1970
England's leading strike bowler of recent years was born. Darren Gough made a Test debut worthy of his nickname of Dazzler, hitting 65 and taking six wickets against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1994. Another flashing fifty followed at Sydney that winter, to add to in the first innings – but the batting has fallen away over the years. The bowling, on the other hand, has stayed fast and enthusiastic. His 6 for 42 at Headingley won the 1998 series against South Africa, and two years later he was an integral part of the first England side to win a series against West Indies since 1969. He took his 200th Test wicket in 2001, against Pakistan at Lord's, but the rest of the summer was rather less dazzling. Overshadowed by the Australian quicks, he also played little part in Yorkshire's first Championship title since 1968, and has not played a Test for England since because of injury.

1958
A talented and tragic fast bowler was born. Although he took 45 wickets in 15 Tests for West Indies, Winston Davis made his real mark in ODI cricket. His figures of 7 for 51 against Australia at Headingley in 1983 are still the best in any World Cup match. He has been confined to a wheelchair since breaking his neck when he fell from a tree in 1997.

1997
The first day of the first Test to feature three pairs of brothers in one Test team. Andy and Grant Flower, Bryan and Paul Strang, and Gavin and John Rennie played for Zimbabwe against New Zealand at Harare. Guy Whittall was also in the team; his cousin Andy was 12th man. Grant Flower made a century in each innings of a drawn match.

1937
The first Test cricketer from the "smaller" West Indian islands was born in St Vincent. Alphonso (Alfie) Roberts was only 18 when he played in his only Test, at Auckland in 1955-56. His 28 in the first innings didn't look bad in a total of only 145 – but he was out for 0 as West Indies folded for 77 in the second, losing by 190 runs.

1997
That quality batsman Sourav Ganguly made only 2 in an ODI against Pakistan at Toronto – but then surprised a few people by taking 5 for 16 in ten overs of medium-pace. India's win by 34 runs gave them a winning 3-0 lead in the series.

1958
Birth of England allrounder Derek Pringle, whose medium-pace bowling seemed to be made for the one-day game. For example, he took 3 for 22 in ten overs in the 1992 World Cup final. But for such a big man his batting was irritatingly meek: his 18 not out in the final was easily his highest World Cup score. Much the same story in Tests: only one fifty in 50 innings at an average of 15.10 – but more success with the ball. His three five-wicket hauls were all taken against West Indies, in three different series (he was a surprisingly important member of the team that drew the 1991 series). First capped while still at university, he left an impression of sleepy underachievement – but perhaps he was simply someone who was never going to kick on. His late father Don played for East Africa in the 1975 World Cup. Pringle is now cricket correspondent of the Daily Telegraph.

Other birthdays
1892 Sam Staples (England)
1940 Bruce Murray (New Zealand)

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