1894
Herbert Sutcliffe, the batsman who took the opening position to a different level, was born on this day. The Englishman made a late debut at the age of 29. In 1924-25, he became the first person to hit four hundreds in a Test series despite ending in the losing side. England lost the series 1-4 to Australia. Sutcliffe, along with Jack Hobbs, formed England’s best ever opening partnership.
1932
Fred Titmus, a fine off-spinner, was born on this day. The Englishman was famous for his flight by which he took maximum wickets. He could bat too, and opened the batting for England on more than one occasion in an emergency.
1952
Brijesh Patel, the right-hand middle-order batsman, was born on this day. This Indian cricketer was an outstanding fielder normally covering areas around cover and point. Patel played in 21 test matches with a batting average of 29.45. His highest test score was 115 not out. He has a record of being a player who has never gone for a duck.
1955
Ian Botham, one of the greatest all-rounders of world cricket, was born on this day. It is difficult to evaluate the contribution of this Englishman, the most prominent is his Ashes-winning three-card-trick in 1981. Botham had a prolific career where he notched 5200 runs and 383 wickets in tests. In ODIs too, he faired quite well with 2113 runs and 145 wickets. It is quite an unknown fact the Ian Botham was also a talented footballer. He made 11 appearances in the Football league for the club Scunthorpe United. He was knighted in 2007.
1969
Romesh Kaluwitharana, better known as the ‘pocket dynamo’, was born on this day. This Sri Lankan cricketer revolutionized the pinch hitting formula in the opening slot of one-day cricket , along with Sanath Jayasuriya.
1982
Amit Mishra, the leg spinner who took 5 wickets in his debut, was born on this day. The Indian was the sixth Indian to achieve this feat
1989
Sachin Tendulkar, at 16 years 214 days, became the youngest man to make a Test fifty when he stroked 59 in the second Test between India and Pakistan in Faisalabad.
