australia’s Matthew Wade won the match award in the second T20 international against Sri Lanka in Colombo last week for his run-a-ball 26, which came after he entered at a tricky time – 80 for 5 in the ninth over, chasing only 125. You’re right that he didn’t otherwise feature on the scorecard, although that wouldn’t show, for example, any particularly good pieces of fielding; Wade did keep wicket through a Sri Lankan innings that included no extras.However, Wade’s 26 balls is a long way from the smallest involvement by a player who ended up with the match award in a T20 international. Playing for Pakistan against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup in Dubai in October 2021, Asif Ali was given the award after having an active involvement in only seven deliveries, from which he hammered 25 not out. Brad Hodge (21 not out) faced eight balls for Australia against South Africa in Durban in 2013-14, as did Dinesh Karthik (29 not out) for India vs Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy final in Colombo in 2017-18 (he did also complete a run-out while keeping wicket). Against England at The Oval in 2009, Ramnaresh Sarwan won the award for his nine-ball 19 not out as West Indies chased a rain-reduced target.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

And has a team ever fielded 11 left-handed batters in an international match?

Steven Lynch09-Aug-2022Has any Zimbabwean player made a higher score in a successful ODI run-chase than Sikandar Raza last week? asked Ollie Hastings from Zimbabwe
Sikandar Raza’s 135 not out as his side overhauled Bangladesh’s 303 for 2 in Harare last week – he ended the match with his sixth six – has been bettered for Zimbabwe only by… Sikandar Raza, who hit 141 when they beat Afghanistan in Bulawayo in July 2014. In all, there have now been 13 centuries for Zimbabwe in successful ODI run-chases, including Innocent Kaia’s 110 in the same game as Sikandar last week, as well as those by Sikandar and Regis Chakabva in the second match in Harare on Sunday.In the second T20 in St Kitts, India’s batters were all out in scorecard order – has this happened before? asked Niraj Mohammed from India
In India’s innings in that match against West Indies in St Kitts last week, No. 1 Rohit Sharma was the first man out, and Nos. 2 to 10 obligingly followed suit in order, leaving No. 11, Arshdeep Singh, not out. This pleasing progression had happened only one before in a T20 international, by Sri Lanka as they slid to defeat against Pakistan in Colombo in August 2009.There have also been two instances in one-day internationals, by India against Australia in Visakhapatnam in April 2001, and West Indies vs South Africa in Grenada the following month.This calculation is more problematic for Test matches, as it’s not always known which opener took first strike (and was therefore No. 1), and occasionally we are not absolutely sure about the batting order, especially if it was changed in the second innings. The ESPNcricinfo database currently shows four cases of Nos 1-10 being out in numerical order, but according to additional research from the Australian statistician Charles Davis, who has studied hundreds of original scorebooks, two of these are incorrect: in England’s second innings against South Africa in Cape Town in 1909-10, Frederick Fane actually went in before Frank Woolley, while for Australia vs West Indies in Georgetown in 1964-65, Bill Lawry took first strike in the second innings, rather than Bob Simpson. Says Charles: “Lawry and Simpson were the first opening pair to regularly swap places between first and second innings. Most (but not all) Australian opening pairs have done the same since. Online scorecards frequently miss this.”That leaves just England’s first innings against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1948-49, and Pakistan vs England at Old Trafford in 2001 (second innings).However, thanks to Charles’ research we can add three more: Australia vs England in Adelaide in 1911-12 (Charles Kelleway took first strike in the second innings, not Warren Bardsley), South Africa vs Australia in Johannesburg in 1966-67 (Graeme Pollock was out before Colin Bland in the second innings), and England vs New Zealand at Lord’s in 1978 (Ian Botham was out before Bob Taylor in the first innings).The last time a team fielded eight left-hand batters in a Test – the most – was by Australia in the 2013-14 Ashes•Getty ImagesHas a team ever fielded 11 left-hand batters in a Test, or any other international match? asked Bijul Raveendran from India
The most left-handers fielded by one team in a men’s Test is eight, which has happened three times: by West Indies against Pakistan in Georgetown in 1999-2000, and by West Indies against England at The Oval later in 2000; and by England against Australia in Sydney in 2013-14. There are 38 further instances of a team having seven left-handers.There’s also one case of nine left-handers in men’s T20Is, by Bangladesh against Zimbabwe in Harare in July 2021; the only right-handers were Mahmudullah, the captain, and wicketkeeper Nurul Hasan. There have been five further cases of eight, all by Bangladesh. In ODIs the most is seven, which has happened on no fewer than 46 occasions.Sri Lanka’s women can match that, however: in successive one-day internationals in 2016 against England in Colombo (November 12 and 15) their side included nine left-handers.Apparently two of the characters in Chess are named after Test cricketers. Which two? asked Kevin Robertson from England
The lyrics for the musical Chess were written in the early 1980s by Tim Rice and Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, with music by Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. I think it’s a fair bet that most of the character names came from Sir Tim, a noted cricket lover and former MCC president. The plot pits an American chess grand-master against a Russian: the American is Freddie Trumper, a nod to the legendary Golden Age Australian batter Victor Trumper. The other hidden Test player is a less famous Aussie: Walter de Courcy, part of Trumper’s entourage (and later his boss), is apparently named after Jimmy de Courcy, the New South Wales batter who played three Tests in England in 1953. De Courcy turned into “Walter Anderson” when the show started on Broadway, but the New York debut came well before Jimmy’s first Test for England.Which cricketer called his autobiography Wrist Assured? asked Michael Mackay from Australia
This is the new book from the elegant Indian batter Gundappa Vishwanath, written with the help of journalist R Kaushik and published by Rupa Books in India earlier this year. It’s been a long time coming, given that Vishy played his last Test in 1982-83, but it is an entertaining trip down memory lane. Best of all, it’s a hardback! More and more books are coming out in paperback only, and they don’t last quite as well on the bulging bookshelves.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

The true significance of this win might lie with those who orchestrated it, not the opponents who were defeated

Alex Malcolm26-Oct-20221:22

Fleming draws parallels between NZ cricket and Ireland

Most Irishmen come to Australia to escape the rain.

