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December 23, 2008
Posted by Mike Holmans on 12/23/2008 in Mike Holmans
Merry Quizmas

Here’s a little amusement to while away a dull half-hour over the holiday.

The main answer is a well-known cricketing name, which is spelled out by the initials of the answers to the eight clues. If the first two clues led to Mohammed Azharuddin and Rob Key, we would be looking for someone called MARK…..

The answers to the eight clues are all Test cricketers, one from each of the eight main Test-playing countries (ie not Bangladesh or Zimbabwe). Most of them are recent and at least reasonably well-known, though a couple are one-Test wonders of older vintage who just happen to be the only Test players I could find with the relevant initials.

1. A wicket keeper who played his only Test against New Zealand in the 1970s. He scored 7*, took two catches and conceded 16 byes.

2. A modern great with 26 Test centuries to his name, but an average of only 36 against South Africa.

3. A between-wars bowler whose only Test was the match before the one in which the main answer made his debut. He took no wickets, returning 0-60 and 0-12, but scored 8 and 44 with the bat.

4. A 1980s batsman who scored over 4000 Test runs, including centuries against West Indies when the rest of his team kept folding, and memorably won an ODI with a lot of runs off the last over.

5. A current all-rounder who has a century and a six-wicket haul in different matches on tour in Australia, but has yet to reach 100 wickets and 2000 runs.

6. A batsman and part-time bowler more usually thought of as an ODI player, he only averaged 28 with the bat, though he made three Test centuries, the highest being 123 against Pakistan.

7. A 1990s pace bowler who took 160 wickets but is more usually remembered for some lengthy stonewalling innings at number 11, including 14* in a last-wicket partnership of 106 against England.

8. A current bowler who has 123 Test wickets to his name – although he says his name changes to something German when he gets out on the field.

Have fun, and I’ll post the answers after Christmas. If you celebrate either the birth of Jesus or the passing of the winter solstice, may I wish you the compliments of the season. If you don’t, please just tolerate my wintry whimsies.

Comments (29)
Posted by: SANGAMESH at December 23, 2008 5:40 AM

WISH YOU HAPPY CHRITSMAS ALL OF INDIANS

Posted by: Dibesh at December 23, 2008 5:57 AM

The quiz is too vague and specific at the same time to answer

Posted by: Sumant at December 23, 2008 6:00 AM

1 Shahid Israr
2.Rahul Dravid
3.Otto Nothling
4.Allan Lamb
5 Dwayne Bravo
6 Russel Arnold
7 Danny Morrison
8 Andre Nel

Main Answer: Sir Donald Bradman

Posted by: Shams at December 23, 2008 6:06 AM

Here are my answers:
1) Shahid Israr (Pak)
2) Rahul Dravid (Ind)
3) Ron Oxenham/Ted a'Beckett (Aus)
4) Allan Lamb (Eng)
5) Dwayne Bravo (WI)
6) Russel Arnold (SL)
7) Danny Morrison (NZ)
8) Andre Nel (SA)

Posted by: Shirish Shetty at December 23, 2008 6:12 AM

SI
RD
ON
AL
DB
RA
DM
AN

Posted by: Sudheesh Surendran at December 23, 2008 6:12 AM

The main Answer is: Sir Donald Bradman
The Answers
1. Shahid Israr (Pakistan)
2. Rahul Dravid (India)
3. OE Nothing (Australia)
4. Allan Lamb (England)
5. Dwayne Bravo(West Indies)
6. Russel Arnold (Sri lanka)
7. Danny Morrison (NewZealand)
8. Andre Nel (South Africa)

Posted by: rishav at December 23, 2008 6:20 AM

sir donald bradman

Posted by: Joe Vaszocz at December 23, 2008 6:41 AM

Question 3. Debuted 'before' OR 'after' the main answer??? Me thinks 'after'!

