1986
The "Can't bat, can't bowl, can't field" England vintage got their Ashes tour under way in perfect style with a crushing win in the first Test at Brisbane. And as you might expect, central to their victory was Ian Botham at his swashbuckling best. With the game in the balance at 198 for 4 Botham slammed an imperious 138 off 184 balls, with four sixes and 13 fours. He also set a new record for Ashes Tests by lacing 22 off one over from a young Merv Hughes. England were always in control after that. Graham Dilley took 5 for 68 in the first innings, and John Emburey a rare five-for in the second. England eased home by seven wickets on the final day.

1965
Birth of the man who inspired probably the biggest shock in cricket history. Kenyan seamer Rajab Ali will never forget the events of Leap Year Day in 1996, when he took 3 for 17 as Kenya astonishingly bowled out West Indies for 93, to beat them by 73 runs in their World Cup match. Kenyan captain Maurice Odumbe took the match award, but Ali made the initial incisions, bowling Richie Richardson and then having Brian Lara caught behind as a disbelieving public realised that, on a day that comes once every four years, they were about to see an upset that comes once in a lifetime. Ali soon came down to earth though - in his next match he was on the wrong end of an assault from Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana and conceded 67 from his six overs.

2000
An emotional day for Allan Donald, who became the first South African to take 300 Test wickets during the first Test against New Zealand. And better still, he did it on his home ground at Bloemfontein. Donald trapped Shayne O'Connor lbw to spark wild celebrations, with three blasts from a cannon on the boundary commemorating the feat. He took three wickets in each innings to help South Africa to a five-wicket win over a durable but understrength New Zealand side. It was a good match too for Jacques Kallis, who flashed a boundary-laden 160 on the first day, and Makhaya Ntini, whose second-innings 6 for 66 wrapped things up just as NZ were threatening to make a game of it.

1855
Birth of the tragic Billy Bates, whose luminous career was cut short by a freak injury in Australia in 1887-88. Bates was bowling his offspinners in the nets when a straight-drive hit him in the face, damaging his eyesight so badly that he never played first-class cricket again. After that he became depressed and attempted suicide. Bates took 50 wickets in 15 Tests (all of which he played in Australia) at a startling average of 16.42. His finest hour came at Melbourne in 1882-83, when he took 7 for 28 (including the first Test hat-trick by an Englishman) and 7 for 74 as England hammered Australia by an innings. As a batsman he made ten first-class hundreds, and was good enough to open for England. He died in Yorkshire in 1900, aged only 45.

1978
Twin tons for Sunil Gavaskar, but Pakistan took the third Test at Karachi with seven balls to spare to clinch their first series victory against India. It was an especially good series for Zaheer Abbas, who made 583 runs in three matches at the mighty average of 194.33. Gavaskar also had a cracking time, adding 89 and 97 to his two hundreds in this match. He made two hundreds in a Test again that winter too, against West Indies at Calcutta, and is the only person in Test history to achieve this feat on three occasions.

Other birthdays
1841 Henry Jupp (England)
1938 Frank Misson (England)
1938 Richard Dumbrill (South Africa)
1962 Salim Jaffer (Pakistan)
1971 Adrian Griffith (West Indies)

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