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Honourable Cricket Trivia Quiz

A selection of questions from the "Wisden Cricket Quiz Book", which was compiled by Steven Lynch, an editor on the Wisden Cricinfo website.

A multiple-choice quiz by pookiejn00. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
pookiejn00

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
193,638

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
7 / 15

Plays
772

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. What did Ashley Harvey-Walker hand to the umpire Dickie Bird for safe keeping, during Derbyshire's match against Lancashire at Buxton in 1975? Hint

His last will and testament

His wallet

His false teeth

A lit cigarette

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Question 2 of 15

2. What unusual double did Leicestershire's Chris Balderstone manage on September 15, 1975? Hint

He completed two centuries on the same day

He played Championship cricket and league football on the same day

He scored a century and passed his umpiring exam

He took a hat-trick and later hit the winning six

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Question 3 of 15

3. What did Tony Pigott put off to make his England Test debut in New Zealand in 1983-84? Hint

An operation on his back

Flying home to attend the birth of his first child

His university exams

His wedding

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Question 4 of 15

4. What happened to Richard Hadlee before the 1990 Lord's Test against England? Hint

He was Knighted

His taxi driver took him to The Oval by mistake

He was rushed to hospital with heart palpitations

His teammates elected him captain to mark his last Test

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Question 5 of 15

5. What was unusual about Merv Hughes's hat-trick for Australia against West Indies at Perth in 1988-89? Hint

It was spread over three different overs

All the victims were Antiguans

All the victims were left-handers

It was the first Test hat-trick by someone with a moustache

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Question 6 of 15

6. What was unusual about the Australian fast bowler Bruce Reid's first Test wicket against New Zealand, at Wellington in 1985-86? Hint

It was a stumping

The batsman was his cousin

It was the first dismissal to be confirmed by a TV replay

It came from his first ball of the match, and he bowled 51 more overs without taking another one

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Question 7 of 15

7. Whose middle names are Alexei McNamara, after Soviet and American politicians (he also has a sister called Golda)? Hint

Milton Small

Frank Worrell

Balfour Patterson

Nixon McLean

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Question 8 of 15

8. The 1996 Wisden records that "fried calamari stopped play" during a South African domestic match at Paarl in February 1995. What happened? Hint

The fumes from a barbecue made the players feel ill

The fielding team left the field for a snack

The smoke restricted the batsmen's vision

The ball landed in the frying pan and was unusable

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Question 9 of 15

9. Which country other than Australia did both Mark and Steve Waugh both represent? Hint

Scotland

Fiji

Abu Dhabi

Ireland

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Question 10 of 15

10. What happened to David Steele when he went out to bat on his Test debut in 1975, the first time he had used the home dressing room at Lord's rather than the visitors? Hint

He got lost and had to climb over the pavilion railings

He went down too many stairs and ended up in the basement toilets

He ended up in the road behind the pavilion

When he was out he absent-mindedly returned to the wrong room, and was jeered by the Aussies

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Question 11 of 15

11. Who played against Brian Lara when he scored his 501 not out, and was West Indies' 12th man when he scored his 375? Hint

Anderson Cummins

Gareth Breese

Winston Benjamin

Phil Simmons

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Question 12 of 15

12. Ken Burn from Tasmania was selected for Australia's 1890 tour of England as a wicketkeeper. What did he tell the management once the team was safely embarked on their voyage? Hint

He'd broken his fingers so often his doctor had ordered him to stop keeping wicket

He'd never kept wicket before

He was a wanted man in England

He wasn't eligible for Australia as he was born in New Zealand

13. During the Test at Christchurch in 1967-68 the Indian allrounder Syed Abid Ali was infuriated that New Zealand's Gary Bartlett, who he felt was a blatant chucker, had not been no-balled. What happened next? Hint

He squared up to Bartlett and had to be hauled back by the umpires

He impersonated Bartlett's bowling action, and was no-balled for throwing himself

He was banned for arguing with the umpires

He walked off the field and his innings was recorded as "retired out"

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Question 14 of 15

14. What happened to Florence Morphy, one of the "ladies of Melbourne" who presented the original Ashes urn to the Honourable Ivo Bligh, the England captain? Hint

She became the first lady president of the Melbourne Cricket Club

She perished in the Titanic disaster

She married Bligh

She became the Governor of Queensland

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Question 15 of 15

15. Who averaged over 50 with the bat in his 93-Test career, but played only one-day international, in which he was out for 0? Hint

Gary Sobers

Bill Lawry

Geoff Boycott

Colin Cowdrey

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What did Ashley Harvey-Walker hand to the umpire Dickie Bird for safe keeping, during Derbyshire's match against Lancashire at Buxton in 1975?

