Q & A: Ferrari's numbers game . . . and new jobs for the boys

What is the origin of the term 'to nutmeg' an opponent in football?

I believe this term is derived from Cockney rhyming slang: leg - nutmeg. In games played in London, spectators would shout, 'nutmeg]' when the ball was pushed through a player's legs. - Ed Conway, Liverpool L15.

Is it true that in sports such as snooker and darts the consumption of a limited amount of alcohol will help to steady the arm? Are there any sporting circumstances in which a drink might be beneficial?

The art of these sports is to develop a smooth, accurate and repeatable action which is non-reactive, so anything which eliminates unwanted 'wobbles' is a help.

One may be tempted to think that, say, a high jumper would also benefit from such calming effects. However, the complex co-ordination needed to perform a one-footed take-off (as opposed, for example, to a tumbling gymnast's two-footed bouncing) combined with possibly fluctuating wind conditions (which need to be reacted to) mean that during competition, alcohol is of no help. Of course, after the competition . . . - M Newman, Didcot, Oxon.

During the Olympics I saw a Chinese gymnast jump at least 15 feet in the air when performing a triple somersault in his floor exercise. Is there anything in the rules to prevent him doing this in the high jump, destroying the world record in the process?

First, the rules of the high jump stipulate that the competitor must take off from one foot only. Secondly, the floor on which the gymnast achieves his acrobatic feat is in fact a highly sprung piece of equipment, giving a considerable lift to his performance. - David S Williams, Crosshaven, Co Cork, Ireland.

The last time I read about this issue, there was a Hungarian circus acrobat, who could leap over 10 feet from a straight run-up with a two-footed take- off, who was practising a one-footed take-off to attempt to break the world record. Having heard nothing of this since, I presume the attempt failed. - Ian McLaren, Edinburgh.

Why do Ferrari's cars always bear the numbers 27 and 28 in grands prix?

Before the 1974 season cars were given numbers on a race-by-race basis, so Ferrari raced under a series of different numbers - in 1973, for example, Jackie Ickx drove as No 7 for Ferrari in the Spanish Grand Prix but as No 3 in Monaco.

Teams were assigned permanent numbers at the start of the 1974 season - Clay Regazzoni was No 11 for Ferrari, and Niki Lauda No 12. These numbers remained until the start of the 1976 season, when Lauda won the world championship, thus taking No 1 and his team-mate No 2 (if the champion changed team he would take the No 1 and No 2 with him, and if the driver retired as champion or died before the end of the season the numbers would stay with the team). So for 1976 Ferrari became No 1 and No 2, and McLaren became No 11 and No 12, but as McLaren regained the championship in 1976 the numbers were exchanged again.

In 1979 Ferrari won again, with Jody Scheckter, but the following year Alan Jones won with Williams, so Ferrari adopted Williams's numbers, 27 and 28. This state of affairs continued until Alain Prost joined Ferrari in 1990 as world champion, taking the No 1 with him. That year Ayrton Senna became world champion, restoring the No 1 to McLaren, who had taken over 27 and 28. If any other team had won, Ferrari would not have reassumed their old numbers.

Enzo Ferrari promised never to race No 27 again after the death of Gilles Villeneuve, in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix in 1982. However, the promise was soon forgotten. - Phil Rowett, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland.

Gilles Villeneuve had a strong affection for No 27, and had said he would prefer to keep it if he became champion. Indeed, after his death there was a suggestion that it should be kept vacant as a tribute. Instead, his friend Patrick Tambay carried it to victory in an emotional San Marino Grand Prix in 1983. The only time the world championship has returned to the Zolder circuit, where Villeneuve died, Michele Alboreto won - in Ferrari No 27. - Peter Ferrigno.

If the Chairman and Secretary of the International Cricket Council (Colin Cowdrey and Lt-Col John Stephenson respectively) were to resign, to what alternative employment would they be best suited?

Seam pressing. What else? - Arthur Wren, Guildford, Surrey.

