1964
Colin Cowdrey's slip catch to dismiss Australia's Neil Hawke at The Oval made Fred Trueman the first bowler to take 300 wickets in Test cricket. Trueman, who had missed the previous match at Old Trafford, began the day on 297 wickets, and quickly took that tally to 299, with wickets in consecutive deliveries before the lunch break. Hawke averted the hat-trick, but did not survive much longer. The match was drawn and the Ashes stayed with Australia, but for once it didn't matter so much. Asked whether he thought anyone would ever break his record, Trueman is reputed to have replied: "Aye, but whoever does will be bloody tired." Fiery Fred's eventual total of 307 remained the world record until 1975-76.

1963
Birth of painter Robert Charles Russell, who also dabbled in wicketkeeping. "Jack" Russell's 11 dismissals at Johannesburg in 1995-96 set a world record for all Test cricket. England's insistence on picking wicketkeeper-batsmen limited his international career, but even so he played in 54 Tests, making 165 dismissals. And his own batting wasn't too shabby: he hit two Test hundreds, and as well as those 11 catches at Jo'burg, his four-hour 29 not out buttressed Mike Atherton's epic match-saving innings. After retiring from international cricket, he was instrumental in the success of his beloved Gloucestershire, who won a hat-trick of one-day trophies in 2000.

1981
The century made by Ian Botham in the fifth Test was even better than his match-turning 149 at Headingley earlier in the series. Scored off only 86 balls, the result of classical clean hitting, the Old Trafford ton made the front page of The Times, which wondered if this was the greatest Test century ever. Certainly it was too good for the Australians, whose defeat cost them any chance of regaining the Ashes.

1977
When Rod Marsh skied a ball from Mike Hendrick into the covers at Headingley, that brilliant and extrovert fielder Derek Randall held the catch then performed a cartwheel which reflected the feelings of the whole country. England had regained the Ashes.

1886
Birth of Australian fast-medium left-armer Bill Whitty, whose 65 Test wickets cost only 21.12 each, largely as a result of the 1910-11 series against South Africa, in which he took 37 wickets. When the visitors needed only 170 to win at Melbourne, Whitty took 6 for 17 to bowl them out for 80.

1936
A typically magisterial 217 by Wally Hammond, the first double-century scored against India, was the highlight of a day in which England scored 471 for 8. They went on to win this Oval Test by nine wickets.

1967
Despite a defiant 68 by Saeed Ahmed at Trent Bridge, Pakistan were all out for 114 (Derek Underwood 5 for 52) to give England a 1-0 lead in the series.

1992
Aravinda de Silva hit 105 in 105 balls to help Sri Lanka beat Australia in a one-day international at Colombo's Sara Stadium.

1951
Birth of Essex slow left-armer John Childs, who didn't play Test cricket until nearly 37 years later. His debut at Old Trafford in 1988 made him the oldest to make his England bow since 38-year-old Dick Howorth in 1947. West Indies won both the Tests Childs played in that summer, his three wickets cost 61.00 each, the winter tour to India was cancelled, and he wasn't capped again.

Other birthdays
1927 Eddie Leadbeater (England)
1934 Reg Scarlett (West Indies)
1951 Ranjan Goonatillake (Sri Lanka)
1975 Vijay Bharadwaj (India)

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