22nd July....

1859:
England XI's VE.Walker takes all ten in one innings (43-17-74-10) against Surrey at the Oval. Then exactly six years later he repeated the feat (see below).

1863:
England batsman Alec Hearne (1 Test in 1892) was born

1865:
VE.Walker once again takes all ten in an innings (44.2-5-104-10) for Middlesex against Lancashire at Manchester. He had achieved a similar feat exactly six year ago (see above).

1892:
English batsman Jack MacBryan, who appeared in a single Test match against South Africa at Manchester in 1924, was born. He did not bat, bowl or take any catch in his only match.

1933:
Ivan Barrow (105) and George Headley (169) added 200 for the second wicket in 205 minutes at Manchester to record the first Test hundreds for the West Indies in England.

1935:
England's medium pacer Tom Cartwright (5 Tests from 1964 to 1965) was born.

1936:
England fast bowler 'Dusty' Rhodes (2 Tests in 1959) was born.

1937:
England fast bowler John Price (15 Tests from 1963 to 1972; 40 wickets) was born.

1937:
Indian medium pacer Vasant Ranjane (7 Tests from 1958 to 1965; 19 wickets) was born.

1937:
Australian pace bowler Ted McDonald (11 Tests from 1920 to 1922; 43 wickets), died in road accident in England, aged 46.

1952:
West Indian left-handed batsman Herbert Chang (1 Test in 1978) was born.

1958:
West Indies' first Test captain Karl Nunes (4 Tests from 1928 to 1930; 245 runs) died in London, aged 64.

1969:
Australian keeper Hammy Love (1 Test in 1932-33) died, aged 73.

1987:
Indian all-rounder AG Kripal Singh (14 Tests from 1955 to 1965; 422 runs and 10 wickets, including a hundred on debut) died, aged 53.

1995:
England fast bowler during the bodyline series Harold Larwood (21 Tests from 1926 to 1933; 78 wickets and also 485 runs) died at Sydney, aged 90.

23rd July....

1851:
Australian opener and Test cricket's first centurion Charles Bannermann (3 Tests from 1877 to 1879) was born, in England.

1890:
Australian Jack Barrett (67 not out) at Lord's became the first batsman to carry his bat throughout an innings in an Ashes Test series. In this match no byes were conceded in the match. The first such occurrence in Test cricket.

1934:
Australian Don Bradman (304) reaches his second successive Test triple hundred at Leeds.

1942:
English batsman Andy Ducat (1 Test in 1921), died while batting at the Lord's Cricket ground, London, aged 56.

1949:
South Africa all-rounder Clive Rice, who missed out on Test cricket due to his country's apartheid policies, but captained in ODIs (in three matches in 1991), was born.

1949:
Brian Close against New Zealand at Manchester makes his Test debut at 18 years 149 days. He still remains the youngest to appear in a Test for England.

1950:
Australian left-handed opener Alan Turner (14 Tests from 1975 to 1977; 768 runs), was born.

1952:
Australian left-hander Paul Hibbert (1 Test in 1976-77), was born.

1953:
England captain and opener Graham Gooch (118 Tests from 1975 to 1994-95; 8900 runs), was born.

1972:
West Indian left hander Floyd Reifer (4 Tests from 1996 to 1999) was born.

1985:
England's left arm spinner Johnny Wardle (28 Tests from 1948 to 1957; 102 wickets) died aged 62.

1988:
Indian all-rounder Jahangir Khan (4 Tests from 1932 to 1936), died at Lahore, aged 78.

2000:
Sri Lanka beat South Africa in a Test match for the first time, when the former won by an innings and 15 July at Galle.

2000:
Muthiah Murlitharan (13-171) against South Africa at Galle became the first Sri Lankan and the sixth bowler to dismiss all eleven batsmen in a Test match.

24th July....

1867:
England medium pacer Fred Tate (1 Test in 1902) was born.

1888:
Aussie all-rounder Arthur Richardson (9 Tests from 1924 to 1926) was born.

1902:
Australian Victor Trumper (104) against England at Manchester reached his hundred in 108 minutes before lunch on the first day. He became the first to do so in Test cricket.

1905:
Hon FS Jackson during his hundred (113) against Australia at Manchester became the first batsman to score five Test hundreds in England.

1917:
Australian opener Jack Moroney (7 Tests from 1949 to 1952) was born.

1929:
West Indian keeper Alfred Binns (5 Tests from 1953 to 1956) was born.

1931:
G Gunn (183) and GV Gunn (100 not out) for Nottinghamshire against Warwickshire at Birmingham became the first and only father and son combination to score hundreds in the same first-class match.

1935:
South African batsman Derek Varnals (3 Tests in 1964-65) was born.

1938:
Kiwi all-rounder John Sparling (11 Tests from 1958 to 1964) was born.

1947:
Pakistani captain and middle-order batsman Zaheer Abbas (78 Tests from 1969 to 1986; 5062 runs) was born.

1948:
Neil Harvey (112) at Leeds became the first Australian left-hander to score a hundred in his first Test against England.

1953:
England's medium pacer Alec Bedser against Australia at Leeds set a then Test record when he passed Australian Clarrie Grimmett's total of 216 wickets.

1954:
Pakistani MEZ Ghazali against England at Manchester was out without scoring twice within two hours in the same afternoon to record the quickest 'pair' in Test cricket.

