1909
Manny Martindale, the short statured genuine quick bowler, was born on this day. The West Indian was only 5 feet 8 inches tall who along with Learie Constantine were the first top-quality West Indian quick bowlers.
1952
Imran Khan, the legendary all-rounder of the game of cricket, was born on this day. This man from Pakistan dominated Test cricket in the 1980s. He along with four other legends, Ian Botham, Kapil Dev and Richard Hadlee ruled the world at that time. Imran was a charismatic leader who took Pakistan cricket to a new height. But the most glorious moment he brought for his country when he led his team to the World Cup victory in 1992.
1976
Javed Omar, the third payer in cricket history to carry his bat on test debut, was born on this day. This batsman from Bangladesh made 85 not out on his first day outing at the crease against Zimbabwe in April 2001. Omar’s His maiden international hundred came against Pakistan in Peshawar in 2003.
1982
Jhulan Goswami, one of the fastest bowler’s in women’s game was born on this day. The Indian has recently went past Cathryn Fitzpatrick to become become the leading wicket-taker in ODIs. At one pont of time in her career, Jhulan could deliver a ball at 120kph. She even bagged 10 wickets for 78 runs against England in Taunton. Jhulan was named the ICC Women’s Player of Year in 2007 – a year no Indian male player bagged any individual award. A year later, Goswami took over the captaincy from Mithali Raj and held it till 2011.
