1952
The worst start to an innings in Test history. In the first Test at Headingley, India would have fancied their chances when they began their second innings only 41 runs behind England. Fourteen balls later they were 0 for 4, and the game was as good as over. England's infamous Johannesburg nightmare - when they were 2 for 4 on the first morning of the series - had nothing on this. The author of the carnage was England's 21-year-old debutant Fred Trueman. He took three of the wickets, and Alec Bedser the other. Trueman did not look back: he took eight wickets in the second Test, then 8 for 31 in the first innings of the third.

1975
The beginning of the first World Cup - and an infamous go-slow from Sunil Gavaskar. Having decided that India had no chance of victory after Dennis Amiss smacked England to 334 for 4, Gavaskar booked in for an extended net. In 60 overs he crawled to 36 not out off 174 balls, to the chagrin of his coach, his captain ... and one spectator, who was moved to march out and drop his lunch on the pitch. England won by 202 runs after India closed on 132 for 3 - it was the biggest one-day victory until 1984-85.

1975
On the same day, Dennis Lillee (5 for 34) bowled Australia to victory over Pakistan with the first one-day five-for, New Zealand thrashed East Africa by 181 runs (171 of them came from Glenn Turner, the first 150 in ODI history), and West Indies romped to a nine-wicket win over the minnows from Sri Lanka, still seven years away from Test status and playing their first official ODI.

1957
Micky Stewart set a new first-class record by taking seven catches in an innings for Surrey at Northampton. Six were at backward short-leg, as Jim Laker and Tony Lock wreaked havoc, with the other in the gully. The Wisden Almanack said that "none was really difficult". No outfielder has taken more than Stewart's seven catches, though Gloucestershire's Tony Brown equalled the record nine years later.

1964
Nine Tests for Sri Lankan seamer Graeme Labrooy, who was born today, but the highlight of his career came with the bat. Labrooy had scored more than 11 only once in 12 innings when he came in at No. 9 against New Zealand at Auckland in 1990-91. He proceeded to smear 70 not out in only 89 minutes, 60 of them in boundaries. He also took seven wickets in the match, but, somewhat harshly, was not picked again.

1996
At Edgbaston, a big umpiring error in the burgeoning England career of Nasser Hussain. Playing his first Test for three years, Hussain looked to have gloved one down the leg side off India's Javagal Srinath when he had made 14. But he was let off and went on to make a matchwinning 128, his first Test hundred. Between his debut in West Indies in 1989-90 and this match, Hussain played just seven Tests out of 66. Only his notorious poppadom fingers have kept him out since.

1988
After two successive blackwashes at the hands of West Indies, England warded off the threat of a third at the first time of asking with a draw in the first Test at Trent Bridge. They had a brilliant 146 not out from Graham Gooch to thank, although it made little difference to the eventual series outcome - West Indies romped home 4-0, and by the end of the summer Gooch, a foot-soldier to Mike Gatting here, was England's fourth captain of the series.

1993
Another first Test, and another England rescue act led by a Gooch century - but this one ended in tears when Gooch punched away a delivery from Merv Hughes that was bouncing dangerously over the stumps. Gooch was out handled the ball for 133, the first to go this way for England, and his side's hopes of a draw went with him.

Other birthdays
1930 Ian Leggat (New Zealand)
1957 Neal Radford (England)

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