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The Numbers Game with Francis Payne

An extraordinary first for New Zealand, Sinclair joins a short list and Fleming and Parore pass some milestones
Francis Payne - 20 March 2001

When Mark Richardson and Matthew Bell put on 69 for New Zealand's first wicket on the last day of the second Test at Christchurch it was their third successive opening stand of fifty or more. The pair put on 91 in the second innings of the first Test and 102 in the first innings of the second.

The question was raised - "when was the last time New Zealand did this?" The quite staggering answer is that three successive opening stands of fity or more had never happened before (with either the same or different opening combinations) in New Zealand's entire Test history.


In the second Test Stephen Fleming passed John Reid's long-standing record of most Tests as captain. The players who have captained New Zealand most often in Tests are now:

                      Seasons       Tests
Stephen Fleming   1996/97-2000/01     35
John Reid         1955/56-1965        34
Geoff Howarth     1979/80-1984/85     30
Graham Dowling    1967/68-1971/72     19
Ken Rutherford    1992/93-1994/95     18
Bevan Congdon     1971/72-1974/75     17
Martin Crowe      1990/91-1993/94     16
Jeremy Coney      1984/85-1986/87     15


When Adam Parore caught Waqar Younis on the last morning of the second Test it was his 169th catch in Test cricket, a New Zealand record. It also gave him 176 dismissals in total, equalling Ian Smith's record.

However, as three of Parore's catches were taken in the field, he is still two short of Smith's New Zealand wicket-keeping record for catches and three short of the dismissals tally. Ironically, though, two catches taken by Parore as a substitute when he deputised for Smith in Pakistan in 1990/91, cannot be included in his record.

The leading New Zealand wicket-keepers are:

                Matches    Ct   St   Total
Ian Smith          63     168    8    176
Adam Parore        69     166    7    173*
Ken Wadsworth      33      92    4     96
Warren Lees        21      52    7     59
Artie Dick         17      47    4     51

* plus three catches as a fielder


Mathew Sinclair joined a very short list when he reached 150 during the course of his double century in the second Test. He became just the fifth player in Test history whose first three centuries were all 150 or more. Those players are:

Mahela Jayawardene   167, 242, 167
Andrew Jones         150, 170*, 186
Brian Lara           277, 167, 375
Javed Miandad        163, 206, 154*
Mathew Sinclair      214, 150, 204*

Australia's Bobby Simpson is not on the list but deserves a mention. He had a sequence from his first Test hundred of 311, 153, 115, 201, 225 and 153.


Sinclair has now scored ten first-class hundreds, seven of which have been 150 or more. They are:

189   Central Districts v Wellington           Masterton          1996/97
166*  Central Districts v Auckland             Masterton          1998/99
203*  Central Districts v Northern Districts   Wanganui           1998/99
182   North Island v England 'A'               Lincoln            1999/00
214   New Zealand v West Indies                Wellington         1999/00
102   Central Districts v Otago                Palmerston North   1999/00
100*  New Zealand v President's XI             Mutare             2000/01
150   New Zealand v South Africa               Port Elizabeth     2000/01
145   Central Districts v Auckland             Auckland           2000/01
204*  New Zealand v Pakistan                   Christchurch       2000/01


Sinclair's double century was just the ninth in New Zealand Test history and Sinclair became just the second New Zealand batsman after Glenn Turner to score two. He also became the first New Zealand batsman to add a fity to a double hundred in the same game.

The most runs in one game for New Zealand are now:

Martin Crowe      329 (30 & 299)     v Sri Lanka     Wellington      1990/91
Bryan Young       267 (267)          v Sri Lanka     Dunedin         1996/97
Glenn Turner      259 (259)          v West Indies   Georgetown      1971/72
Mathew Sinclair   254 (204* & 50*)   v Pakistan      Christchurch    2000/01
Stephen Fleming   252 (78 & 174*)    v Sri Lanka     Colombo         1997/98
Bevan Congdon     248 (166* & 82)    v West Indies   Port of Spain   1971/72
Graham Dowling    244 (239 & 5)      v India         Christchurch    1967/68
Glenn Turner      244 (223* & 21)    v West Indies   Kingston        1971/72
Bert Sutcliffe    230 (230*)         v India         Delhi           1955/56
Geoff Howarth     224 (122 & 102)    v England       Auckland        1977/78


Sinclair and Yousuf Youhana (203) both scored double hundreds in the second Test - not an unusual feat (it had happened 18 times previously) - but only the second time it had happened in New Zealand. Aravinda de Silva (267) and Martin Crowe (299) achieved the feat at the Basin Reserve in 1990/91 while the only other instance involving New Zealand came at Kingston in 1971/72 when Lawrence Rowe scored 214 and Glenn Turner 223 not out.

West Indies and Australia achieved a unique feat at Bridgetown in 1964/65 when they amassed three double hundreds in the one match. Billy Lawry, Bobby Simpson and Seymour Nurse all reached two hundred.


Pakistan kept New Zealand in the field for 210 overs in the second Test but this was by no means a record. The full list of 200 over innings which New Zealand has fielded through are:

241.5   v India (531-7d)          Delhi          1955/56
227.3   v England (439)           Auckland       1983/84
221.3   v England (550)           Christchurch   1950/51
214     v West Indies (564-8)     Bridgetown     1971/72
210     v Pakistan (571-8d)       Christchurch   2000/01
209     v India (438-7d)          Calcutta       1955/56
156.3   v England (429)           Auckland       1977/78*
203     v Pakistan (616-5d)       Auckland       1988/89
200.1   v South Africa (621-5d)   Auckland       1998/99

* eight-ball overs (equivalent to 208.3 six-ball overs)


Yousuf Youhana and Saqlain Mushtaq put on a mammoth 248 for Pakistan's seventh wicket at Christchurch but this, too, was well short of being a record for that wicket against New Zealand. The highest are:

308   Waqar Hassan & Imtiaz Ahmed            Pakistan       Lahore         1955/56
248   Yousuf Youhana & Saqlain Mushtaq       Pakistan       Christchurch   2000/01
246   Jackie McGlew & Anton Murray           South Africa   Wellington     1952/53
217   Doug Walters & Gary Gilmour            Australia      Christchurch   1976/77
168   Rod Marsh & Kerry O'Keefe              Australia      Adelaide       1973/74
149   Alan Knott & Peter Lever               England        Auckland       1970/71
143   Dennis Atkinson & John Goddard         West Indies    Christchurch   1955/56
142*  Steve Waugh & Shane Warne              Australia      Brisbane       1993/94
137   Romesh Kaluwitharana & Chaminda Vaas   Sri Lanka      Dunedin        1996/97


Chris Drum had a bizarre introduction to Test cricket which went from joy to despair. His first ball was a no-ball to Ijaz Ahmed but his next delivery had the Pakistan batsman dislodging a bail and being out hit wicket. Drum was following the path of the ball from the bat and failed to see his moment of glory only realising what had happened when his team mates alerted him to it.

Later in the game Drum fell on his shoulder while fielding and injured himself so badly that he had to spend the rest of the game with his arm in a sling.

Drum does not, of course, join the list of players who have taken a wicket with their first ball in Test cricket. The only two New Zealanders to have done so remain Matt Henderson against England in New Zealand's first ever Test (Christchurch, 1929/30) and Dennis Smith - again at Christchurch and again against England - in 1932/33.

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