When was the last time someone bowled four or more maidens in an ODI?
And what's the lowest all-out total in a Test without a duck?
Mohammad Nabi and Babar Azam were the two captains who departed first ball in last week's match between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Sharjah. There has been one previous instance in T20Is: earlier this year, when Sweden played Greece in a regional World Cup qualifier in Vantaa (Finland), both Abhijit Venkatesh and Anastasios Manousis collected golden ducks.
The events of the just-completed Test at The Oval, when the second day was called off to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, did indeed mirror the events when she came to the throne 70 years earlier in 1952. Back then her father, King George VI, died on February 6, while England were starting the fifth Test of a tour of India, in Madras. The second day was blank, as a mark of respect, but play resumed on February 8. India eventually completed an innings victory, their first Test win in 25 attempts spanning almost 20 years.
I suspect this question arose out of Sean Abbott's eye-catching figures for Australia against New Zealand in Cairns last week - he finished with 5-4-1-2. The last man to deliver four maidens in an ODI innings before that was the Bangladesh slow left-armer Nasum Ahmed, with 10-4-19-3 against West Indies in Providence (Guyana) in July.
As Sachin Tendulkar played more Tests than anyone else - a round 200 - it's reasonable to think he might be top of this list… but actually he comes in second: Tendulkar appeared with 213 debutants in Tests, but England's Wally Hammond racked up 225, from 115 fewer appearances. Three other long-serving England players come next: Frank Woolley, who played only 64 Tests, featured alongside 169 debutants, Godfrey Evans (91 matches) 161, and Len Hutton 156 in 79 Tests.
The lowest Test total not to include a duck is Australia's 75 against South Africa in Durban in 1949-50 - a match they ended up winning, despite conceding a first-innings deficit of 236. Set 336 to win, Australia skated home by five wickets, with Neil Harvey making a superb undefeated 151. The first-class record dates back to a match in New Zealand in 1891-92: Taranaki's total of 39 against Hawke's Bay in Napier included seven scores of 1, but no ducks.
Steven Lynch is the editor of the updated edition of Wisden on the Ashes