Abandoned matches, centuries after being dropped early and most centuries in the World Cup

I noticed the recent ODI between Scotland and Ireland in Dubai which was abandoned without a ball being bowled is accorded full ODI status by Cricinfo (ODI no. 3584) Is this correct? Even though there was a toss I thought "play" had to be called at least? - Paul Goslin

No. after an ICC ruling, 'play' does not have to be called now and the completion of the toss constitutes a 'match played' for record and statistical purposes. This emanates from the legal case of John Gleeson, who played 29 Tests but was granted a 30th, for accounting purposes, by including the abandoned Test at Melbourne in 1971. At the time 30 Tests was the threshold for a pension in the Australian system. - Martin Briggs/Charles Davis

How many players have gone on to score centuries after being dropped on zero? - Ryan Anthony

 In Tests from 2001-2014 (the only period for which data is available) and with the caveat that some dropped catches are debatable, and others might not have been recorded, the following have scored centuries after being dropped before they had scored a run: AB de Villiers, AJ Stewart, AN Cook, DR Martyn, DS Lehmann, Habibul Bashar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, KC Sangakkara, KP Pietersen, MEK Hussey, ML Hayden, SR Tendulkar.

Hayden and Inzamam appear twice. The highest score made by someone dropped on 0 is 270 by Sangakkara at Bulawayo 2004, when he hit Mluleki Nkala to mid-off where Tinashe Panyangara initially held the ball before losing his grip when his elbow hit the ground. Tendulkar was dropped on 0 when he made his highest Test score (248*). Hussey (195) was dropped first ball (debatable). de Villiers (164) was also dropped first ball. - Charles Davis

Who has scored most centuries in the World Cup? - Suhail Ahmed Emran

 Sachin Tendulkar has the most, with six - ahead of Ricky Ponting (five), Sourav Ganguly and Mark Waugh (four each). - Martin Briggs

No home Tests in a year, doubles in most countries, players wearing glasses, and the number of first-class matches

India didn't play a home Test in 2014. When was the last calendar year this happened? - Sivakumar Venkatesan

The last year in which India didn't host a Test was 1992, when they played three in Australia, one in Zimbabwe (the hosts' inaugural Test) and three in South Africa, but none at home. It was the third year in four they had done so: after hosting nine Tests in 1987 and four in 1988, they only played a solitary home match (against Sri Lanka at Chandigarh in November 1990) in the next four years, before a three match series against England in 1993. - Ramesh Parajuli Avi

Kumar Sangakkara has now scored Test double centuries in six different countries (Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, UAE and New Zealand). Has anyone else done this? - Anusha Ranaweera

No, Sangakkara is the first to reach this milestone, beating Brian Lara's previous mark of five (West Indies, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan). Younis Khan also currently has five (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, UAE and Zimbabwe), and still has the chance to add to his collection. - Michael Jones

Did Harry Bromfield, who played 9 Tests for South Africa between 1961 and 1965, wear glasses on the field? - Ashru Mitra

Yes, he did - the 1965 series featured five bespectacled players (Geoff Boycott, MJK Smith, Eddie Barlow, Peter van der Merwe and Bromfield). - Mike Leach

The current Test match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka is number 2155 in the chronological ordering. How many first-class matches have been played? - Richard Mackey

Cricket Archive numbers all its first-class matches. Right now there are 56,047 matches in its database, from 1772 to the end of 2014; new matches are added on an almost daily basis. - Charles Davis

Most centuries in first 100 Tests, and most away runs in 2014

Who scored most centuries in their first 100 Tests? - Kazim Krunchoo

There's a three-way tie at the top here: Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Matthew Hayden all scored 30 centuries in their first 100 matches. Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara follow with 28, Michael Clarke 26, Graeme Smith and Alastair Cook 25. Don Bradman scored 29 centuries, and only played 52 matches; Garry Sobers made 26 in 93 matches. Younis Khan currently has 28 in 96, so if he continues his recent good form he may equal or even break the record. - Michael Jones

Who scored most Test and ODI runs away from home in 2014? - Sivakumar Venkatesan

Counting away matches only (i.e. the home of the opposition), Murali Vijay led the way in Tests with 852 runs, and Hashim Amla in ODIs with 800. Including all matches outside the player's own country (and excluding Pakistani batsmen, since all their "home" matches are played in a neutral country), Kumar Sangakkara's 943 was the most in Tests, and Amla retains the top spot in ODIs with 892. - Martin Briggs