What's the record for the most sixes in an ODI series?

Chris Gayle hit 39 sixes in the one-day series against England. Was this a record? asked Aswin Kini from India
That big-hitting bonanza by Chris Gayle was indeed a record for any one-day tournament, easily beating 26, in six matches in the 2014-15 World Cup… by Chris Gayle. Next with 23 - the previous best for a bilateral one-day series - comes Rohit Sharma, in six matches against Australia at home in 2013-14. AB de Villiers crashed 21 sixes in eight games in the 2014-15 World Cup, and 20 in the five-match series in India in 2015-16. Shane Watson hit 20 in a three-match rubber in Bangladesh in 2011.

The website doesn't have a page for most boundaries in women's cricket. Can you tell me who has hit most sixes and fours in women's ODIs and T20s? asked Ritesh Singh from India
There isn't a preset table for this at the moment, but you can work it out using Statsguru - which I have just done, to save you a job! The leading six-hitter in women's one-day internationals is Deandra Dottin of West Indies, with 74; Lizelle Lee of South Africa comes next with 63, while New Zealand's Sophie Devine has 52. Top of the list of most fours in women's one-day internationals is currently Mithali Raj of India, with 709. She recently overhauled England's Charlotte Edwards (686), with Karen Rolton of Australia quite a way behind in third place, with 529.

Dottin also leads the way for most sixes in women's T20 internationals with 95, well ahead of Devine (69) and Harmanpreet Kaur (53). Turning to most fours in women's T20 internationals, Suzie Bates of New Zealand leads the way with 347, having recently overtaken Edwards (338). Australia's captain, Meg Lanning, currently lies third with 281. (Note that if a number in the tables has a plus sign by the side of it, then there are a few matches for which we don't know the boundary details.)

Shimron Hetmyer was out second ball for six the other day. How rare is this? asked Danny Bolton from Barbados
In the fourth one-day international in Grenada last week, Shimron Hetmyer hit his first ball (from Mark Wood) for six, but was caught on the boundary next ball. The ESPNcricinfo database throws up eight previous instances of this in ODIs - including one by Hetmyer's captain, Jason Holder, against Zimbabwe in Harare last March.

The first player known to have done it was the Sri Lanka seamer Graeme Labrooy, against Australia in Melbourne on Boxing Day in 1989. We don't have ball-by-ball data for quite a few early matches, so it's possible there were some other instances.

The only man known to have done this in a Test match was another West Indian, fast bowler Frank King, against Australia in Kingston in 1954-55. According to the tour book by Pat Landsberg, "King survived two balls, the first of which he hit out of the ground and the second of which he neatly chipped into Archer's hands at slip."

There have also been seven instances in T20 internationals, the most recent by England's Tom Curran against Australia in Hobart in 2017-18.

Were Adil Rashid's figures in Grenada the most expensive five-for in ODI history? asked Andrew Lawson from England, and several others
Adil Rashid's 5 for 85 in St George's last week was comfortably the most expensive five-for in a one-day international. The previous mark was 5 for 73, by the Scottish seamer Gordon Goudie, against Australia in Edinburgh in 2009. Next comes Steven Finn's 5 for 71 - which included a hat-trick - for England against Australia in Melbourne during the 2014-15 World Cup.

It could have been worse, of course: before he polished off the innings (and the match) with four wickets in five balls, Rashid was nursing figures of 1 for 85.

Bangladesh lost in Hamilton despite scoring 429 in their second innings. Was this the highest third-innings total in a losing cause? asked A Purushothaman from India
Rather surprisingly perhaps, there have been 15 higher third-innings totals by teams who ended up losing a Test. The highest (and the only one over 500) was India's 510 against England at Headingley in 1967, when their captain, the Nawab of Pataudi, made a superb 148. In second place comes England's 490 for 8 declared - also at Headingley - against West Indies in 2017, when Kraigg Brathwaite and Shai Hope made light of an imposing target.

The highest total in the fourth innings of a Test lost is New Zealand's 451 (to go down by 98 runs) against England in Christchurch in 2001-02, which just pips Pakistan's 450 (to lose by 39) against Australia in Brisbane in 2016-17. And the highest total in any innings by a team that ended up losing is Bangladesh's 595 for 8 declared in Wellington on their last tour of New Zealand in 2016-17.