We asked which player top-scored with 110 not out in the 2007 England v India Oval Test. The answer was Anil Kumble.

We didn’t do the names-in-a-carrier-bag draw in the end, because there were too many entries and we didn’t have enough ink.

We instead opted for the spreadsheet and random number generator approach and technology favoured Jill Russell.

Have fun, Jill. Kingfisher will be in touch.

Update: Kingfisher are giving away more tickets here. Presumably, for some of you, that page will be something other than one saying: ‘Hey, how come you don’t have a Facebook profile yet, you bloody-minded refusenik?’

Competition closed. See here for Oval cricket tickets.

We hate doing competitions. Sorting through all the entries sucks hours from our life and we always get stressed out that the winners aren’t going to receive their prizes.

This is a good one though.

You could win a pair of tickets for England v India at the Oval on Saturday the 20th of August (day three) and also a goodie bag of Kingfisher and cricket bits. (Pretty sure that’s Kingfisher the beer and cricket the sport, if you’re thinking that sounds a bit grisly.)

To be in with a chance of winning, answer the following question:

Which player top-scored with 110 not out in the 2007 England v India Oval Test?

Send your entries to king@kingcricket.co.uk, subject ‘Oval tickets’. The competition closes at the end of Sunday July 3rd and the winning name will be plucked from a Tesco carrier bag at some point that week.

We were also asked to say that we have teamed up with Kingfisher Beer for this, so that’s what’s happening in this last sentence.

These people didn’t win, either because they were too late or in Ireland. We liked their entries though.

We asked people to name a non-Test playing nation and say how they’d get them to the 2015 World Cup.

V | Finland

Finland should definitely be on the list. As there is 24 hour daylight in summer, we could have one-dayers round the clock. The World Cup could be sorted in less than a week. As there is a high rate of suicide and alcohol problems in Finland, 24 hour cricket will either reduce the rate or double it.

ClubDave | Cornwall

I’d get Cornwall to the cup by changing players’ names to Pasty (worked for Pasty Harris), relocating the event to Truro then charging visiting teams £12.30 a day parking (funds recycled to Bermuda short kits/pasties/momentum), finally recruiting Cornishman Rick Stein to give team talks about the wealth of proud Cornish cricket talent and the terrible thought that we’re sending all our best cricketers to overseas Twenty20.

Cathal | Italy

Appoint Berlusconi as Head of Italian Cricket. Watch as the cream of ODI talent around the world discover an Italian link in their heritage and declare for Italy, foaming at the mouth with the prospect of ‘bunga bunga’ parties.

Here are the other winning entries to the Out of the Ashes DVD competition. Everyone else who wants a copy will have to pay money for a copy.

We asked people to name a non-Test playing nation and say how they’d get them to the 2015 World Cup.

Sarah, Canterbury | France

By pink plane.

Tom | Italy

Despite being part-timers, there’d be no issues with getting time off work due to the level of incompetence involved with any Italian establishment – “eh, eh, eh, Mario, you toucha my daughter I slappa your face-a” etc. – and I’m sure if they didn’t qualify on cricketing ability, they could cook up a mean red wine risotto to convince the ICC.

Phil | Mexico

I would use Top Gear to get Mexico to the World Cup. Balls disguised as Richard Hammond’s tiny head would inspire batsmen to hit boundary after boundary while stumps made to resemble Jeremy Clarkson bending over would give bowlers that crucial ‘extra yard of pace’ that comes through sheer rage.

GT | Germany

By encouraging an invasion of Holland by pointing out to the Germans that Dutch immigrants have taken a lot of their jobs, they speak funny and that they aren’t very efficient. The new Deutsche team could then expect a minimum of World Cup quarter final qualification and years of beating England.

David | Germany

Motivate the team with talk of how easy it is to beat England in a World Cup, assure them there isn’t a Brazilian cricket team, play for a tie to ensure a bowl-off and guarantee fervent support by placing deckchairs round the boundary edge the night before matches.

Here are the first five winning entries to the Out of the Ashes DVD competition. The other five will appear either tonight or tomorrow, depending on ‘arsedness’ on our part.

We asked you to name a non-Test playing nation and say how you’d get them to the 2015 World Cup.

Bert | Norway, North Korea, Chechnya, anyone really

Discuss the matter with the ICC and the major governing bodies. Arrange a meeting. Turn up in a helicopter carrying twenty million dollars in stolen cash. Job done.

Imran | Switzerland

1. Persuade Roger Federer to take up professional cricket, pointing out he’d then get to wear flannels more often
2. Redirect the flow of Saffer migrant cricketers to Switzerland by promising them chocolate
3. Threaten to freeze the bank accounts of administracrats voting against Switzerland’s admission as a Full Member of the ICC

Peter | Bahamas

They rise from the depths of the ICC World Cricket League Division Eight when I provide them with a magic badger that guides them on their path, explaining that winning is purely a mental state and by drinking enough they can reach this state and become unbeatable … they do!

Brian | USA

I would get America to the 2015 World Cup by making Sarah Palin the captain and telling her that if her team didn’t win Obama would introduce free healthcare for all and would take everyone’s guns off them. Watch her go.

Tim | China

China’s population is 1.3 BILLION. Got to be able to scrape a squad out of that lot. They’ve got all the attributes, too. Freakishly tall? Strike bowler. Zen-like calm? Opening bat. Wizened village elder? New Paul Collingwood. Competition for places is fierce. National pride is at stake. Worked with India.

Worth watching to see Matthew Fleming getting super-nervy whenever a batsman hits a shot towards the car while he’s coaching at the MCC Cricket Camp in Afghanistan.

Win a copy of the DVD:

• 50 words on how you’d get any non-Test playing nation to the 2015 World Cup
• Send your entry to king@kingcricket.co.uk
• Last day for entry

We’d like to see more entries for France, Italy and Germany, quite frankly.

To be in with a chance of winning one of 10 copies of Out of the Ashes on DVD, simply name a non-Test-playing nation and in 50 words or fewer explain how you would get them to the 2015 World Cup. Funniest and most colourful answers win.

Don’t put your entry in the comments section. Email us at king@kingcricket.co.uk. Entries must be in before we get out of bed on Thursday, so maybe send them on Wednesday to be on the safe side. Include a postal address, so we can send you your prize if you win. (UK residents only. Sorry about that.)

We’ve also been asked to say: “Out of The Ashes is now available on DVD from all good retailers and from Vivaverve.com,” which seems oddly worded to our eyes.

This is the second competition to meet a cricketer. It is appearing here largely because we want to publish a picture of Darren Gough with a pork pie in his hand.

The competition is over at The Mirror. The prize is actually pretty damn good: tickets to the first two days of all five Ashes Tests and Darren Gough’s sat with you on each of the first days. That could well be quite entertaining.

It’s probably the World Twenty20 and the Ashes, but we’re getting an insane number of press releases sent to us these days. Today we’re going to tell you about two separate competitions where you can meet a cricketer.

This is the first one. It is classy. Sachin Tendulkar is doing a book signing at some shop called Opus at some place called Covent Garden in some town called London on Thursday.

It’s a Twitter competition. If you’re a member, log in and put: “@thisismission I’d love to meet the cricket legend #Tendulkar at the Opus Store on Thursday!”

The winner will be drawn tonight.

The second competition will appear later. It is less sophisticated. You will like it.