AS someone who has always been fascinated by numbers and statistics, I predict that by the spring of next year the number 11 will overtake the most frequent number 23, and reach first place in the lottery.

Eleven has been rising steadily in recent years and if it does reach first place, it will be the first time a low number has done so.

I believe that the number eight, which has come out twice in recent draws and was the favourite number of my late mother Kathleen Kidd, will continue to progress. Kathleen was told by Chinese friends that eight was regarded as a good omen in their culture.

Finally, a study of lotteries in the USA I have undertaken does show that higher numbers do tend to come out more frequently than lower ones; 59, the highest number in the New York lottery, regularly comes out!

RICHARD J. KIDD, Andover.