Why are snooker balls the colours they are?

In 1875, Neville Bowes Chamberlain and his fellow army officers at Jubbulpore in India sought to add some variety to the game of Black Pool by adding additional colours. Black Pool, primarily a potting game, was played with a white cue ball, 15 reds and a black. Chamberlain and his colleagues added three extra colours, yellow, green and pink. Brown and blue followed later. - J Langton, Sefton, Merseyside.

Why do football pitches have corner flags?

A possible answer to this question is that in the early days of formalised football few grounds would have had the luxury of lines marked on the ground - two markers for each goal and one for each corner of the pitch would have sufficed. Posts are logical developments and bits of cloth to flutter in the wind would have made them even more noticeable. There is no need for them now, but traditions linger on. - J E Webb, Fareham, Hampshire.

I always understood that these were to stop the pitches curling up at the edges. They also stop the turf shrinking during hot weather. - A Collinson, Liverpool L17.

The only unfulfilled fixture in Football League history was the Scunthorpe United-Exeter City match in the 1973- 74 season. Can anyone shed any light on the circumstances surrounding this unique non-event?

The match programme for this non- event is very much sought after by Scunthorpe United programme collectors. - Doug Parker, Scunthorpe.

Why do Mexican waves go anti-clockwise?

At Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, a large wall known as the 'green monster' forms the left field boundary, separating the bleachers (the cheaper seats) from the third-base grandstand. The Fenway wave is normally started by the more lively occupants of the bleachers. To gain sufficient momentum to encourage the more staid grandstand spectators to continue the wave it is started up against the wall, so that it travels clockwise. It is once more regenerated by the bleachers fans when it dashes against the green monster.

I make this observation as one who finds this almost obligatory exercise very tedious. Does anyone have a legal way of inhibiting an existing wave or of preventing one's generation? A few years ago, the announcement that 'the Rugby Football Union will take a dim view of this' served only to lengthen the Twickenham crowd's performance at a Middlesex Sevens final. - Huw Jones, London N3.

Who was the last white man to play cricket for the West Indies?

Using the 'light-skinned' criterion Mr Vivian applied to the West Indies, Pakistan have had one such player, the Anglo-Pakistani Duncan Sharpe, who played three Test matches against Australia in 1959-60 before emigrating to Australia, where he appeared with success for South Australia in the Sheffield Shield. Besides Patel and S'ua, New Zealand have played the Bombay-born Indian N S Puna, an off-spinner and brilliant fielder, who played three Tests against England in 1965-66. - Edward Liddle, Wolverhampton.

ANSWERS PLEASE

Why, despite the seemingly high quality of some of the non-league teams, does there never seem to be any relegation from or promotion to the Scottish Football League? - Martyn Smith, Sutton Coldfield.

What is the origin of the triple jump? - M Newman, Didcot, Oxon.

Is surgery ever performed to enhance sporting performance rather than to repair damage caused by injury? Is there any moral difference between the use of surgery and the use of drugs for such enhancement? - Huw Jones, London N3.

Did any club play in both the Third Division North and Third Division South? Also, if, say, two northern sides were relegated from the old Second Division, by which criterion would one team have been placed in the Southern section, or would a team have been moved from one regional division to the other? - Spike Denton, London SW9.

Have Everton ever had a black footballer on their books? - Nik Wallis, Stockbridge, Hampshire; John Marsh, Newton Abbot, Devon.

The ice dancers Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko took bronze, silver and gold at consecutive Winter Olympics. Has anyone else in any sport done this in either winter or summer Games? - Angus Wolstenholme, Leeds.

I have heard that there have been cases of two cricket teams playing to lose, each having put money on the other team to win. Is this true? - D F Elmlea, Stoke Poges.

My dream football result is Forfar 5 East Fife 4. Have they ever got close? - Tony Walton, Hove, East Sussex.

How did crown green bowling come about? - A Collinson, Liverpool L17.

(Photograph omitted)