22nd April...

1851:
Australian pace bowler George Alexander (2 Tests from 1980 to 1984) was born.

1861:
South African batsman Clarence Wimble (1 Tests in 1892) was born.

1899:
Australian batsman EJ 'Ned' Gregory (1 Test in 1877) died aged 59.

1937:
England pace bowler and later a Test umpire Ken Palmer (1 Test in 1965) was born.

1941:
South African batsman Arthur 'Dooley' Briscoe (2 Tests from 1935 to 1938) died in Ethiopia (WW II), aged 30.

1958:
Pakistani keeper-batsman Ashraf Ali (8 Tests from 1982 to 1987) was born.

1959:
Sri Lankan captain and batsman and later an ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle (21 Tests from 1982 to 1988; 1029 runs) was born.

1968:
Australian pace bowler Jo Angel (4 Tests from 1993 to 1995) was born.

1973:
West Indian off-spinner Lance Gibbs became the first bowler to bowl 20,000 balls in Test cricket - against Australia at Port of Spain.

1983:
The Asgiriya Stadium at Kandy in Sri Lanka became Test cricket's 54th venue when Sri Lanka and Australia met each other for the first time in a Test match.

23rd April...

1872:
South African batsman William Solomon (1 Tests in 1899) was born.

1881:
South African left-arm spinner Claude Carter (10 Tests from 1912 to 1924) was born.

1936:
New Zealand batsman John D'Arcy (5 Tests in 1958) was born.

1937:
Australian left-handed batsman Barry Shepherd (9 Tests 1963 to 1965; 502 runs) was born.

1978:
Bangladeshi Test batsman Al Shahriar 'Rokon' was born.

1983:
Australian left-hander David Hookes scores his only Test hundred - an unbeaten 143 (in 152 balls) against Sri Lanka at Kandy. He took his score from 43 to 143 before lunch on the second day.

1986:
England off-spinner Jim Laker (46 Tests from 1948 to 1959; 193 wickets) died aged 64.

1988:
Playing in his 94th Test match, West Indian captain Viv Richards became the ninth batsman (and the third West Indian) to complete 7000 runs during the Bridgetown Test against Pakistan.

1991:
Playing in his penultimate Test match of his career (his 107th) West Indian opener scores 226 against Australia at Bridgetown. Just a week short of his 40th birthday, he became the oldest West Indian to score a double-hundred in Tests.

1992:
Needing just 79 runs to win on the last day with eight wickets still in hand, South Africa lost the Bridgetown Test match by 52 runs against the West Indies.

1993:
Pakistani fast bowler Aamir Nazir made his Test debut against the West Indies at Bridgetown after making his first-class debut in the previous first-class match on the tour.

1996:
New Zealander Nathan Astle (125) scores his maiden Test hundred in just 94 balls - against the West Indies at Bridgetown.

1997:
England batsman Denis Compton (78 Tests from 1937 to 1957; 5807 runs, avg. 50.06) died aged 78.

24th April...

1924:
England keeper George Street (1 Test in 1923) died aged 34.

1940:
England's pace bowler David Larter (10 Tests from 1962 to 1965; 37 wickets) was born in Scotland.

1966:
Indian off-spinner M Venkataramana (1 Test in 1989) was born.

1970:
Australian pace bowler Damien Fleming since 1994, was born.

1971:
Sri Lankan off-spinner Kumara Dharmasena since 1993, was born.

1973:
Indian batsman and former captain Sachin Tendulkar since 1989, was born.

1975:
Indian keeper MSK Prasad (6 Tests in 1999-00) was born.

1986:
England batsman and pace bowler Bill Edrich (39 Tests from 1938 to 1955; 2440 runs and 41 wickets) died aged 70.

1988:
South African fast bowler ES 'Bob' Newson (3 Tests from 1930 to 1939) died aged 77.

1991:
Fast bowler Malcolm Marshall became the sixth Test bowler and the first from the West Indies to take 350 Test wickets during the Bridgetown Test match against Australia.

1991:
West Indies beat Australia by 343 runs to retain the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy. It was West Indies' tenth successive win at Bridgetown.

2000:
New Zealand left-handed batsman John Beck (8 Tests from 1953 to 1956) died aged 65.

25th April...

1848:
England all-rounder Tom Armitage (2 Tests in 1877) was born.

1872:
England batsman and captain CB Fry (26 Tests from 1896 to 1912; 1223 runs) was born.

1889:
Australian all-rounder Charles Kellaway (26 Tests from 1422 runs and 52 wickets) was born.

1902:
England keeper Fred Price (1 Test in 1938) was born.

1930:
West Indian batsman Roy Marshall (4 Tests from 1951 to 1952) was born.

1931:
Australian all-rounder AJY 'Bert' Hopkins (20 Tests from 1902 to 1909; 509 runs and 26 wickets) died aged 56.

1946:
England batsman Albert Knight (3 Tests in 1904) died aged 73.

1946:
England batsman Joseph Vine (2 Tests in 1912) died aged 70.

1948:
England pace bowler Mike Selvey (3 Tests from 1976 to 1977) was born.

