With England's Test series in Australia set to start on Thursday, we asked you to send in questions with an Ashes theme for Test Match Special statistician Malcolm Ashton.

Here are the former England scorer's answers.

Ian Botham (centre) was an Ashes winner for England in Australia in 1986-87

How many Ian's have played in an Ashes Test match?
Michael Yates, England

By my count, I reckon 15 - and I have included those players with Ian as a middle name!

England: IR Bell, IT Botham, IAR Peebles, PI Pocock, IJL Trott, IJ Ward. Australia: IM Chappell, ID Craig, IC Davis, AIC Dodemaide, IA Healy, IWG Johnson, I Meckiff, PI Philpott, IR Redpath.

Could you please list the most successful players in Ashes encounters (perhaps top five run scorers, wicket-takers, catchers and 'keepers from each nation.
Ian Pulsford, UK

Thanks for that, Ian! Below is the comparison you asked for.

England batsmen JB Hobbs, 2493 runs WR Hammond, 1981 DI Gower, 1824 MC Cowdrey, 1618 H Sutcliffe, 1529

Australia batsmen DG Bradman, 5028 runs AR Border, 3548 SR Waugh, 3200 C Hill, 2660 GS Chappell, 2619

England bowlers IT Botham, 148 wickets RGD Willis, 128 W Rhodes, 109 SF Barnes, 106 D Underwood, 105

Australia bowlers SK Warne, 195 wickets DK Lillee, 167 GD McGrath, 157 H Trumble, 141 MA Noble, 115

England fielders IT Botham, 57 catches WR Hammond, 43 MC Cowdrey, 40 WG Grace, 39 H Strudwick, 38

Australia fielders GS Chappell, 61 catches AR Border, 57 MA Taylor, 46 H Trumble, 45 ME Waugh, 43

England wicketkeepers APE Knott, 105 (97ct, 8 st) AFA Lilley, 84 (65ct, 19st) AJ Stewart, 84 (82ct, 2st) TG Evans, 76 (64ct, 12st) RW Taylor, 57 (54ct, 3st)

Australia wicketkeepers RW Marsh, 148 (141ct, 7st) IA Healy, 135 (123ct, 12st) AC Gilchrist, 96 (89ct, 7st) WAS Oldfield, 90 (59ct, 31st) ATW Grout, 76 (69ct, 7st)

Which county has had the most England representatives throughout the history of the Ashes?
Alex Hasler, England

Good question, Alex. There have been 430 players represent England v Australia and it took a bit of research to be able to tell you that Yorkshire top with list with 58 players followed by Middlesex with 46, Lancashire and Surrey 44 each and Kent 41. At the other end, Durham have provided three and Somerset seven.

Several players have played for different counties, so I have used the club they were playing for at the time of their selection for England. Also, note that I have taken the stats from the first match against Australia in 1877.

Paul Collingwood's magnificent 206 in Adelaide was all in vain

In 2007 Paul Collingwood scored a double century and England still lost. What is the highest individual score on the losing team in an Ashes Test match?
Jack Carter, England

Spot on Jack, you've half answered your own question as Paul Collingwood is England's highest scorer in a losing cause after his 206 at Adelaide four years ago. For Australia, it is SE Gregory who scored 201 at Sydney in 1894-95 - the only instance of an Australian scoring more than 200 in a losing cause.

If Ricky Ponting loses a third ashes series will he be the worst Australian Ashes captain of all time?
Adam Edwards, UK

As an Ashes captain, Ricky Ponting is fifth in a list of 13 Australian Ashes captains who have led the team in 10 or more matches. Top is WW Armstrong with an 80% win record, 2nd is "The Don" - 57.89%, 3rd is MA Taylor - 56.25, 4th is MA Noble - 53.32%, and then comes Ponting with 46.67%. The worst is J Darling with a 27.78% win record.

If you are judging captains on series losses, should Australia lose the forthcoming series, Ponting would equal the likes of PS McDonnell who lost three series in 1886/7, 1887/8 and 1888.

