The England ODI Quiz

England are, for once, actually quite good at ODI cricket. That hasn’t always been the case. Do you remember all the stories, players and defeats of England’s inglorious ODI past? Let’s see…

1. Let’s go right back to the beginning. Who was England’s first ODI captain?

   Seems like yesterday.

   • Ian Botham
   • Ray Illingworth
   • Geoff Boycott
   • Keith Fletcher

   CorrectWrong

   Ray Illingworth!

   January 5, 1971 it was. England were 190 all out after 40 eight-ball overs. Australia chased it down in the 35th over. One player scored at a strike-rate over 100.

2. And who scored England’s first ODI century?

   On August 24 this year it will be 45 years to the day since this event. Expect an open-top bus parade.

   • Geoff Boycott
   • John Hampshire
   • Basil D\’Oliveira
   • Dennis Amiss

   CorrectWrong

   Dennis Amiss!

   The Warwickshire man rattled his way to a ton as England won their first ODI. There have been 140 English ODI tons since (as of January 2017).

3. Who was England’s captain for the 1983 World Cup?

   England would reach the semi-final, upon which they would lose to eventual winners India by six wickets.

   • Bob Willis
   • Ian Botham
   • Mike Gatting
   • David Gower

   CorrectWrong

   Bob Willis!

   Bustling Bob was the man in charge. Gower was the tournament’s leading run-scorer.

4. England were defeated in the 1987 World Cup final (Gatting’s reverse-sweep…), but who was their leading wicket-taker across the tournament?

   This chap got 13 wickets, fifth-most in the competition.

   • Phil DeFreitas
   • Gladstone Small
   • Eddie Hemmings
   • Neil Foster

   CorrectWrong

   Eddie Hemmings!

   The moustachioed offie was England’s most prolific wicket-taker, and he only played six matches.

5. Who made 62 as England failed in their chase of 249 against Pakistan in the 1992 World Cup final?

   

   England reached 227 having been 141-4 before Wasim Akram decided to be brilliant.

   • Graeme Hick
   • Ian Botham
   • Allan Lamb
   • Neil Fairbrother

   CorrectWrong

   Neil Fairbrother!

   The Lancashire man was the seventh wicket to fall in a disappointing chase.

6. Which of these likely lads appeared in the 1996 World Cup?

   England stumbled through to the quarter-finals, winning two of their five group games, but lost to Sri Lanka.

   • Neil Smith
   • Ali Brown
   • Matt Maynard
   • Graham Lloyd

   CorrectWrong

   Neil Smith!

   He opened, averaging 34.50 from his three matches.

7. The 1996 failure led to the Sharjah Trophy win in 1997, but who was England’s leading wicket-taker?

   Four games. Four wins. Eleven heroes. Where are their honours?

   • Mark Ealham
   • Robert Croft
   • Matthew Fleming
   • Dean Headley

   CorrectWrong

   Matthew Fleming!

   Nine scalps at 16 for – statistically speaking – one of England’s best ODI bowlers.

8. From that high England stumbled to a humiliating exit at the 1999 World Cup, held on home soil. Which of these players was not in England’s squad?

   

   He dodged a bullet, truth be told.

   • Ashley Giles
   • Ian Austin
   • Vince Wells
   • Adam Hollioake

   CorrectWrong

   Ashley Giles!

   He’d go on to become a 2005 Ashes hero but at this stage he missed out to Robert Croft.

9. No names this time, which of this lot never played an ODI for England?

   We’re getting tougher now.

   • No.1
   • No.2
   • No.3
   • No.4

   CorrectWrong

   No.3!

   That, of course, is Mark Butcher who was never deemed good enough to play an ODI for England. Hmmm. The others are Alan Wells (No.1), Paul Grayson (No.2) and Paul Franks (No.4).

10. Who took 3-9 as England beat Zimbabwe by 74 runs at Bulawayo in 2004?

    Two clean-bowled dismissals and one catch.

    • Gareth Batty
    • Andrew Strauss
    • Ian Bell
    • Alex Wharf

    CorrectWrong

    Ian Bell!

    I know, right? And Strauss bowled (0-3 for him). Weird.

11. Who bowled the final over in England’s memorable tie against South Africa at Bloemfontein in 2005?

    

    Eight needed from the final over… and then four from six after a first-ball no ball.

    • Kabir Ali
    • Matt Hoggard
    • Ashley Giles
    • Darren Gough

    CorrectWrong

    Kabir Ali!

    A last-ball Geraint Jones stumping saw England to the tie.

12. Which of these England players has scored the most ODI runs (for England)?

    They all played around the same era. Bizarrely, given England’s ODI history, it was a largely unsuccessful time.

    • Ed Joyce
    • Jamie Dalrymple
    • Michael Yardy
    • Mal Loye

    CorrectWrong

    Jamie Dalrymple!

    His 487 runs inches past Joyce’s 471, despite that ton. Yardy’s third with 326 and Mal Loye – finest purveyor of the sweep known to man – has 142.

13. Who hit a six in the final over that saw England tie an epic game against India in the 2011 World Cup?

    

    338 played 338-8. Carnage.

    • Ajmal Shahzad
    • Tim Bresnan
    • Graeme Swann
    • Andrew Strauss

    CorrectWrong

    Ajmal Shahzad!

    Cool as you like from the then-Yorkshire man. All in all, though, not a memorable tournament for England.

14. Jos Buttler hit England’s quickest ODI hundred against Pakistan at Dubai in 2015, but how many balls did it come off?

    

    He’s good is Jos.

    • 44
    • 45
    • 46
    • 47

    CorrectWrong

    46!

    He has England’s first, second and third-quickest ODI tons.

15. Who is England’s leading scorer in ODIs?

    The proud holder of 5,416 ODI runs.

    • Kevin Pietersen
    • Paul Collingwood
    • Eoin Morgan
    • Ian Bell

    CorrectWrong

    Ian Bell!

    Collingwood’s second with 5,092, Morgan’s fourth with 4,449 and Pietersen’s fifth with 4,422. Who’d have thunk it, eh?

The England ODI Quiz