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Curtly Ambrose traps Mike Atherton first-ball for 0 as the demolition begins © Getty Images
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1994
When England began their chase of 194 with only 15 overs left on the fourth evening in Trinidad, a worst-case scenario was that they might be three down at the close. Some chance. In those 15 overs all hell broke loose as Curtly Ambrose, fuelled by a frenzied crowd, ripped into them. The Wisden Almanack said he came "rampaging in as if on springs". Having seen off Mike Atherton, Robin Smith, Alec Stewart, Graeme Hick and Jack Russell, Ambrose applied the coup de grace with the last ball of the day, bringing the house down by sending a wide-eyed Graham Thorpe's off stump flying. Geoff Boycott said it was the most exciting passage of play he'd ever witnessed. England closed on 40 for 8, and limped past their lowest-ever Test score - 45 - by just one run the next morning.
1994
On the same day, a true champion took guard for the final time in Durban. Allan Border dragged Australia out of the doldrums almost single-handedly in the 1980s, and after finishing with a match-saving unbeaten 42 against South Africa, he announced his retirement. Border took plenty of records with him, notably most caps at the time (156), most runs (11,174) and most appearances as captain (93). This match [and the series] was drawn, after South Africa took a scandalous 205.2 overs to make 422.
2004
The second day of the Multan Test will be remembered for Virender Sehwag becoming the first Indian to hit a Test triple-century. Sehwag said the evening before that the record was on his mind, and he duly achieved it with a six over midwicket off the hapless Saqlain Mushtaq, who would never be seen on the international stage again. Records fell like ninepins along the way: Sehwag went past Gavaskar's 236, Tendulkar's 241 not out, Laxman's 281, and then to 300 ... but Hayden's record remained safe. When he edged Mohammad Sami to first slip on 309, with India 509 for 3, he'd faced 375 balls in 531 minutes, hitting 39 fours and 6 sixes. The day will also be remembered for Rahul Dravid's declaration at 675 for 5 that gave India enough time to successfully push for a victory, never mind that Sachin Tendulkar was left six short of an impeccable double-century.
1871
Birth of a run-machine. Tom Hayward scored over 40,000 runs in first-class cricket - only 16 people have ever managed that - and he was a great success for England too, making 1999 runs in 35 Tests. His 1906 tally of 3518 runs for Surrey was a record until Denis Compton and Bill Edrich both topped it in 1947. Hayward was also a very handy medium-pacer, and took two first-class hat-tricks in 1899. He died in Cambridge in 1939.
1979
One of only seven handled-the-ball dismissals in Test history ... and probably the most controversial. In the second Test against Pakistan in Perth, Australian opener Andrew Hilditch retrieved a stray throw and handed the ball to Sarfraz Nawaz, who appealed and had Hilditch dismissed as a result. Though it didn't stop Australia winning by seven wickets, it caused much rancour and was seen as an act of revenge: earlier in the match Sikander Bakht was run out while backing up by Alan Hurst.
1951
A New Zealand captain is born. Geoff Howarth had the toughest baptism of all, but in his first series in charge he led them to a famous, fractious victory over West Indies in 1979-80. He was a sound, sober batsman, with a particular liking for the cover drive, and played 47 Tests in all. Howarth celebrated his first Test hundred, against England in Auckland in 1977-78, by making another in the second innings. He was awarded the MBE in 1981 and the OBE in 1984.
1921
Birth of a swashbuckler. Australia allrounder Sam Loxton, one of the 1948 Invincibles, played some fearsome innings for Victoria, and got his 12-Test career off to a rollicking start as well. He walloped 93 with five sixes at Headingley in 1948, and two Tests later made his first and only Test hundred, 101 against South Africa in Johannesburg. Loxton's thrusting fast-medium was handy at state level, but he struggled to penetrate in Tests. He played his last Test against England in Sydney in 1950-51.
1946
Taking their New Zealand cousins as seriously as ever, Australia handed out seven debuts for the inaugural Test between the sides. They chose pretty well though: the seven included the magnificent trio of Ray Lindwall, Keith Miller and Don Tallon. It was a ludicrously one-sided match, in which Australia scored 199 for 8 ... and won by an innings and 103 runs. New Zealand were routed for 42 and 56, and the match was over in eight-and-a-half hours. It was not given official Test status for another two years. And Australia enjoyed themselves so much that they did not play New Zealand again for another 28 years.
1939
Indian batsman Hanumant Singh, who was born today, may be better known for his indecisive match-refereeing in recent years, but in his Test career he took a few more risks. He played 14 matches and made a century in his maiden innings, a charming 105 against England in Delhi in 1963-64. Hanumant, the Maharajah of Banswara, also had an extraordinary Ranji Trophy campaign in 1966-67 for Rajasthan, scoring 869 runs at an average of 124. He died in 2006 at the age of 67.
1982
The rules governing the Ranji Trophy finals - in the event of a draw, the team with the highest first-innings score wins - have made for some contests of the grass-growing variety, but this was a thriller. Delhi and Karnataka drew (no surprise there), but Karnataka lost out on first-innings ... despite scoring 705. Delhi squeezed home with 707 for 8, and Karnataka spinner Raghuram Bhat was left with figures of 94-26-180-1.
1949
Birth of Uton Dowe, the West Indian seamer who was mauled by Keith Stackpole to such an extent in the Jamaican Test of 1971-72 that the crowd erected a series of banners proclaiming an 11th commandment: "Dowe shalt not bowl."
Other birthdays
1905 Leslie Hylton (West Indies)
1930 Gundibail Sunderam (India)
1981 Akalanka Ganegama (Sri Lanka)
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