1953:
Australian batsman Gary Cosier (18 Tests from 1975 to 1978; 897 runs) was born.

1969:
Zimbabwean batsman Glen Bruk-Jackson (2 Tests in 1993) was born.

1969:
Sri Lankan Sanjeeva Ranatunga (9 Tests from 1994 to 1997) was born.

1976:
West Indies dismissed India for 97 - with five of the Indian batsman not coming out to bat - as they were declared 'absent hurt' at Kingston.

26th April...

1874:
South African batsman and captain JH 'Biddy" Anderson (1 Test in 1902) was born.

1909:
England left-arm slow bowler and batsman Dick Howorth (5 Tests from 1947 to 1948) was born.

1932:
England fast bowler and batsman Bill Lockwood (12 Tests from 1893 to 1902; 231 runs and 43 wickets) died aged 64.

1955:
Australian leg-spinner Richie Benaud became the first bowler to take three wickets in four balls in the Caribbean - when he claimed 4-15 against the West Indies at Georgetown.

1958:
West Indian all-rounder Joe Small (3 Tests from 1928 to 1930) died aged 65.

1972:
New Zealand's eight wicket pair of Ken Wadsworth and Bruce Taylor batted out the last 106 minutes to earn a draw in the Port of Spain Test match against the West Indies.

27th April...

1875:
England batsman and captain Fred Fane (14 Tests from 1906 to 1910; 682 runs) was born.

1908:
England pace bowler Bill Copson (3 Tests from 1939 to 1947) was born.

1936:
Pakistani batsman Khalid Wazir (2 Tests in 1954) was born.

1946:
Australian keeper 'Jock' Maclean (4 Tests in 1978-79) was born.

1951:
South African batsman Philip 'Pam' Hands (7 Tests from 1913 to 1924) died aged 61.

1966:
Australian leggie Peter McIntyre (2 Tests from 1995 to 1996) was born.

1973:
England leg-spinner Jim Sims (4 Tests from 1935 to 1937) died aged 69.

1985:
New Zealand batsman Jeff Crowe makes 21 in 175 minutes (he remained on 1 for 91 minutes and 65 balls) against West Indies at Bridgetown.

1988:
West Indies prevented Pakistan in becoming the first visiting team to win a Test match at Bridgetown since 1973 when the former won by two wickets.

1988:
Pakistani leg-spinner Abdul Qadir punched a spectator on the last day of the Bridgetown Test against the West Indies. He later had to pay US$ 1000 as an out-of -court settlement to avoid prosecution.

1991:
The West Indies in the St John's Test match against Australia became the only third team in Test history to remain unchanged throughout a five-match Test series.

1991:
Australian Allan Border against the West Indies at St John's was appearing in his 125th Test match. He thus equaled the Test record of India's Sunil Gavaskar.

1993:
West Indies beat Pakistan by 10 wickets to register its twelfth successive Test victory at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.

1998:
Indian pace bowler Ramakant 'Tiny' Desai (28 Tests from 1959 to 1968; 74 wickets) died aged 58.

28th April...

1908:
Australian batsman Jack Fingleton (18 Tests from 1932 to 1938; 1189 runs) was born.

1942:
England batsman and captain Mike Brearley (39 Tests from 1976 to 1981; 1442 runs) was born.

1945:
India all-rounder Ajit Pai (1 Test in 1969) was born.

1955:
Australian skipper and off-spinner Ian Johnson takes 7-44 against the West Indies at Georgetown - still the best Test bowling performance in an innings at this venue by a bowler.

1955:
Australian keeper Gil Langley takes five dismissals in West Indies second innings at Georgetown to equal the then Test record of former Australian Bert Oldfield, which was set in 1925.

1968:
Zimbabwe captain and keeper-batsman Andy Flower since 1992, was born.

1982:
England left-arm pace bowler Edward 'Nobby Clark (8 Tests from 1929 to 1934; 32 wickets) died aged 79.

1983:
At 17 years 118 days, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan then became the youngest cricketer to represent any country in Tests, apart from Pakistan, when he made his debut against the West Indies at St John's.

1983:
West Indian skipper Clive Lloyd against India at St John's won his seventh consecutive toss and also became the first captain to elect to field four times in the same series after winning the toss.

1984:
Clive Lloyd became the first West Indian to appear in 100 Test matches - against Australia at Kingston.

Incidentally this match was the 100th Test match to be staged in the Caribbean.

1989:
Indian opener Navjot Singh Sidhu retires hurt after scoring 116 against the West Indies on a pitch of unpredictable bounce at the Sabina Park, Kingston. Just a week earlier, Sidhu against Jamaica had scored 286 on an adjacent pitch.

1991:
West Indian captain Viv Richards who was appearing in his last Test match at home - against Australia at St John's - recorded his only duck on Caribbean soil.

1996:
New Zealand's Danny Morrison against the West Indies at St John's recorded his 24th duck of his Test career to surpass the previous record of 23 ducks in Tests by Indian BS Chandrasekhar.

Compiled by
MOHANDAS MENON

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