CricTrivia

Which batsman has been out lbw most often in Test cricket? My guess is Basil Butcher of the West Indies. 

The overall leader here is England's Graham Gooch, who was out lbw 50 times in Tests. He's just ahead ofSachin Tendulkar, who has so far been out leg-before on 48 occasions (I write before the second Test against South Africa in Kolkata). Players who have played a lot obviously feature more in this sort of list - Gooch was out 209 times in all, and Tendulkar 241 so far - and you're right in thinking that the West IndianBasil Butcher was trapped in front a lot. He was out 72 times in his 44 Tests, and 21 of those were lbws - that's 29.16% of all his dismissals, compared to Gooch's 23.92%. The only higher percentages I can find among players who were lbw 20 or more times are 29.76% by Daren Ganga of West Indies (25 lbws from 84 dismissals), and 29.62% by New Zealand's Craig McMillan (24 from 81).

Shahid Afridi took a five-for in his first Test, and scored a century in his second - has anyone else achieved these all-round feats so quickly? 

You're right, Shahid Afridi took 5 for 52 on his Test debut, against Australia in Karachi in 1998-99, and scored 141 in his second Test, against India in Chennai later the same season. But one man has done that particular double even quicker: in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1964-65, New Zealand's Bruce Taylor marked his Test debut by following 105 with 5 for 86 against India.

Which player captained his side in most Test matches before losing one?

I suspect this question was inspired by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who finally tasted defeat against South Africain Nagpur, in his 12th match in charge of India. The record is 19 Tests from captaincy debut before first defeat, by England's Ray Illingworth, between his first Test as skipper in 1969 and a famous defeat by India at The Oval (their first in England) in 1971.