Watching the perfectly useless ODI player that is Michael Vaughan yesterday, prompted me to consider what is the most balls a batsman has faced before getting off the mark in a one day international.

I can imagine that a non-top-class-ICC standard player may have struggled for many, many balls; but for a truly class one-day player like Michael Vaughan - a player near the top of his game, captaining one of the best sides in world cricket... well... need I say... twenty balls was it?

Surely that's a record.

Remembering that the word "batsman" does not by definition include such one day luminaries as Panesar, Anderson and Tufnell I think someone should be able to develop an interesting looking table.

Anyway I'd like to know.

I'm thinking Sunil Gavaskar might have a say in this. Though slightly unfairly, because in the match I'm thinking of he had the impression that it was possible to draw!

Any answers please?

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How long did MPV take to get off the mark yesterday?

He's in good company though - just the other day against the West Indies, Matty Hayden took 19 balls to score his first run, though he did go on to make another 157 off the next 124 deliveries he faced in that innings. Pity Vaughan didn't quite manage that.

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Not even the team managed that many.

I have to say I was extremely impressed that the steaming great oaf still managed to get in his favourite "take the positives" quote!

I was quite close to throwing my non-DAB digital and also steam radio down the stairs, when I heard that bit.

Oh yes, the positives, hmm, accentuate them... hmmm, well:

Strauss looked a lot better than Vaughan at number three, and he probably shouldn't ever play one-day cricket.
A bit like his captain.
Strauss can field.
Bopara looked interested in playing.
And ummmm... England turned up at the ground with the right number of boots and blue kits.
Errrr it was a nice day.
The pub at the end of the street was open in time for lunch... and Hoggard is in favour of Fletcher continuing as coach.
England can leave the Carribean before the end of next week.

Yes... there were a whole lot of positives to accentuate yesterday.

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Red-it, Red-it, Read it and wept

I cannot answer the question, but this allusion to the infamous 'Gavaskar crawl' from the 1975 World Cup in the match against England is worthwhile, because that innings must be a record of some kind. He laboured through 60 overs to score some 36 not out off 174 balls just to prove some point that only his crazed mind would have known as to what it was all about. IMO, that is the most disgraceful innings in the history of all cricket and so must be a record.

I think that's a tad too harsh on Sunny, Nostromo. It was not as if the other Indian batsmen set the world on fire. At least Gavaskar was there till the end. That innings was probably the most embarrassing on-field episode in the rather colourful but nonetheless great career.

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A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes
Mark Twain