But the rain falling from the leaden Melbourne skies brought overwhelming joy to Ireland’s men’s cricket team as it confirmed their greatest-ever T20 triumph, beating England in a T20 World Cup.”I’ve seen a lot of rain in my time playing cricket, and I’ve never been happier to see that rain come down when it did,” Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie said in the post-match press conference.To suggest that rain was the key factor in the result is to diminish an outstanding achievement in Irish sport. England captain Jos Buttler said his side were thoroughly outplayed.Ireland richly deserved their victory. As their players got soaked while celebrating with the small pockets of Irish fans who were singing in the rain in the MCG stands, the achievement was not lost on Balbirnie.Ireland had completed yet another great World Cup triumph to sit alongside Kingston 2007 and Bengaluru 2011. This is the third time they have beaten England in international cricket, including Southampton 2020.But this might be the greatest triumph of all, on one of the world’s great cricket stages. Ireland had never played at the MCG before. Such is the magic and mystique of the place; the Irish players toured the Australian Sports Museum that is housed in the Members stand on Tuesday night and took special note of a particular Irish MCG sporting triumph before adding another just 24 hours later.George Dockrell and Lorcan Tucker get big hugs from the crowd•ICC via Getty Images”It will always be a special place because of tonight,” Balbirnie said. “Ronnie Delany [1500m, 1956] won a gold medal here in the Melbourne Olympics, and you see his name etched in the history of Irish sport forever.”I hope we’ve done something similar. I’ve always said cricket isn’t a big game in Ireland. We’re the flag bearers, and we want to make it as big as possible. But it’s certainly an absolute pleasure to play here, to lead the first Irish team to ever play here.”The true significance of this win might not be in who they beat, or the stage they won on. It might lie with those who orchestrated it.In Melbourne, there were just two members present from the side that won in Bengaluru and neither Paul Stirling nor George Dockrell were significant contributors.There were also four significant changes from the Ireland side that did not progress to the second phase of last year’s T20 World Cup, with two of the new faces, Lorcan Tucker and Fionn Hand playing a major part in the win. Tucker’s 34 off 27 was vital alongside Balbirnie’s half-century, as the pair put together a rollicking 82-run stand in the face of a blistering spell from Mark Wood.Fionn Hand and Josh Little celebrate after the former bowls Ben Stokes•Getty ImagesHand later delivered one of the balls of the tournament, hooping back through the gate of Ben Stokes, to leave England reeling at 29 for 3 in the powerplay. In combination with Josh Little, Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy, Ireland’s attack was the key reason for their success against England as they had been against West Indies.Balbirnie believed his young group is stepping out of the shadows of Ireland’s golden generation that had been led by Kevin O’Brien.”He’s one of the best cricketers we’ve ever produced, but we knew we needed to kind of move on from players like that,” Balbirnie said. “What he contributed was amazing, and I probably didn’t get the opportunity to say that at the time when he retired.”The guys who have come in have shown it’s not just that generation that are a golden generation. This generation, with Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker, Josh Little, they’re a special group of cricketers, Mark Adair, there’s so many of them. Fionn Hand showed today: he came in for his third T20 and showed that he can have an impact on the game with the ball.”That generation laid the platform for us to be professional cricketers. We wouldn’t be here without them, and we have to acknowledge that. But we also have a duty to take the game as far forward as we can with a group of players.”There is an acknowledgment that this current generation has had to do it slightly differently. For all the positivity around Ireland’s promotion to becoming a full member of the ICC, there was a negative flow on effect. The price of being able to play Test cricket was that Ireland’s best players could no longer cut their teeth in England’s county system as locals before progressing to international level. They’ve had to do it a different way.Related

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“I did genuinely believe that not playing county cricket would tarnish the way that our youngsters progressed,” Balbirnie said. “I think my opinion’s changed a bit, the way that I’ve seen our youngsters play. It’s always been a bit of a sink-or-swim situation for a lot of our young guys. You have to see how they go at the highest level, and you have the names I mentioned earlier that have stood out and been key members of this squad.”That’s the hand we were dealt. We got the Test status, and we have to produce our own cricketers, and we’re starting to do that.”Tucker believes the different path to Ireland’s golden generation has its own benefits. “We don’t have the opportunities that those lads had,” Tucker said. “But we’ve got so much more international cricket. I think that’s our finishing school now. I’ve played quite a few international games and I think most of it was learning.”The proof is in the results. A more aggressive, fearless mindset under Balbirnie and coach Heinrich Malan has yielded wins over West Indies and England in the space of a week.”The knock-on effect is wins like tonight will hopefully trigger a bit of an interest back home,” Balbirnie said. “Well, I hope so. If it doesn’t, then I give up. We want to see those kids playing the game. It’s a great game, and it’s given me a lot of pleasure. Hopefully, nights like tonight can ignite a future generation of Irish cricketers.”Ireland are no longer troublemakers raining on the big boys’ parade. There’s a belief and a sense of belonging building after a famous day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.