1946
A real sting in the tail at The Oval. Alec Bedser and the rest of the Surrey attack must have been looking forward to putting their feet up when they reduced India to 205 for 9 in a tour match. Enter No. 11 Shute Banerjee, who added a staggering 249 for the last wicket with Chandra Sarwate, the second-highest tenth-wicket partnership in first-class history. Both made hundreds (Banerjee 121, Sarwate 124 not out), the only instance of Nos. 10 and 11 both doing so in the same first-class innings. A shell-shocked Surrey were quickly blown away for 135, and eventually beaten by nine wickets.

1978
There have been 29 Test hat-tricks, but none quite as spectacular as the one taken by Sri Lanka's Nuwan Zoysa, who was born today. Against Zimbabwe at Harare in 1999-2000, Zoysa nailed Trevor Gripper, Murray Goodwin and Neil Johnson with the first three balls he'd bowled in the match, to leave Zimbabwe tottering on 0 for 3. Zoysa, a tall, brisk left-arm seamer, has had a chequered career because of injury and the presence of Chaminda Vaas, another left-armer. The two did combine famously on one occasion, at Kandy in 1999-2000, taking three wickets apiece to reduce Australia to 60 for 7, a collapse that ultimately decided the series.

1944
When a man scores 158 in his second Test and 106 in his third, he might reasonably expect a decent run in the side. Clive Radley, who was born today, was not quite so fortunate. A mop-haired middle-order grinder from Middlesex, Radley was already 33 when he made his England debut, and in all he played only eight Tests, ending with 77 and 0 against New Zealand at Lord's in 1978. Five months earlier had come that 158 against the same opponents, an 11-hour marathon on an Auckland shirtfront. Radley carried on for Middlesex until 1987, when he was 43. He's still at Lord's, now as MCC's head coach.

1952
Birth of Sew Shivnarine, the impish Guyanese allrounder who came into a West Indies team gutted by Kerry Packer. He made a couple of fifties on his Test debut, against Australia on his home ground in 1977-78, and was a handy strokeplayer at No. 6 or 7. His slow left-arm bowling, useful at first-class level, was ineffective in the Test arena, and he took only one wicket in eight Tests. He later played for USA in the ICC Trophy.

1904
Birth of the energetic Australian fast bowler Tim Wall, who played 18 Tests leading up to the Second World War. He had an outstanding debut in 1928-29, when he took 5 for 66 in the second innings to bowl England to defeat at Melbourne. He was also Australia's best bowler in the bodyline series of 1932-33, when he took 16 wickets at an average of 25. He also took all ten wickets in an innings that season, for South Australia against New South Wales. He died in his native Adelaide in 1981.

1870
A South Africa spinner is born - in Yorkshire. George Glover originated from Wakefield, but moved to South Africa and eventually played for Kimberley and Griqualand West. He played one Test too, against England at Cape Town in 1895-96. Glover died in Kimberley in 1938.

Other birthdays

1871 Paul Kinneir (England)
1903 Jim Sims (England)

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