Posted by: Anand at December 23, 2008 6:41 AM

Great quiz ... more of this kind always welcome

Posted by: Suhrith and Akshay at December 23, 2008 6:41 AM

Answers
1. Shahid Israr of Pakistan
2. Rahul Dravid of India
3. Otto Nothling of Australia
4. Allan Lamb of England
5. Dwayne Bravo of West Indies
6. Russel Arnold of Sri Lanka
7. Danny Morrison of New Zealand
8. Andre Nel of South Africe

The main answer is Sir Donald Bradman

Posted by: Sriraj at December 23, 2008 6:46 AM

the main answer - sir donald bradman

1) Shahid Israr
2) Rahul Dravid
3) Otto Nothling
4) Allan Lamb
5) Dwayne Bravo
6) Russel Arnold
7) Daniel Morrison
8) Andre Nel

PS: thanks to statsguru!!

Posted by: Ashok Subbarama at December 23, 2008 6:49 AM

Merry Holidays to you too!

Here are my answers.

1) Shahid Israr - SI
2) Rahul Dravid - RD
3) Otto Nothling - ON
4) Allan Lamb - AL
5) Dwayne Bravo - DB
6) Russell Arnold - RA
7) Danny Morrison - DM
8) Andre Nel - AN (baddd german)

And the main answer is Sir Donald Bradman.

Cheers!

Posted by: Suhrith and Akshay at December 23, 2008 6:49 AM

Answers
1. Shahid Israr of Pakistan
2. Rahul Dravid of India
3. Otto Nothling of Australia
4. Allan Lamb of England
5. Dwayne Bravo of West Indies
6. Russel Arnold of Sri Lanka
7. Danny Morrison of New Zealand
8. Andre Nel of South Africe

The main answer is Sir Donald Bradman

Posted by: Chiru at December 23, 2008 6:51 AM

1. Shahid Israr
2. Rahul Dravid
3. Otto Nothling
4. Javed Miandad
5. Dwayne Bravo
6. Russell Arnold
7. Danny Morrison
8. Andre Nel

Posted by: Chiru at December 23, 2008 6:51 AM

1. Shahid Israr
2. Rahul Dravid
3. Otto Nothling
4. Javed Miandad
5. Dwayne Bravo
6. Russell Arnold
7. Danny Morrison
8. Andre Nel

Posted by: Ashok Subbarama at December 23, 2008 6:52 AM

Merry Holidays to you too!

Here are my answers.

1) Shahid Israr - SI
2) Rahul Dravid - RD
3) Otto Nothling - ON
4) Allan Lamb - AL
5) Dwayne Bravo - DB
6) Russell Arnold - RA
7) Danny Morrison - DM
8) Andre Nel - AN (baddd german)

And the main answer is Sir Donald Bradman.

Cheers!

Posted by: KV at December 23, 2008 6:52 AM

1. Shahid Israr (Pakistan)
2. Rahul Dravid (India)
3. Otto Nothling (Australia)
4. Alan Lamb (England)
5. Dwayne Bravo (West Indies)
6. Russel Arnold (Srilanka)
7. Danny Morrison (New Zealand)
8. Andre Nel (South Africa)

Player is Sir Donald Bradman. Now I know how to use statsguru.

Posted by: Ashok Subbarama at December 23, 2008 6:58 AM

Merry Holidays to you too!

Here are my answers.

1) Shahid Israr - SI
2) Rahul Dravid - RD
3) Otto Nothling - ON
4) Allan Lamb - AL
5) Dwayne Bravo - DB
6) Russell Arnold - RA
7) Danny Morrison - DM
8) Andre Nel - AN (baddd german)

And the main answer is Sir Donald Bradman.

Cheers!

