119 year old virgin ready to strike.

Looks like another win for Somerset as Lancashire top Yorkshire for an inept batting performance. This hopefully will help Yorkshire but can’t see them getting much out of the Notts match after they posted 400+. Somerset/Nathan will be hoping Surrey somehow slip up at Essex.

Looking at the averages for the season thus far, things have changed so much since I was an avid cricket fan kid. One achievement that used to be recognised but not often done was 1,000 first class runs before the end of May. I believe Lara was the last to do this feat in 1994 mainly thanks to his record breaking 501. I think Graeme Hick also achieved it before he became “English” a few years before. Now it seems 1,000 before the end of September is a rarity due to the fixture list. Other records we probably won’t see again unless the game changes :-

The Double – 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in a season. No bowler is anywhere near 100 wickets this season so this may also be a rarity.

100 hundreds (in a career) – I think Mark Ramprakash was the last to achieve this. Not sure if anyone is close at present but would think you would have to be Bradman-esque to achieve the feat if your career started now.

Runs in career – Sir Jack Hobbs scored over 60,000 whilst quite a few have scored over 30,000. Ian Bell passed 20,000 the other day and this seems a rarity nowadays.

Test records have gone totally the opposite way. I remember thinking when Gavaskar became the first to 10,000 that it would take an enormous feat for the next batsman to do so. I think Tendulkar ended with 15,000+. Same with the bowlers – Hadlee/Kapil Dev passing 400. I thought someone one day would reach 500. Warne reached 700 then Muralitharan 800.

Records are there to be broken or are they?