Flying to the Boundary Trivia Quiz

Answer: Martin

Their father, Dave, had played first class cricket between 1983 and 1958, but was outshone by both his sons. Jeff had been playing in Australia, but returned to his home country to play for them. Martin represented New Zealand from 1982 until his retirement in 1996, having captained the team in the early part of the 1990s. The brothers are cousins to the actor, Russell Crowe.

Answer: Spin bowler

Since making his debut, Swann has established himself as a key member of England's squads in both Test matches and one day matches. He played in the final of the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, which England won. Swann also played in the Ashes Test series (against Australia) of 2009 (in England) and 2010/11 (in Australia) both won by England.

In the official ICC Player Rankings, Swann was placed at number two in December 2010, with only South Africa's fast bowler Dale Steyn ranked above him.

Answer: Pigeon

McGrath played 124 Test matches for Australia between 1993 and 2007, forming a formidable bowling team with the spin bowler Shane Warne. His nickname was apparently given to him by a teammate at his domestic team, New South Wales, who thought that Glenn's skinny white legs would suit a pigeon rather better.

Answer: Soderling

Jackman and Smith both played for England, with Jackman appearing in four Tests and 15 One Day Internationals (ODIs) between 1974 and 1983. Robin Smith was a more regular player, with 62 Tests and 71 ODIs to his name between 1988 and 1996. Robin Peterson made his debut for South Africa in 2003.

Others I could have used are Robins Singh and Uthappa who both played for India in ODIs. Robin Soderling played tennis, and was ranked number four in the world in January 2011.

Answer: Hawke

Hawke was born in South Australia in 1939 and was an all round sportsman. As well as football and cricket, he was also an excellent golfer. His first Test match was at Sydney, against England in February 1963, and he was on the team for tours of England, India, Pakistan, West Indies, and South Africa. Hawkes' football career came to an end when he dislocated his shoulder in 1966.

This also impacted his bowling, but he continued his Test career until 1968. Sadly, his health was seriously damaged in 1980, leading to years of suffering, and he died in 2000 at the age of 61.

Answer: Joel Garner

All four of these were great fast bowlers, who contributed to West Indies being the most feared team in international cricket in their heyday. Garner played 58 tests and 98 ODIs between 1977 and 1987, and his nickname is easy to explain as he stood very tall. Curtly Ambrose followed him into the international team, playing between 1988 and 2000, and was consequently nicknamed 'Little Bird', despite being very tall also. Marshall was called 'Maco', and Holding's nickname was 'Whispering Death'. If you've seen him bowl, no explanation is needed.

Answer: Harold

Bird was born in Barnsley in Yorkshire, and played first class cricket for his home county, and then Leicestershire between 1956 and 1964. After spending some time in league (lower division) cricket and coaching, he began umpiring in 1970. Bird's first Test match was in 1973 at Headingley, when he umpired the match between New Zealand and England.

His final Test match was between India and England in 1996, where the guard of honour formed by the players and the ovation from the crowd left him in tears.

Answer: Pakistan

Gul played his first match for Pakistan in 2003, and has had a successful career. His style of bowling employed 'reverse swing', where the ball moves back into the batsman who is expecting it to swing away from him. This was especially useful to his country in the short forms of the game, where Gul's ability to bowl yorkers towards the end of a match has proved decisive.

Although not primarily a batsman, Gul also had some success as a 'tail-ender'.

Answer: Bombay Duck

Although he was primarily a bowler, Agarkar was picked as an all-rounder, expected to contribute to the batting as well. Having made a duck (i.e. failed to score) in five (some sources say seven) consecutive innings, Agarkar was mockingly dubbed with his nickname.

He was born in Bombay, which is now called Mumbai, and the nickname refers to this and the fish with the name of Bombay duck. Agarkar made his Test debut in 1998 and last played for his country in a Test match in 2006.

Answer: Essex

If in doubt, go for alliteration. Essex became Essex Eagles, Sussex became Sharks, the Sabres were from Somerset (although they dropped the name in 2010), and the northern team chose Lancashire Lightning. This wasn't an invariable rule, although Gloucestershire Gladiators, Durham Dynamos, and Hampshire Hawks all followed it (Hampshire later changing to the Royals). Nottinghamshire Outlaws connected to Robin Hood and Glamorgan Dragons decided on the traditional Welsh symbol.