1947
Australia bowled out India for 58 in the first Test at Brisbane – the first Test ever between the sides. Ernie Toshack, the left-arm medium-pacer whose dark good looks earned him the nickname "The Black Prince", took 5 for 2 as India lost their last five wickets for five runs. Australia, for whom Don Bradman slammed 185 on the first day, wrapped it up by an innings and 226 runs despite the loss of the fifth day (of six) to rain.

1978
A sensational start to an Ashes series. Australia slumped to 26 for 6 on the first morning of the first Test at Brisbane. It started with a run-out in the first over, thanks to opener Graeme Wood (who was involved in a run-out in all six Tests), and continued with three wickets for Bob Willis. Australia, who were fielding an understrength side thanks to Kerry Packer's rival World Series Cricket, recovered slightly to reach 116, but eventually went down by seven wickets, and went on to lose the series 5-1.

1963
Birth of the man who lifted the World Cup for Sri Lanka. Arjuna Ranatunga was a wristy left-hander with his fair share of attitude, but he knitted a flashy side into a fighting unit, which took the world by storm in 1996. Fittingly, Ranatunga was there to hit the winning runs against Australia in the final at Lahore. Ranatunga made his debut as a chubby teenager, in Sri Lanka's first-ever Test, and bowed out as a tubby thirtysomething, after playing in their 100th match as well.

1940
Birth of the man at the centre of the storm. Mike Denness was born in Ayr, and represented Scotland before moving south to play for Kent. He captained England in 19 of his 28 Tests. He was an attractive strokemaker, who made four Test centuries, but he struggled against high pace. During the 1974-75 tour of Australia, when England ran into Lillee and Thomson, Denness left himself out of one Test after a run of low scores. Brian Close once unkindly remarked: "You don't have to bowl fast to get this lad Denness out, you just have to run up fast." After Denness retired he went into the public-relations business, but his PR skills couldn't avoid controversy in South Africa in November 2001, when as the ICC referee he disciplined six Indian players, leading to the standoff which threatened the start of the India-England series.

1901
George Lohmann died of tuberculosis in South Africa, aged only 36. A fast-medium bowler for Surrey and England, he left behind an astonishing Test record: 112 wickets at 10.75, including returns of 8 for 7 and 9 for 28 against South Africa in 1895-96, and two eight-wicket hauls against Australia too. He was no mean batsman either but he didn't apply himself to it, maintaining that it spoilt his bowling.

1979
Australia's World Series Cricket men returned to the fold after peace broke out, for the first Test against West Indies at Brisbane. Greg Chappell and Kim Hughes scored centuries for Australia, while Bruce Laird ground out 92 and 75 on his debut. Viv Richards made an imperious 140 for West Indies in this drawn match.

1948
Birth of the man who taught Imran Khan how to reverse-swing. Sarfraz Nawaz was a tall, canny fast-medium bowler who took 177 wickets in 55 Tests, including a spell of 7 for 1 on his way to 9 for 86 at Melbourne in 1978-79. He formed a potent opening attack with Imran. He later became an MP, and was invariably newsworthy when he spoke out about cricket – he was one of the first people to make accusations of match-fixing.

1951
Ray Lindwall took his 100th Test wicket for Australia, when he bowled Sonny Ramadhin of West Indies in the second Test at Sydney. Australia went on to win by seven wickets.

1871
No-one has captained England against Australia more often than Archie MacLaren, who was born today. He did it 22 times (Mike Brearley is next with 18). It wasn't because of his great success rate – he lost 11 of those matches and won only four – but rather more because he was perceived as a dashing amateur. MacLaren did, however, hit 109 in his first Test as captain (Sydney, 1897-98), and a matchwinning 140 at Trent Bridge in 1905. At county level his 424 for Lancashire v Somerset at Taunton in 1895 was a record until Brian Lara's 501 not out in 1994.

1938
The man who sent Headingley to sleep in 1958 was born. New Zealand's Dick Playle batted for 194 minutes in scoring 18 in the third Test. It couldn't avert another hammering for possibly the weakest touring side ever to play Tests in England. Playle started with Auckland, but later moved to Western Australia. His highest score, 122, came for WA in 1965-66.

Other birthdays 1886 John Crawford (England)
1942 Ross Edwards (Australia)
1893 Herman Griffith (West Indies)
1980 Mohammad Kaif (India)
1971 Mujahid Jamshed (Pakistan)
1976 Brian Murphy (Zimbabwe)
1969 George Salmond (Scotland)
1972 Zakir Hassan (Bangladesh)

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