1. English cricketer WG Grace (1848-1915) was nearly 47 when he scored his 100th first-class century.

2. The Oval and Lord’s cricket grounds were requisitioned for military use during the first world war.

3. The first women’s Test was held in Brisbane in December 1934 – England won by nine wickets. The earliest recorded women’s match took place on June 26, 1745, between Hambledon and Bramley.

4. In 1952, Len Hutton became the first professional captain of the England team.

5. The third stump was introduced in 1775. This came about after Five of England's Edward "Lumpy" Stevens bowled the ball clean through the last Five of Hambledon batsman's stumps without dislodging the bails - not once but three times, in May 1775. Nowadays it is very unlikely for a ball to pass through and not dislodge a bail.

6. The first recorded lbw (leg before wicket) dismissal took place in 1795.

7. In December 1881, Billy Midwinter became the first player to represent both England and Australia.

8. A cricket bat which belonged to Jack Brown, who used it to help England win the Ashes in March 1895, was valued at £15,000 on the BBC's Antiques Roadshow programme held at Lord's in 1996.

9. The slowest 100 in Test history - 488 minutes - was made by Peter Richardson for England against South Africa in 1956.

10. In 1980, Ian Botham became the first England player to achieve the Test double of 1,500 runs and 150 wickets.