1995
An innings of spellbinding brilliance from Aravinda de Silva. Even though Kent were always behind the eight-ball in the Benson & Hedges Cup final against Lancashire - they eventually lost by 35 runs - de Silva laced 112 off just 95 balls, including three sixes and 11 fours. It was a real I-was-there innings The next-highest Kent score was 25, made by both Graham Cowdrey ... and David Fulton, who left his own mark by facing up to Wasim Akram in a sun-hat, cuffing him for a couple of boundaries and then being smacked on the shoulder. But the day belonged to de Silva, who became the first man on a losing side to win the Gold Award in a B&H final, and the purity of his performance almost brought a tear to the eye. Mainly because of this innings - not to mention 1781 first-class runs - he will be never forgotten in Kent, even though he was only there for one season.

1950
Birth of the strapping Victorian fast bowler Alan Hurst, whose injury problems looked set to sentence him to one-cap-wonder status until he made a successful return in the late 1970s. Hurst made his debut in 1973-74, against New Zealand at Adelaide, but was dropped after a modest performance. Four years later he returned to a Packer-gutted side, and in 1978-79 he had a storming season. In six Ashes Tests he grabbed 25 wickets, even though a depleted Australia were hammered 5-1, and then blew Pakistan away with nine wickets at Perth. But that was Hurst's last Test in Australia - two wicketless Tests in India the following season were his last, and he had to return home with a serious back injury. He was also a terrible batsman, who made 10 ducks in 20 Test innings.

1938
Kent's Arthur Fagg became the only man in history to score two double-centuries in a first-class match, when he cracked 202 not out against Essex at Colchester. Fagg had already made 244 on the first day, including a century before lunch.

1939
A modest return for Pakistani offspinner Haseeb Ahsan, who was born today. In 12 Tests he took 27 wickets at an average close to 50. His best figures came at Chennai in 1960-61, when India piled up 539 and Ahsan took 84-19-202-6. He never bowled in a Test in England for fear that he would be no-balled for throwing, and was actually called against India in the first Test at Bombay in 1960-61. Ahsan returned to England as Pakistan's tour manager in 1987.

1850
A great day for Wisden - John Wisden, who bowled all 10 batsmen in the second innings of the match between North and South at Lord's. It's the only instance of an all-bowled ten-for in a first-class match. In all, 30 wickets fell ... and 25 of them were bowled. Of the other five, three were run-out.

1856
South Africa's first captain is born. Owen Dunell's two Tests were South Africa's first two as well, against England in 1888-89. He was captain at Port Elizabeth, but played only as a batsman in the match that followed, at Cape Town. He died in France in 1929.

1989
The last ball of a Benson & Hedges final, and Nottinghamshire needed four runs to beat Essex. Two 40-year-olds were in the thick of things: John Lever speared the final ball towards Eddie Hemmings's leg stump, but Hemmings managed to squeeze it square on the off side up the hill at Lord's for the winning boundary. A memorable three-wicket victory - and catharsis too: Notts had lost a famous NatWest Trophy final to Essex off the last ball four years earlier.

Other birthdays

1909 John Cochran (South Africa)

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