Answer: His false teeth

His false teeth were wrapped in a hanky, according to his obituary in Wisden 1988, as it was a spiteful pitch. The match, although in June, had been interrupted by snow.

2. What unusual double did Leicestershire's Chris Balderstone manage on September 15, 1975?

Answer: He played Championship cricket and league football on the same day

He played county cricket (for Leicestershire v Derbyshire, scoring 51 not out and completing his century the next day. They clinched the Championship title during his innings, then nipped up the road to play for Doncaster Rovers against Brentford (they drew 1-1).

3. What did Tony Pigott put off to make his England Test debut in New Zealand in 1983-84?

Answer: His wedding

He needn't have bothered: the ceremony was set for the fourth scheduled day of the match at Wellington, and New Zealand won inside three days.

4. What happened to Richard Hadlee before the 1990 Lord's Test against England?

Answer: He was Knighted

His name appeared on the new electronic scoreboard as, "Sir R. Hadlee", because there wasn't room for his full name.

5. What was unusual about Merv Hughes's hat-trick for Australia against West Indies at Perth in 1988-89?

Answer: It was spread over three different overs

It was spread over three different overs like so: First wicket - last ball of one over; Second wicket - first ball of next to end the first innings; Third wicket to complete the hat trick - first ball of second innings.

6. What was unusual about the Australian fast bowler Bruce Reid's first Test wicket against New Zealand, at Wellington in 1985-86?

Answer: The batsman was his cousin

His cousin is John F. Reid, who played for New Zealand.

7. Whose middle names are Alexei McNamara, after Soviet and American politicians (he also has a sister called Golda)?

Answer: Nixon McLean

His father's name is Kissinger!

8. The 1996 Wisden records that "fried calamari stopped play" during a South African domestic match at Paarl in February 1995. What happened?

Answer: The ball landed in the frying pan and was unusable

Wisden says, "Daryll Cullinan hit a six into a frying pan. It was about ten minutes before the ball was cool enough for the umpires to remove the grease. Even then, [the bowler] was unable to grip the ball and it had to be replaced".

9. Which country other than Australia did both Mark and Steve Waugh both represent?

Answer: Ireland

Steve played against Australia A in 1998, and Mark played two one-day games against Zimbabwe in 2000.

10. What happened to David Steele when he went out to bat on his Test debut in 1975, the first time he had used the home dressing room at Lord's rather than the visitors?

Answer: He went down too many stairs and ended up in the basement toilets

Although he averaged 42.06 with the bat, Steele played only 8 Tests.

11. Who played against Brian Lara when he scored his 501 not out, and was West Indies' 12th man when he scored his 375?

Answer: Anderson Cummins

Anderson Cummins played five Tests and 63 ODIs for the West Indies.

12. Ken Burn from Tasmania was selected for Australia's 1890 tour of England as a wicketkeeper. What did he tell the management once the team was safely embarked on their voyage?

Answer: He'd never kept wicket before

Wisden reported that "only when he had accepted the terms offered and joined the ship at Adelaide was the discovery made that he had never kept wicket in his life".

Answer: He impersonated Bartlett's bowling action, and was no-balled for throwing himself

Syed Abid Ali played 29 Tests and five ODIs for India.

14. What happened to Florence Morphy, one of the "ladies of Melbourne" who presented the original Ashes urn to the Honourable Ivo Bligh, the England captain?

Answer: She married Bligh

Upon his death, she bequeathed the Ashes urn to the MCC.

15. Who averaged over 50 with the bat in his 93-Test career, but played only one-day international, in which he was out for 0?

Answer: Gary Sobers

In 2000, Sobers was voted one of Wisden's Cricketers of the Century.

Source: Author pookiejn00

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Nightmare before going online.
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