1940
The birth of one cricket's most divisive characters. Nobody disputed Geoffrey Boycott's talent and application, but his abrasive character and seemingly selfish nature made him split opinions like no other cricketer. Once, after crawling to 246 against India at Headingley in 1967, he was dropped from the next Test as punishment. He was technically outstanding, but kept most shots for the nets. This made him a model of self-restraint, though he did let go famously at Lord's in 1965, when he spanked a blistering 146 in the Gillette Cup final for Yorkshire against Surrey. The highlight of his career came at Headingley in 1977, when he made his 100th first-class hundred in a Test against Australia on his home ground. He was a comically inept runner who also faced arguably the best over in Test history, bowled by Michael Holding at Bridgetown in 1980-81. Holding worked Boycott over with the first five balls, and the sixth, according to Frank Keating in his tour account Another Bloody Day in Paradise!, "tore the stump from the ground and had it spearing all of 20 yards as if for the very heart of the wicketkeeper [David] Murray". Boycott, now a successful television commentator, underwent treament for a cancerous lump detected in his throat during India's tour of England in 2002.

1971
It took a while, but the brilliant talent of Damien Martyn, who was born today, is finally illuminating Test cricket. After a promising start he was sidelined after an injudicious waft to cover at a crucial time in the five-run defeat to South Africa at Sydney in 1993-94. But one-day cricket offered him a way back, and when he eventually got an extended chance at Test level, he took it in sensational style in England during 2001. He combines the best of the Waugh brothers -- he has Mark's effortless timing and, while he is not as tough as Steve (who is?), the knocks Martyn took early in his career have fostered a steely resolve. All in all, a chilling proposition for Test bowlers over the next few years.

1851
What England would give these days for an allrounder like Yorkshire's George Ulyett, who was born today. He was a powerful batsman (a Test average of 24 in his day is worth double that now) and a hostile bowler. His one Test century, 149 at Melbourne in 1881-82, was the first by an Englishman in Australia, and at Lord's in 1884 he hurried the Aussies to defeat with remarkable second-innings figures of 7 for 36 in 39.1 four-ball overs. A lean spell followed, but Ulyett came good in his last Test, hitting 74 against Australia at Lord's in 1890 to rescue England from 20 for 4. He died of pneumonia in Sheffield in 1898.

1931
Birth of one of England's best wicketkeeper-batsmen. Jim Parks took the Alec Stewart route to keeping -- he was picked first for England as a batsman before discovering almost by accident a natural flair behind the stumps. In the best traditions of keeper-batsmen he was a dashing strokemaker. He made two centuries, at Port-of-Spain in 1959-60 (in only his second Test) and at Durban in 1964-65. But he remained unsung in what was a fairly bleak period for England: they won only nine of his 46 Tests, and only two of those victories came against Australia and West Indies.

1952
Birth of Trevor Chappell, the younger brother of Ian and Greg. He was a solid batsman who did not quite have the talent of his siblings, and played only three Tests, all in England in 1981. But he is best remembered for bowling the last ball of a one-dayer underarm, at the behest of his brother Greg, when New Zealand needed six to win at Melbourne in 1980-81. This caused much consternation and the tactic was quickly banned. He resurfaced as Sri Lanka's fielding coach and between March 2001 and March 2002 he had the unenviable job of coaching Bangladesh.

1985
Sri Lanka began their second Test series in Pakistan with the ultimate bore draw. They took two and a half days to make 479 -- Aravinda de Silva, the day after his 20th birthday, brought up his first Test hundred in the grand manner with a six off Imran Khan -- and with no prospect of a result, Pakistan settled for some batting practice. Qasim Omar and Javed Miandad both made double-centuries and put on 397 together for the third wicket.

Other birthdays
1880 Reggie Spooner (England)
1907 Pieter van der Bijl (South Africa)
1979 Sarandeep Singh (India)

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