Two debutants opened the bowling as Australia lost to South Africa the other day. Has this ever happened before? asked Mitchell Frazer from Australia The two newcomers who had the chastening experience of sharing the new ball in Australias defeat by South Africa in Johannesburg on the weekend were Victorias Chris Tremain, who took 1 for 78, and Joe Mennie of South Australia, who ended up with 0 for 82. They were the first pair of debutants to share the new ball in an ODI for Australia since 1996-97, when Andy Bichel and Anthony Stuart did the honours against West Indies in Brisbane. There were four other instances for Australia in the early days of ODIs. Graham McKenzie and Alan Froggy Thomson took the new ball in the first ever official one-day international, against England in Melbourne in 1970-71. In Australias second match, against England at Old Trafford in 1972, Dennis Lillee and Bob Massie opened the bowling. Max Walker and Gary Gilmour took the new ball against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1973-74, while the following season Alan Hurst and Jeff Thomson started things off against England in Melbourne.Where does Quinton de Kocks 178 stand on the list of highest ODI scores by a wicketkeeper? asked Hammad Shakil from Pakistan Theres been only one higher individual score from a wicketkeeper than Quinton de Kocks turbocharged 178 for South Africa against Australia in Centurion last week. That was 183 not out, by Mahendra Singh Dhoni for India against Sri Lanka in Jaipur in 2005-06. Next come Adam Gilchrist, with 172 for Australia against Zimbabwe in Hobart in 2003-04, and Luke Ronchi, with 170 not out for New Zealand v Sri Lanka in Dunedin in 2014-15. Kumar Sangakkara made 169 for Sri Lanka v South Africa in Colombo in 2013, and Denesh Ramdin 169 for West Indies against Bangladesh in Basseterre in 2014, while Gilchrist added 154 against Sri Lanka in Melbourne in 1998-99, as well as 149 against them in the 2007 World Cup final in Bridgetown. De Kocks 11 sixes has been surpassed just six times in any ODI innings, and only once by someone who kept wicket in the same game - AB de Villiers smashed 16 sixes while scoring 149 from 44 balls for South Africa against West Indies in Johannesburg in January 2015.Six different South African bowlers took a wicket against Australia at the Wanderers. Was this a record? asked Hendrik Hitge There were indeed six different wicket-takers as South Africa bowled Australia out for 219 in Johannesburg on the weekend - but the record for any one-day international is seven, which has happened four times. The first two were by New Zealand: against India in Auckland in 1975-76, and Sri Lanka in Dunedin in 1990-91. Netherlands had seven wicket-takers in their win over Bermuda in Rotterdam in 2007, as did Australia in overcoming Scotland in Edinburgh in 2009. The Test record is also seven, and that has also happened four times, most recently by New Zealand against South Africa in Centurion in 2005-06.What are the earliest Test and ODI from which all 22 players are still alive? asked Steve Austin from Australia I hope Im not tempting fate here in saying that the longest-ago Test match from which all the players are still with us is the first one between Australia and Pakistan in Adelaide in December 1972. All of them have thus survived nearly 44 years - and lets hope theres many more to come. The oldest single team who are all still alive is also Australian - their side in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town in 1966-67, almost 50 years ago. All the Aussies are also still alive from the first-ever official one-day international, against England in Melbourne in 1970-71 (England, sadly, have lost two men from that game). The oldest ODI from which all 22 players survive is the one between England and New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1978. Was Mosaddek Hossain the first Bangladesh player to take a wicket with his first ball in ODIs? asked Savo Ceprnich Offspinner Mosaddek Hossain played his first one-day international for Bangladesh last week, in Mirpur, and took the wicket of Afghanistans Hashmatullah Shahidi with his first delivery. Hes the 24th bowler to strike with his first ball in ODIs, but the first from Bangladesh. For the full list, click here.Another Bangladesh record was set in the third and final match of that series against Afghanistan, also in Mirpur: slow left-armer Mosharraf Hossain, 34, played his first match for nearly nine years. That puts him seventh on the overall list, just ahead of Faruk Ahmed, who went eight years 144 days between ODIs for Bangladesh between 1990 and 1999. For that list, click here.My dad left me a piece of paper signed by Garry Sobers and his 1966 West Indian side. Theres one name on there I cant work out - it looks like R. Barker. Do you know who this is? asked David Fifield from England That sounds like an interesting piece of memorabilia, from a famous team - Garry Sobers strong 1966 line-up won that years series in England 3-1. His team included big names like Rohan Kanhai, Conrad Hunte, Basil Butcher, Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Lance Gibbs, all among West Indies all-time greats. But there were some lesser lights. Two of that years 17-strong touring party never played a Test: the back-up fast bowler Rudolph Cohen, and the man I suspect youre after… Rawle Brancker, a slow left-armer from Barbados. He played in most of the first-class matches outside the Tests, and finished with 33 wickets, including a career-best 7 for 78 against Kent in Canterbury, when his victims included Colin Cowdrey, Alan Knott, Brian Luckhurst and Derek Underwood. (Sobers took 9 for 49 in the second innings of that match.) Brancker also took 6 for 39 for Barbados against Combined Islands in Bridgetown earlier in 1966. He played his last first-class match early in 1970, ending up with 106 wickets at 27.32 - and an almost identical batting average (27.31). He was a handy lower-order batsman who hit five first-class centuries for Barbados, including one against the 1964-65 Australian tourists, when he shared a big stand with Sobers, who made 183.Post your questions using the comments belowClearance Shoes Australia . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Buy Shoes Australia . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/ . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping . LOUIS -- St. Fake Shoes Australia . