When did Wisden first choose its Five Cricketers of the Year? asks John Denison
The idea first surfaced in 1889, when the Wisden Almanack chose "Six Great Bowlers of the Year". There were three Englishmen - Johnny Briggs, George Lohmann and Bobby Peel - and three Australians - Jack Ferris, "Terror" Turner and Sammy Woods. (Ferris and Woods subsequently played Tests for England too.) The following year Wisden selected "Nine Great Batsmen of the Year", and in 1891 settled on "Five Great Wicketkeepers". The number has been five ever since, apart from odd exceptions when one great player was honoured - in 1926 it was Jack Hobbs, who had broken WG Grace's record number of first-class centuries the previous year. These days the naming of Wisden's famous five - a once-in-a-career accolade for which the only selector is the Almanack's editor - is keenly awaited. In 2000 a distinguished worldwide panel was asked to vote for the Five Cricketers of the 20th Century. The chosen quintet was Don Bradman (who received votes from all 100 members of the panel), Garry Sobers, Jack Hobbs, Shane Warne and Viv Richards.

You'll soon be able to find details of all the Wisden Cricketers of the Year, together with the original Wisden Almanack articles about them, here on Wisden.com.

What is the lowest individual Test score that has never been recorded? asks Charles Davies-Scourfield
Every individual score up to 227 has been recorded in Tests. But no-one has yet managed 228 (or 229 either). The highest score not yet recorded in a one-day international is 147.

Which American president has attended a day of Test cricket? asks Mike Stockton
The only American president known to have watched Test cricket live is Dwight D. Eisenhower, who saw some of the fourth day's play in the match between Pakistan and Australia at Karachi in 1959-60 (December 8, 1959 to be exact). It wasn't the most gripping period of play - only 104 runs were scored, the second-fewest on any full day of Test cricket. Hanif Mohammad sprinted from 0 to 40 during the day. Eisenhower, who was presented to the teams, wasn't known for being a cricket-lover, although he was a member of MCC - he was the only American among a number of distinguished generals who were offered life membership after the Second World War. Bill Clinton must have seen some cricket during his time at Oxford, but there is no known record of his playing it.

Why is the ground in Lahore called the Gaddafi Stadium? It can't be named after Colonel Gaddafi of Libya, can it? asks Chris Ricketson

It can. The Gaddafi in question is none other than Ronald Reagan's least favourite North African. I wasn't sure why, so I asked Qamar Ahmed, the London-based Pakistani journalist. "It's an interesting story," he said. "Colonel Gaddafi was visiting Pakistan in the early 1970s, and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, Pakistan's prime minister at the time, showed him the Lahore Stadium, which had staged a few Tests by then but wasn't fully completed. I think Colonel Gaddafi must have donated some money in a show of Islamic solidarity, because shortly afterwards it was announced that the ground was going to be named after him."

Has anyone ever been given out "obstructing the field" in a Test match? asks Alex Booth

The only man to be given out this way in Tests was Len Hutton, of England, at The Oval in 1951. He top-edged a sweep at Athol Rowan, the South African offspinner, and the ball looped upwards. Worried that the ball would bounce onto his stumps, Hutton knocked it away, but in doing so prevented Russell Endean, the wicketkeeper, from making a catch, and was given out on appeal. Oddly enough Endean, who was making his Test debut at The Oval, was also involved in Test cricket's next peculiar dismissal: he was out "handled the ball" against England at Cape Town in 1956-57.

Do you have a question for our database director? If so, e-mail him at steven.lynch@wisden.com.

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