Has there ever been an Ashes Test where there has been a runner at both ends, i.e. where both batsmen at the crease are able to bat but not run? If so where, when was it and who was involved? Did it end in the inevitable run out? Also, if a batsman with a runner is out and the new batsman also needs a runner, is he allowed to use the same runner or is he termed out as well?
Alex (Walter) Cornell, England

I love this question - I only wish I knew the answer. What I can tell you is that there is no reason why a runner cannot stay on the field to act as a runner for a new batsman, although it may be prudent, but necessary, to seek the consent of the fielding captain. A runner is never given "out" even though he may have been the culprit!

Malcolm, please could you tell me the best performance by an English off-spinner in an Ashes series in Australia. How does this compare to the best performance by other types of spinners?
Tim, England

Below is a list of English spinners/slow bowlers as requested. Let's hope Graeme Swann gets on the list this week!

Right-arm off-spin: JN Crawford, 30 wickets in the 1907-08 series; G Miller 23 in 1978-79; FJ Titmus 21 in 1962-63
Right-arm wrist spin: DVP Wright, 23 wickets in 1946-47; LC Braund, 21 in 1901-02; BJT Bosanquet, 16 in 1903-04
Slow left arm: W Rhodes, 31 wickets in 1903-04; R Peel, 27 in 1894-95; JC White, 25 in 1928-29
Left-arm wrist spin: JH Wardle, 10 in 1954-55

Which Australian Test ground do England have the most Test victories at? And which Australian Test ground do England have the worst record at?
Gavin Sloan, UK

On a strictly matches won basis, Sydney comes top with 21 and worst is Perth, where England have only won once.

Looking at it win-percentage wise, England's happy hunting ground in Australia was the old Exhibition Ground at Brisbane with a 100% record (P1 W1). Second is Sydney with 40% (P53 W21), third is Adelaide with 28% (P29, W8), then Melbourne with 36% (P53 W19), Brisbane 22% (P18 W4) and Perth only 9% (P11 W1).

If Andrew Strauss plays all five Tests in this Ashes series, and England win, will he be the only England player ever to play every game in three Ashes winning series?
John Alexander, UK

No, he won't John, but you have to go way back to Arthur Shrewsbury, who played in five consecutive winning series from 1884 to 1886/87, a total of 14 appearances.

Peter May also played in five consecutive Test series, which included three consecutive wins. His five- series span involved 25 matches with three wins and two losses.

David Gower made 27 consecutive appearances, but was only part of two consecutive series wins.

What is the most captains used by one team in an Ashes series? I can think of many occasions where there have been two, but I reckon there have been occasions when three or possibly even four were used.
Dan Platt, UK

In the 1884-85 series of five Tests, Australia used four captains. In order, they were WL Murdoch, TP Horan, HH Massie JM Blackham and TP Horan.

Using players from Aus and England and going with five batsmen, all-rounder, keeper and four bowlers line up. Who, statistically, would make the Ashes all time XI, based on a minimum of 10 Ashes Tests.
Alex Pizzey, England (living in Australia)

This is pretty close to Ian's earlier question, Alex. Based on 'Most runs, most wickets, an all rounder with a minimum of 1500 runs and 100 wickets and most catches for the wicketkeeper', the answer would be:

Based on runs/wickets DG Bradman JB Hobbs AR Border DI Gower SR Waugh W Rhodes RW Marsh SK Warne DK Lillee GD McGrath IT Botham

Based on averages DG Bradman H Sutcliffe KF Barrington SR Waugh M Leyland IT Botham APE Knott GA Lohmann JJ Ferris JB Iverson W Barnes

I have also compiled a team using the same criteria as before but for the period 1 January 2000 to present day: RT Ponting, ML Hayden, JL Langer, MJ Clarke, KP Pietersen, A Flintoff, AC Gilchrist, SK Warne, GD McGrath, B Lee, JN Gillespie.

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