Has anyone won their first caps in all three formats quicker than Alana King?

Alana King of Australia won her first caps in Tests, ODIs and T20s in the space of a fortnight. Was she the quickest to do this? asked Carl from Australia
A 26-year-old legspinner from Victoria, Alana King made her international debut in the recent Ashes series against England. King played her first T20 international in Adelaide on January 20, featured in the Test in Canberra that started on January 27, then made her ODI debut, also in Canberra, on February 3.

King thus completed her hat-trick - or should that be cap-trick? - in 14 days, equalling Nonkhululeko Thabethe of South Africa's women's team in India in November 2014 (Thabethe played just the one match in each format). But three people have done it quicker: Peter Ingram of New Zealand is the fastest man, in 12 days in 2010; India's Preeti Dimri won her first cap in each format in the space of ten days in August 2006; but the quickest overall is the England wicketkeeper-batter Sarah Taylor, who completed her set in nine days in the same series as Dimri, in August 2006, when she was 17 years old.

Sakibul Gani scored 341 on his first-class debut the other day. Was this a record? asked Ajay Raj from India
Sakibul Gani made 341 - and shared a fourth-wicket partnership of 538 with Babul Kumar - in Bihar's Ranji Trophy match against Mizoram in Kolkata last week. This was the first time anyone had made a triple-century in their maiden first-class match: the previous-best was Ajay Rohera's undefeated 267 for Madhya Pradesh against Hyderabad in Indore in 2018-19.

Luckily for Mizoram, their batters proved rather more effective than their bowlers - captain Taruwar Kohli made 151 and 101 not out - and they escaped with a draw. And a note of caution for Sakibul, and those expecting him to make waves at a higher level: Rohera has not yet made another first-class hundred.

When Brendon McCullum scored 302 against India, I noticed that New Zealand added 586 runs after the fall of the fifth wicket. Is that the most by any team? Who holds the corresponding record in ODIs? asked Mohsin Zunzunia from Canada
New Zealand were 94 for 5 in that innings against India in Wellington in 2013-14, before Brendon McCullum really got going. The 586 runs added by New Zealand's last five wickets was indeed a record, surpassing 474 by Pakistan (87 for 5 to 561) against New Zealand in Lahore in 1955-56.

The one-day international record was set by the African XI against Asia in Bengaluru in June 2007, when they recovered from 31 for 5 to reach 283, with Shaun Pollock making 130. That narrowly shaded a more famous instance in the 1983 World Cup, when India - thanks chiefly to 175 not out from Kapil Dev - recovered from 17 for 5 to reach 266 for 8 against Zimbabwe in Tunbridge Wells.

In T20Is the most runs after the fall of the fifth wicket is 136, by Sri Lanka (from 40 for 5 to 176 for 8) against Australia in Geelong in 2016-17. That came under serious threat last year when Belgium recovered from 12 for 5 to reach 146 for 8 against Austria at the Royal Brussels Club in Waterloo - and actually Belgium were 14 for 8 at one point before their ninth-wicket pair added 132, with No. 8 Saber Zakhil hammering 100 not out from 47 balls!

I spotted that Luke Wright has played 101 white-ball internationals for England, but no Tests. Who has played the most from other countries? asked David Norman from England
The leader in this respect is David Miller of South Africa, who has so far played 140 one-day internationals and 95 T20Is (three of them for a World XI), without ever appearing in a Test. Not far behind is Kieron Pollard of West Indies, who at the time of writing had played 123 ODIs and 100 T20s - but no Tests. Luke Wright's 101 is the record for England.

I was looking at the list of people who had scored a hundred on Test debut - and wondered how many had been out for 99? asked Daisy McKenzie from England
Three men have suffered the frustration of being out for 99 on their Test debut. The first was Arthur Chipperfield of Australia, against England at Trent Bridge in 1934; he was followed by Robert Christiani of West Indies, against England in Bridgetown in 1947-48. The most recent occurrence was by Pakistan's Asim Kamal, against South Africa in Lahore in 2003-04. Chipperfield and Christiani did later reach three figures in Tests, but poor Asim never did.

In the women's game, Australia's Jess Jonassen was out for 99 in her first Test, against England in Canterbury in 2015. As yet she hasn't completed an international century either.

Two men have made 99 in their first one-day international. The first was Eoin Morgan, was run out for 99 in his first match, for Ireland against Scotland in Ayr in 2006. Eight years later, the UAE's Swapnil Patil suffered arguably an even more agonising fate, being stranded on 99 not out at the end of the innings against Scotland in the final of the World Cup Qualifier in Lincoln, New Zealand. Patil never did make an international hundred.

For the list of those who reached 100 on Test debut, click here.