1870
Joe Darling, an outstanding left-hand batsman, was born on this day. The Australian was one of finest captains of the national team. He led the Green Caps to victory in England in 1899 and 1902, and also at home in 1901-02. Under his leadership, Australia lost only four of the 21 Tests. He was also the first left-hander to score a hundred in a Test. It came against England in Sydney in 1897-98. In the same series, in Adelaide, Darling was the first person to hit a six in a Test. At the time, a six had to be hit out of the ground and not over the boundary. If it was hit over the boundary then it was counted as five.
1870
Stanley Jackson, the allrounder and captain, was born on this day. The Englishman, famously known as ‘Jacker’, was a true leader who was the perfect answer to Joe Darling. Born on the same day, both these players were rivals on the field. Jackson gave the ultimate display of leadership when England regained the Ashes in that series. Not only did he win those five tosses, he topped both the batting and bowling averages for either side with 492 runs at 70.28 and 13 wickets at 15.46.
1921
Betty Wilson, one of the greatest women cricketers, was born on this day. The Australian was referred to as the female Bradman who made 90 and took ten wickets on her debut against New Zealand She played 11 Tests in which she took 58 more wickets, ending with a bowling average of 11.8 and batting average of 57.4. In 1985 she became the first woman cricketer to be inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame. The Under-21 National Women’s Cricket Championship of Australia is named as Betty Wilson Shield.
1968
Andy Caddick, the powerful fast bowler, was born on this day. The Englishman had all the qualities of a perfect fast bowler but could never cement his place in the national squad. He last played a Test in 2003 but continued to be a major player in county cricket till his retirement in 2009.
1970
Justin Langer, the famous test opener, was born on this day. The Australian had a successful opening partnership with Mathew Hayden. Langer batted at No. 3 until 2001.But after the retirement of Michael Slater, he was promoted to the top. He will be remembered for his feats against Pakistan at Hobart in 1999, where he shared a match-winning 238-run partnership with Adam Gilchrist to rescue Australia from 126 for 5 chasing 369.
1974
Karen Rolton, the first recipient of the ICC Female Player of the Year award, was born on this day. The Australian took over the captaincy after Belinda Clarke retired. She was part of a World Cup-winning side twice, striking 107 not out in the final in 2005 to help Australia storm to victory. When she retired in 2010, Rolton held the record for playing 141 ODI, the most by any women player.
1976
Saleem Elahi, the batsman remembered for his ODI heroics, was born on this day. The Pakistani made his debut in ODI without having played a single first-class game. He scored a century on his debut against Sri Lanka in Gujranwala in 1995.
