The Test Match Special statistician will be busy answering your questions throughout the summer.

Fill in the form on the right-hand side of the page to stump the Bearded Wonder.

If a batsman has his bat broken by a ball and the broken piece disturbs the bails, is he out hit wicket?

Stuart Clifford, UK

Yes, he is out according to Law 35 and the detailed notes relating to it in Tom Smith's excellent guidebook (Cricket Umpiring and Scoring).

The batsman would be out hit wicket if part or all of his bat disturbed the wicket, even if he was no longer holding it, 'in the course of any action taken by him in preparing to receive or in receiving a delivery'. He would also be out if his cap fell on the stumps.

Which batsman has scored the earliest first-class triple century (in his career, not in terms of number of deliveries)?

Imran Patel, England

As 136 triple-hundreds had been scored in first-class matches up to the end of the 2002 season finding the answer to your intruiging question would involve considerable research and I wouldn't even hazard a guess.

I can confirm that no batsman has scored a triple hundred on his first-class debut, the closest effort being 260 by Amol Anil Muzumdar for Bombay v Haryana at Faridabad in 1993-94. A 19-year-old right-hander, he peaked early and failed to gain a single cap for India.

Which opening batsman in Test cricket has had the most opening partners?

Roy Brummell, USA

Another fascinating question. Before researching the answer my guess was Graham Gooch but in fact he is in joint second place with Len Hutton.

Their tally of 18 partners is one short of the record held by India's Sunil Gavaskar whose 19 opening colleagues were: S. Abid Ali, M.Amarnath, Arun Lal, R.M.H.Binny, C.P.S.Chauhan, F.M.Engineer, A.D.Gaekwad, H.S.Kanitkar, A.V.Mankad, S.S.Naik, G.A.Parkar, R.D.Parkar, M.Prabhakar, Pranab Roy, P.Sharma, R.J.Shastri, E.D.Solkar, K.Srikkanth and D.B.Vengsarkar.

What is the highest and lowest total for an international team in limited-overs internationals?

Dimitri, Sussex

Sri Lanka holds the record for the highest LOI total with 398 for 5 off 304 balls against Kenya at Kandy in the 1995-96 World Cup. The highest against a Test-playing country is India's 376 for 2 against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999-2000.

Canada's 36 against Sri Lanka at Paarl in the recent World Cup is the lowest total, while Zimbabwe's 38, also inflicted by Sri Lanka, at Colombo in the 2002-02 LG Cup is the lowest by a Test-playing nation.

What is the greatest number of pasties, cakes, buns, muffins, scones and other baked comestibles that Johnners ever consumed during the course of a Test match (home or away)?

Rob Learner, England

Although Brian Johnston was responsible for the introduction of abundant teatime fodder to our commentary boxes he was by no means their prime consumer.

He was abstemious in most of his habits, with the exception of outrageous puns and the imitation of brass band instruments.

The most eager consumers were CMJ, who manages to make a garden rake look tubby despite appearing to eat twice his body weight at most meals, and Trevor Bailey whom I christened 'Gannet'.

Personally I share Mike Gatting's enthusiasm for cheese and Branston pickle sandwiches and the only cake that is likely to tempt me is a moist chocolate or coffee sponge.

As Test Match Special will again be hosting the Tea Person of the Season Award (dubbed Taste the Tea Lady by Aggers) during the forthcoming Tests against South Africa, we are guaranteed some spectacular teas on five Saturdays.

Bill, can you tell me the England touring side to visit South Africa 1956-57? I understand one of my namesakes was there - I recall listening to some of the Tests on the radio at the time. My father was stationed in Simonstown.

Paul Richardson, England

The 16-player MCC team which sailed to South Africa in October 1956 consisted of Peter May (captain), Doug Insole (vice-captain), Trevor Bailey, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Godfrey Evans, Jim Laker, Peter Loader, Tony Lock, Alan Oakman, Jim Parks, Peter Richardson, Brian Statham, Brian Taylor, Frank Tyson and Johnny Wardle.

Parks developed eye trouble, returned home and was not replaced. Your namesake scored the most runs (369 at 36.90) by any batsman for either side in the five-match rubber which was drawn 2-2.

Has England ever had a scorecard where the first five batsmen have all made centuries? Has this been done by any other Test-playing nation?

Martin Judge, England

There have been only two instances of five batsmen scoring hundreds in the same Test innings, by Australia against West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, in June 1955, when the century-makers batted at 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8, and by Pakistan against Bangladesh at Multan in August 2001, when they were at 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.

England's record is four against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1938 but it does not include the first four in the order.

What is the most players from one county to represent England in a Test match?

Zohaib, Canada

Nottinghamshire holds that record with the six who played against Australia in the First Test at Sydney in January 1887: A.Shrewsbury (captain), W.Barnes, W.Gunn, W.H.Scotton, W.Flowers and M.Sherwin (wicket-keeper). They won by 13 runs after being bowled out for 45 in their first innings.

Who is the youngest player to play first-class county cricket?

Alex Denvir, England

The youngest to appear in English first-class cricket was Charles Robertson Young when he represented Hamphire against Kent at Gravesend on 13 Jun 1867 at the age of 15 years 131 days.

Batting at number nine he scored 20 not out and was promoted to open the second innings. Born in India at Dharwar near Bombay, where his father, David Young, was an Assistant Superintendent Revenue Surveyor for Southern Marathee County, his date of birth has been confirmed by the India Office as 2 February 1852.

A left-hander, he was principally a medium-paced bowler who took 149 wickets at 21.86, including five in an innings eight times and ten in a match thrice. The last of his 38 first-class appearance for Hampshire was in 1885. Details of his death have never been discovered so he could also be the oldest surviving first-class cricketer!

Has England ever had a scorecard where the first five batsmen have all made centuries? Has this been done by any other Test-playing nation?

Martin Judge, England

There have been only two instances of five batsmen scoring hundreds in the same Test innings, by Australia against West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica, in June 1955, when the century-makers batted at 1, 4, 5, 6 and 8, and by Pakistan against Bangladesh at Multan in August 2001, when they were at 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6.

England's record is four against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1938 but it does not include the first four in the order.

Which England Test player has the most consecutive Test ducks?

Nick Basire, UK

The world Test record is five shared by Bob Holland (Australia) and Ajit Agarkar (India).

England's highest sequence is four by Bobby Peel (1894-95), Pat Pocock (1984) and Neil Foster (1985 and 1985-86).

What the highest number of extras conceded in an innings of a Test match and a limited-overs international?

Andrew Lewis, UK

The Test record is the monumental tally of 71 (B 21, LB 8, W 4, NB 38) conceded by West Indies during Pakistan's innings of 435 at Georgetown, Guyana, in April 1988. Another 15 no-balls were scored from.

Two instances of 59 constitute the LOI record, and, as in the case of their Test counterpart, they were both conceded during a Pakistan innings. West Indies donated 8 B, 10 LB, 37 W and 4 NB in a World Series game at Brisbane in January 1989, while Scotland contributed 5 B, 6 LB, 33 W and 15 NB in a 1999 World Cup match at Chester-le-Street.

What is the name of the piece of Caribbean music that was used for many years as the BBC cricket theme tune?

Chand, Kennington

Peter Baxter, BBC Radio's Cricket Producer, tells me it is called 'Soul Limbo' and that it was recorded by Booker T and The MGs.