A Cricketing Long Hop Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sir Len Hutton

Yorkshireman Len Hutton played 79 Test matches for England, scoring 6971 runs at the impressive average of 56.67. He held the world record for the highest score in Test matches for almost 30 years, following his 364 against Australia at The Oval in London in 1938.

Ian Botham was an English all-rounder (batsman/bowler - and outstanding fielder) of the late 20th century, Sir Geoff Hurst was an England footballer (who also played a high standard of cricket, incidentally), and whilst Jeffrey Archer is best known as a politician and novelist, he was also an international class sprinter.

Answer: Don Bradman

How do begin to quantify Sir Donald Bradman's contribution not only to cricket, but to sport in general? His statistics speak for themselves, leaving him a country mile ahead of any other cricketer who has played Test cricket over the past century and a half. In terms of his contribution to world sport, some of the following awards, nominated by various bodies, won by "The Don" give you just a feel of his place in the history books;
Australian Sportsman of the Century;
Captain of the Greatest Team of the Century (1948 Australian cricket team);
Wisden Cricketer of the Century;
Captain of the Australian Cricket Team of the Century;
Nominated in the top ten world sports figures of the century by the World Confederation of Sport;
Elected in the top 100 world figures of the twentieth century.

Answer: Muttiah Muralitharan

Born in Kandy in 1972, Murali was rated by The Wisden Cricketer's Almanac in 2002 as the greatest Test bowler ever. He has befuddled leading batsmen the world over for almost two decades now, mainly because his highly unorthodox bowling action, with it's mixture of deliveries, is very difficult to "read".

He is credited with bringing the "doosra" (essentially, a leg break ball delivered with an off spinner's action) to international prominence, and he always seems to play his cricket with a huge smile on his face.

Answer: Herschelle Gibbs

Never far from controversy, the cricketer known to his team mates as "Scooter" is also one of the most exciting cricketers to watch in world cricket, whether he has a bat in his hand, or if he's in the field. I had the pleasure to meet him recently during his brief sojourn with Glamorgan, and the guy is an absolute cricket nut - I don't think I've ever met anyone who's quite so enthusiastic for the game.

He's very modest about his own achievements as well - when I asked him about hitting six sixes in the World Cup match against Holland, he said of the feat "To be fair, he was only a part time bowler, and it was as if he wanted me to do it !". For a guy who is only 5ft 8in tall, Gibbs can hit the ball a very, very long way - to all corners of the ground.

Answer: Stephen Fleming

111 tests, over 7000 runs scored, 171 catches, and 80 tests as New Zealand captain, Stephen Fleming has rightfully earned his place as one of New Zealand's cricketing legends.

Answer: Brian Lara

Brian Charles Lara, "The Prince", became the first batsman to reach 400 in a Test innings against England in 2004. He also became the first batsman to reach 500 in all first class cricket, when he scored 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994.

Answer: Javed Miandad

124 Test Matches, a record 8832 Test runs, a test batting average of 52.27, 6 World Cup tournaments and three stints as caoch - Javed Miandad is one of the greats of Pakistan cricket.

Answer: Habibul Bashar

Habibul's greatest moment was probably leading Bangladesh to their famous ODI victory over Australia in Cardiff in 2005. Noted for his dashing, attacking strokeplay, he is one of Bangladesh's most prolific performers in the short time they have graced the test cricket arena.

Answer: Heath Streak

Heath Streak was the first Zimbabwean bowler to have taken more than 100 Test wickets - his final total was 216. He was also a more than useful late order batsman, with a test hundred to his name.

Answer: Bishan Singh Bedi

Possibly one of my favourite cricketers of all time, as much for his beguiling, exciting and attacking spin bowling as his continued involvement in controversies whilst upholding the spirit of the game - but probably because, as a youngster, I asked him shyly for an autograph at a county game one day, and he spent the best part of an hour, on the player's balcony, talking to me about cricket and inspiring me with his complete enthusiasm for the game.