1948
England reached the lowest point of the home series against Australia, bowled out for 52 – but the main talking-point at The Oval was probably the most dramatic duck in Test cricket. Needing to score only four runs to reach 7000 in Tests and an average of 100, Don Bradman was bowled second ball by Eric Hollies. England lost by an innings, so The Don didn't get a second chance in his final Test. The cricketing gods holding a little back at the very end.

1990
A Test-saving effort with added charm. Sachin Tendulkar was just 17 years 112 days when he made his maiden Test century, 119 not out against England at Old Trafford. He is the third-youngest to do so, behind Mushtaq Mohammad and Mohammad Ashraful of Bangladesh, who broke the record in September 2001 against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar and Manoj Prabahakar batted through the last two-and-a-half hours with India six-down and seemingly heading for defeat.

1984
Before lunch on the last day, Clive Lloyd's West Indies dismissed England for 202 at The Oval to win by 172 runs and complete a "blackwash", the only time England have lost a series 5-0 at home. So far…

1921
Warwick Armstrong's reputation as a ogre seemed to get to the umpires on the second day of the fifth and final Test between England and Australia at The Oval. When England's captain Lionel Tennyson tried to declare shortly before the close of play Armstrong objected (under the laws as they stood then, because the first day had been washed out the match was classed as a two-day game and so declarations were not permissible) and a lengthy discussion ensued. When play resumed Armstrong, who had just completed an over before the delay, bowled the next over from the other end.

1981
One of South Africa's greatest batsmen died. Dudley Nourse averaged 53.81 in his 34 Tests, carrying his country's batting in any number of series. He stood alone in Australia in 1935-36, averaging 57.55 and hitting 231 at Adelaide, and scored 621 runs in the 1947 series in England. But he saved his most heroic performance for 1951: his 208 at Trent Bridge, made with a broken thumb, is No. 100 in the Wisden 100. On the same list, the highest-ranked innings of under 100 was made by his father "Dave" Nourse.

1938
Death of Hugh Trumble, one of the great cricketers of his time. A lean and mean offspinner, all of his 141 wickets for Australia, a world record at the time, were taken against England (an Ashes record broken only by Dennis Lillee and Ian Botham). He was the last player to hold world records for most catches (45) as well as wickets in Tests. His brother John also played for Australia.

1895
One of the great allrounders was born. Jack Gregory was a superstar of the 1920s: hostile fast bowler, hard-hitting batsman, superb close fielder. See August 7.

1995
The day Mike Watkinson and Richard Illingworth saved a Test for England - with the bat. They shared 65 years but only six Test caps when it happened, against West Indies at Trent Bridge. With Watkinson crashing 82, and Illingworth doggedly holding up an end with a fractured finger, they added an unbroken 80 for the last wicket at a time when Brian Lara, bang in the middle of a purple patch of 583 runs in three Tests, was hovering ominously over a tight runs/time equation.

1962
Birth of Pakistan batsman Ramiz Raja, whose Test average of 30.72 didn't do justice to his talent. The second of his two Test hundreds was the more valuable, a top score of 114 to earn a draw after India had declared at 465 for 8 at Jaipur in 1986-87. He is now a well-known television commentator. His brother Wasim Raja, an allrounder, also played Test cricket.

1968
Birth of Indian middle-order batsman Pravin Amre, who scored a century in his debut Test innings, in Durban in 1992-93. Despite an average of 42.50 in 11 matches, his Test career didn't last beyond the following year.

2000
Controversial South African pace bowler Cuan McCarthy died. Although he took 36 Test wickets, including 6 for 43 on his debut against England in 1948-49, his career was blighted by accusations of throwing. When he retired, he stayed retired: virtually nothing is known about his life after cricket.

1971
Sri Lankan seamer Pramodya Wickremasinghe was born. Never the most penetrative opening bowler, he took 85 wickets in 40 Tests – and none at all in the 1996 World Cup, in which he played four matches, including the final. He went home with a winner's medal despite finishing the tournament with figures of 0 for 141 in 27 overs.

1893
Legspinning allrounder Oscar Charles Scott was born. When England scored 849 at Kingston in 1929-30, "Tommy" Scott's five wickets cost him 266 runs, still third on the all-time list of runs conceded in a Test innings, behind "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith's 298 in 1938 and Rajesh Chauhan's 276 in 1997-98 – neither of whom could match Tommy's feat of conceding 374 in a Test. His son Alf also played for West Indies.

1938
One of Australia's best wicketkeepers died on the same day as Hugh Trumble (see above). Wisden thought Jim Kelly "kept wonderfully well" in England in 1899 and referred to his "remarkable record" on the 1905 tour. No mug with the bat, he helped to win the tight Old Trafford Test of 1896. He made 63 dismissals in his 36 Tests and was the first to make eight in a Test, against England at Sydney in 1901-02..

1966
Death of that decidedly useful allrounder Sibley John Snooke, who had to wait more than ten years for his last Test, against England in 1922-23. "Tip" Snooke's only century helped South Africa to their only win of the 1910-11 series in Australia, and his 35 Test wickets cost just 20.05 each. He and his brother Stanley helped South Africa avoid defeat at The Oval in 1907.

Other birthdays
1909 Len Darling (Australia)
1941 Peter Truscott (New Zealand)
1962 Alec Davies (Scotland)
1966 Saeed Azad (Pakistan)
1909 Len Darling (Australia)

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