Posted by: Kishan Karkal at December 23, 2008 7:42 AM

1. Shahid Israr, Pakistan
2. Rahul Dravid, India
3. Otto Nothling, Australia
4. Alan Lamb, England
5. Dwayne Bravo, West Indies
6. Russel Arnold, Sri Lanka
7. Danny Morrison, New Zealand
8. Andre Nel, South Afric

SIR DONALD BRADMAN

Posted by: Anonymous at December 23, 2008 8:09 AM

1. Shahid Israr
2. Rahul Dravid
3. Otto Nothling
4. Javed Miandad
5. Dwayne Bravo
6. Russell Arnold
7. Danny Morrison
8. Andre Nel

Posted by: Ankur Garg at December 23, 2008 8:14 AM

The Answer is SIR DONALD BRADMAN
The ans in order are
Shahid Israr
Rahul Dravid
Otto Nothling
Allan Lamb
Dwayne Bravo
Russel Arnold
Danny Morrison
Andre Nel

Posted by: Ankur Garg at December 23, 2008 8:15 AM

The Answer is SIR DONALD BRADMAN
The ans in order are
Shahid Israr
Rahul Dravid
Otto Nothling
Allan Lamb
Dwayne Bravo
Russel Arnold
Danny Morrison
Andre Nel

Posted by: santhosh at December 23, 2008 12:53 PM

Shahid Israr
Rahul Dravid
OE Nothling
Allan Lamb
Dwayne Bravo
Russel Arnold
Danny Morrison
Andre Nel

=> SIR DONALD BRADMAN

Posted by: andrew schulz at December 23, 2008 1:13 PM

Looks like there's not much point posting the answers after Christmas now.

Posted by: Saqib at December 23, 2008 1:15 PM

Woohoo finished it without reading the answers first :P

Posted by: Wasi Acrim at December 24, 2008 2:31 AM

The answer is Scott Muller.

Posted by: Rishi.A at December 24, 2008 7:53 AM

SOLVED IT FINALLY, GOT STUCK ON 4TH(Allan Lamb) TILL AL FROM SIR DONALD BRADMAN GAVE A HINT

Posted by: Himadri at December 24, 2008 9:28 AM

Finding the answers will help you learn how to use statsguru!!!!....:-)....

Posted by: mike of cnbra at December 27, 2008 10:23 PM

Dear cricinfo.
In your "All today's yesterdays" column dated 27 Dec, you claim mallet's 8/59 v Pak as the best figures by a spinner in Australia.
Arthur Mailey took 9/121 v Eng at Melbourne in 1921.
How soon we forget.

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Shanaka Amarasinghe
Shanaka Amarasinghe Shanaka Amarasinghe Possessing the best disguised googly in Sri Lanka (because no one has ever really seen it), Shanaka is the finest legspinner to never have played top-level cricket. He is a popular cricket analyst and host of The Score, the No. 1-rated, if slightly infamous, sports show on radio in Sri Lanka. While in England playing rugby, he earned his LLM at King’s College and is a lawyer by training if not inclination. He is also an actor, a journalist, a writer, and thinks he is a comedian.
Mike Holmans
Mike HolmansMike Holmans, a database consultant by profession, has spent thirty summers (and a few winters) going to the cricket. Brought up in one and working in the other, his dearest wish is for a season to end with Yorkshire winning the county championship by beating runners-up Middlesex by one wicket with five minutes to go. If it’s also a summer when England win the Ashes, so much the better.
Michael Jeh
Michael JehMichael Jeh Born in Colombo, educated at Oxford and now living in Brisbane, Michael Jeh (Fox) is a cricket lover with a global perspective on the game. An Oxford Blue who played first-class cricket, he is a Playing Member of the MCC and still plays grade cricket. Michael now works closely with elite athletes, and is passionate about youth intervention programmes. He still chases his boyhood dream of running a wildlife safari operation called Barefoot in Africa.
Saad Shafqat
Saad ShafqatSaad Shafqat takes special pride that his cricket-watching life began during the three-month interval between Javed Miandad's debut Test in Lahore and Imran Khan's 12-wicket haul at Sydney. Although a practicing neurologist based in Karachi, cricket has never been far from his activities. He has co-authored Javed Miandad’s autobiography Cutting Edge and has been a contributor to Cricinfo since 2005. His regular column Reverse Swing appears fortnightly in Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English daily.
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