Once again superb entries, this time for part three of the Big Perce quiz. 

Three deadly serious contestants all played in the upper echelons of the cricket quizzing world. Barmy Kev also submitted an entry and managed over 28%, which was an excellent effort at very short notice.  I was worried on the penultimate day of the quiz that there'd only be one entry, but MTWD's famous deadline riders, Jonathan Winsky and Mr Trellis both came up trumps with a couple of hours to spare!

It was really tight once again with universally high scores.  Everyone did incredibly well.  Indeed, when I did my first pass on the answers, I thought we had a three-way tie.

A few people have commented on the ambiguous nature of some of the questions and asked me to disambiguate them prior to asking the questions.  For a quiz novice (and time-limited person) like myself, that is an impossible ask.  I do however try to disambiguate the answers once the entries are in (a much easier task) and indeed it was during such an exercise that I uncovered a problem with the very first question of part three - you can see how I have judged it below and I wouldn't expect anyone to have complaints about that!

Suffice it to say that the editor’s (i.e. the judge’s) decision on the scoring method and results is final; any debate people might want to have about some of the answers should be done on this topic, but without the expectation of the results being changed.

In order to maintain interest in the remaining parts of the quiz (and in recognition of the subjective nature of some of the marking), master points towards the overall contest are awarded as follows:
• 1st place – 4 master points
• 2nd place – 2 master points
• 3rd place – 1 master point

So, without further ado, here are the scores on the doors, in reverse order:
• 4th place – Barmy Kev – 8-and-a-half (gaining a big thank you from me for having a go when asked.  I particularly liked the idea that Tim Bloomfield might be the answer to 11a)
• 2nd place equal – Teletext Army – 24 (gaining 1.5 master points)
• 2nd place equal – Jonathan Winsky – 24 (gaining 1.5 master points)
• 1st place – Mr Trellis - 25 (gaining 4 master points)

Many congratulations once again to Mr Trellis, who really deserves his win, not only for the 24 points he earned on other questions but especially for his enlightened answer to question 9a!!  Another miniscule prize will be winging its way to you presently.

Here is the master point leader board after three rounds:
• Mr Trellis currently wears the Tour de Wath Main Yellow Jersey - 8 master points;
• Teletext Army - 5.5 master points;
• Jonathan Winsky - 4 master points;
• Jeff Coleman – 2 master points;
• Middlesex Infinitum - 1.5 master points.

Everything still to play for, folks.  Three of you still have a chance of winning the overall contest.  In any case, each round has its own glory and miniscule prize, so who wouldn’t want to join in?

Many congratulations once again to all the entrants.  The answers are set out below.

9. Dress and equipment.

a. What is the minimum weight of a cricket ball used in adult matches?  5 1/2 OUNCES [EDITOR’S NOTE: I DO NOT AGREE WITH THIS ANSWER, AS LAW 5 SPECIFICALLY ALLOWS A BALL WEIGHING 4 AND FIFTEEN SIXTEENTHS OF AN OUNCE FOR WOMEN’S CRICKET – I HAVE AWARDED POINTS FOR BOTH ANSWERS]

b. What is the maximum width of a cricket bat? 4.25 INCHES (10.8 cm)

c. If a fielder deliberately  stops the  ball with his cap how many penalty runs are awarded? 5

d. What are the Middlesex club colours ( not T20 or OD)? BLUE

e. Bat handles are now sprung with rubber, but of which material was the spring originally made? WHALE BONE

f. How are MCC's colours often described? BACON AND EGG

10. Cricket and  railways.

a. Who began his working life at Mirfield locomotive depot? WILFRED RHODES BEGAN WORK THERE AS A LOCMOTIVE CLEANER

b. What is the connection between cricket  and the Severn railway tunnel? CHARLES RICHARDSON WAS THE CHIEF DESIGNER OF THE SEVERN TUNNEL ON THE GWR AND A PUPIL OF BRUNEL. HE ALSO DESIGNED THE SPRUNG CANE HANDLE OF A CRICKET BAT

c. During this tour England played three tests. Approaching a frontier, their train was stopped and they were required to pay customs duty on their bats, which was subsequently refunded. Who levied this duty?  BOER COMMANDOS

d. What railway connection have Murali Kartik and Nari Contractor? THEY PLAYED FOR 'THE RAILWAYS', A MAJOR TEAM IN INDIA SOMETIMES KNOWN AS INDIAN RAILWAYS.

e. Which club won the North Staffordshire senior A league in 1961? CREWE LMR

11. Records.

a. Who is the last player who, in four consecutive innings, two batting and two in the field, scored a century in each innings and took five wickets in each innings? ADIL RASHID IN 2009

b. What is the highest losing score made in the fourth innings of a test match  at Lord's ? 406 BY AUSTRALIA THIS SEASON

c. Who was bowling when Lara broke the world record for the highest individual test innings for the first time? CHRIS LEWIS

d. Who has made the most first class centuries for Middlesex? ELIAS 'PATSY' HENDREN

e. Who are/were the brothers who between them scored 66,094 first class runs, took 1574 first class wickets, scored 118 first class hundreds and held 1,168 first class catches?  (One point for each) THE LANGRIDGES, JAMES AND JOHN

f. What feats did JT Hearne and A Richardson secure for Middlesex in matches that were 104 years apart? THEY REACHED DOUBLE FIGURES THEREBY ENSURING THAT ALL ELEVEN BATSMEN (PLUS EXTRAS) HAD REACHED DOUBLE FIGURES IN THE INNINGS, THE ONLY TIMES THIS FEAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED BY MIDDLESEX, OCCURING IN 1903 AND 2007.

g. What is the highest individual score in a T20 match? 158* BY BRENDAN McCULLUM

h. Who has made the highest individual score for Middlesex in a T20 match? DJ 'SAILOR' MALAN

i. Which Middlesex player has scored the most runs in Youth Test Matches? OA SHAH

12. The naughty boys.

a. Which team was out late at night in Grenada in the 2006/7 World Cup when an irate fan ordered them at gunpoint to return to their hotel? WEST INDIES

b.Which England captain wrote of which other England captain with no obvious irony, 'He  was liable to set your hair on fire on boring plane journeys. He was a captain's dream'? (One point for each) MIKE BREARLEY WROTE THIS OF IAN BOTHAM

c. Which incident caused suggestions that the team in question should play its next match in short trousers and that they required the services of a child minder? JELLY BEANS ON THE PITCH (ENGLAND v INDIA)

d. In 'Fredalo' which two members of the England 'backroom' staff were fined? (One point for each) KEVIN SHINE ONE OF THE BOWLING COACHES AND ' PSYCHOLOGST' AND SPIN BOWLIN COACH JEREMY SNAPE.

e. Which present county captain has been banned by a local cricket league for violence while playing in that league. REGRETABLY, SHAUN UDAL, ALTHOUGH IT WAS FOR STRIKING AN OPPONENT MAKING OFFENSIVE COMMENTS ABOUT A HANDICAPPED TEAM-MATE IN 2003.

f. Who was sacked by his county for being drunk on the field of play, although not selected for the match, and for bowling at a sight screen to try to demonstrate his sobriety? BOBBY PEEL

g. Who was sacked by his county in 1958 for unauthirised newspaper articles and subsequently was removed from the Ashes tour party? JOHNNY WARDLE

h. Which England opening batsman refused to leave his wicket when given out and only departed after lengthy itervention by his batting partner? CHRIS BROAD, NOW AN INTERNATIONAL MATCH REFEREE.

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• Tour de Wath Main Quiz Part Three
• Tour de Wath Main Quiz Part Two Answers

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