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. NEW YORK -- John Tortorella was defiant in stating that the New York Rangers didnt take a step back when they were knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the second round. General manager Glen Sather thought otherwise and fired the combative coach on Wednesday. The fiery Tortorella was let go four days after the Rangers season ended with a Game 5 loss at Boston to the Bruins. New York had reached the Eastern Conference finals last year and was considered to be a championship contender in this lockout-shortened season. "I came up with the decision that I really needed to do something to improve our team going forward," Sather said during a conference call. "Every coach has a shelf life. Ive told every guy that Ive hired that at some point in time this is going to change. "Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup and we didnt achieve that goal this year. I had to make a decision, so I did." Tortorella was unexpectedly dismissed with one year left on his contract. In 319 regular-season games with New York, including a four-game run at the end of the 1999-2000 season, Tortorella went 171-118-1-29. He was 19-25 in the post-season, and reached the playoffs in four of five seasons after taking over as coach in February 2009. "Every time a coach gets fired, it is a surprise for me, because ultimately, we, the players, are responsible for our own play on the ice," Rangers backup goaltender Martin Biron told the Associated Press in a text message. Tortorella, hired to replace Tom Renney with 21 games remaining in the 2008-09 season, achieved some success with the Rangers but couldnt match the Stanley Cup title he earned in 2004 with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sather said Tortorellas contract status didnt factor into the decision. "It wasnt one thing and I am certainly not going to speculate or start to criticize what happened with Torts and give you a lot of reasons why we decided to do this," Sather said. "After the analytical work that we do every year at the end of the season, trying to decide how were going to improve the team and how were going to move forward, this is a decision I made." Sather didnt name an immediate replacement, but hopes to have a new coach in place by the June 30 NHL draft in Newark, N.J. Former NHL coaches Lindy Ruff and Alain Vigneault could be candidates for New York. Sather wouldnt speculate whether anyone currently employed by the Rangers would be considered. The fate of assistant coach Mike Sullivan will be decided during the teams organizational meetings in June. "Hopefully whoever we hire has a lot of the good things that Torts had and a lot of good things that Tom Renney had," Sather said. "There are a number of good coaches around, and a lot of them have different qualities. It is a little tricky sometimes to find someone who has all those qualities, but hopefully thats what were going to have this time around. "I am certain that were going to find the right person." Last season, Tortorella led the Rangers to 51 wins -- the second-most in franchise history -- and 109 points before they were beaten in six games by New Jersey in the conference finals. He finished his Rangers tenure in fourth place on the teams career coaching wins list. The 54-year-old Tortorella got the Rangers back into the playoffs in this lockout-shortened season, and New York outlasted Washington in seven games in the first round of the playoffs before being knocked out by Boston. "I felt this was a decision that had to be made going forward," Sather said. "I tthink he was shocked, but he is a gentleman and he took it very well.ddddddddddddquot; Tortorella made curious comments on Monday when the Rangers packed up for the season, which could have led to his ouster. In his final meeting with reporters, Tortorella said his club wasnt emotionally ready to take on Boston after getting past Washington with back-to-back shutout wins when it faced elimination. "One of the things, and it falls on my shoulders, is our teams mindset going into another round," Tortorella said. "I dont think our mindset was ready to play another series and to the level you need to be at. It didnt have a playoff atmosphere. "Thats what I struggle with right now. I didnt do a good enough job in correcting and getting their mindset back to not only play at the level of a Game 7 in the first round but get ready for round 2, which is always going to be tougher." Even though the Rangers were knocked out earlier this year, Tortorella emphatically stated he didnt believe the team regressed. "I know the surrounding feeling here is that it was a negative season, a disappointing season. I dont buy it and I wont," Tortorella said. "There are some good things that happened. I dont think we took a step backward. I think this is a sideways step in our lineup and how things worked out. "We played really well our last couple of months to get in, found a way to win a big series against Washington, and against Boston I thought we competed right to the end." However, starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist disagreed with that assessment. Lundqvist is entering the final year of his contract and would be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. "It is a step back," Lundqvist said. "We were in the conference finals last year, we had high expectations on ourselves this year. It didnt go our way, so yeah it is a step back. Its tough to make it there, though. You cant just expect it to happen." Sather said he hadnt talked to Lundqvist, but added the teams plan is to sign him to a new long-term deal. The Rangers entered the 48-game season as a prime contender to win the Stanley Cup, especially after the off-season acquisition of top forward Rick Nash in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After a slow start, the Rangers rallied to a 26-18-4 record and the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. But New York struggled to score in the post-season, and Nash and Brad Richards were among the biggest offenders. Nash recorded only one goal and five assists in the Rangers 12 playoff games. Richards, who has seven years remaining on a nine-year deal, was a bigger disappointment and was a healthy scratch by Tortorella in the final two games against the Bruins. Sather said that move was an organizational decision. Richards had thrived under Tortorella when they won the Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay, but he managed only one goal and zero assists in his 10 post-season games. Richards will likely also be gone from the Rangers, who can buy out the remainder of his lucrative deal and remove him from the salary cap that will go down for next season. Tortorella is the career leader in wins by a U.S.-born coach with 410. He was an assistant coach with the Rangers in the 1999-2000 season and took over for John Muckler as head coach for the final four games. Tortorella was then hired by the Lightning and he was their coach for seven seasons -- compiling a mark of 239-222-36-38 and earning the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year in the championship 2003-04 season. ' ' '