1986:
Aussie pace bowler Laurie Nash (2 Tests from 1931 to 1937) died, aged 76.

1991:
England all-rounder and captain Freddie Brown (22 Tests from 1931 to 1953; 734 runs & 45 wickets) died, aged 80.

1996:
West Indian batsman Alphonso Roberts (1 Test in 1955-56) died in Canada, aged 58.

1998:
South African keeper-batsman Ronnie Grieveson (2 Tests in 1939) died aged 88.

25th July....

1900:
Gloucestershire's captain Gilbert Jessop (104 and 139) against Yorkshire at Bradford achieved his second hundred of the match, both of which were scored before lunch.

1908:
England paceman Bill Bowes (15 Tests from 1932 to 1946; 68 wickets) was born.

1921:
Australian captain Warwick Armstrong against England at Manchester became the first bowler to bowl two consecutive overs when he bowled one after a break having bowled the previous one before the break. The umpires too failed to notice this anomaly.

1925:
South African batsman Alistair "Scotch" Taylor (1 Test in 1956-57) was born.

1930:
New Zealand batsman and captain Murray Chapple (14 Tests from 1952 to 1966) was born.

1939:
England's Walter Hammond in the Manchester Test match became the first Test fielder to hold 100 catches when he held the catch offered by West Indian George Headley

1950:
West Indies Alf Valentine (92-49-140-3) at Nottingham set Test innings records for the most balls (552), subsequently broken, and most maidens (49).

1957:
England paceman Peter Loader takes a hat-trick against the West Indies at Leeds. The visitors in fact lost their last four wickets in a row.

1964:
Australian captain Bob Simpson scores 311against England at Manchester - his maiden Test hundred in his 52nd innings. It was then the highest ever Test score by a captain.

1968:
With both Colin Cowdrey and Bill Lawry injured, Tom Graveney and Barry Jarman were called upon to make their only appearances as Test captain for England and Australia respectively at Leeds.

1974:
A bomb alert at 11:50 on the opening day caused play to be suspended for 14 minutes in the Leeds Test match between England and Pakistan.

2000:
New Zealand beat England by nine wickets to record its first win at Lord's in 13 attempts since 1931.

26th July....

1858:
Australian all-rounder Tom Garrett (19 Tests from 1877 to 1888; 339 runs and 36 wickets) was born.

1871:
England batsman Arthur Hill (3 Tests in 1895-96; 251 runs) was born.

1888:
South African batsman Reginald Hands (1 Test in 1913-14) was born.

1902:
Australia beat England by just 3 runs at Manchester - one of the narrowest results for an Ashes match.

1909:
Medium pacer Frank Laver (8-31) at Manchester recorded the best figures by an Australian bowler in England. It was in fact the best figures by any visiting bowler in England until 1998.

1924:
Torrential rain ended the Manchester Test between England and South Africa at 4:00 pm on the first day as only 165 minutes of play was possible. This Test also encompassed the entire Test career of JCW MacBryan. He remains the only Test cricketer who never batted, bowled or dismissed anyone despite getting an opportunity to be on the field.

1926:
Jack Hobbs took over the captaincy on the second day after England captain AW Carr developed tonsillitis. He becomes the first professional to lead England, since Arthur Shrewsbury in Feburary 1887.

1927:
Indian all-rounder and captain GS Ramchand (33 Tests from 1952 to 1960; 1180 runs and 41 wickets) was born at Karachi.

1936:
The first wicket of Manchester Test match fell to a freak run out when India's Vijay Merchant drove a ball via the bat of Mushtaq Ali (13), the non-striker, to mid-on (Arthur Fagg), who threw down the bowler's wicket.

1948:
South African all-rounder Charles Mills (1 Test in 1891) died at London, aged 80.

1969:
South African batsman and perhaps the game's greatest fielder of all time Jonty Rhodes was born.

27th July....

1899:
Australian left-armer Percy Hornibrook (6 Tests from 1928 to 1930) was born.

1915:
Australian right-arm leg-break bowler Jack Iverson (5 Tests in 1950-51; 21 wickets) was born.

1933:
New Zealand's opening batsman Roger Harris (2 Tests in 1958-59) was born.

1936:
On the second day of the Manchester Test match 588 runs were scored for the loss for six wickets (England 398-6, India 190-0). It remains the most runs scored in a day of Test cricket.

1943:
South African batsman Godfrey Cripps (1 Test in 1891) died at Adelaide, Australia, aged 77

1948:
Set to score 404 runs in 344 minutes on a pitch taking spin, Australia beat England at Leeds by seven wickets. Don Bradman made 173 not out, the last of his 29 Test hundreds.

1951:
South African Eric Rowan's 236 against England at Leeds makes the oldest at 42 years 6 days to score a Test double hundred.

1952:
Aussie batsman Roland Pope (1Test in 1884) died aged 88.

1955:
Allan Border Australia's left-handed batsman and captain (156 matches from 1978 to 1994; a record 11174 runs) was born.

1956:
South African batsman Mick Commaille (12 Tests from 1909 to 1928; 355 runs) died aged 73.

1956:
England off-spinner Jim Laker captures nine Australian wickets in the first innings of the historic Manchester Test. He in fact took his last seven wickets for eight runs in just 22 balls!

1957:
England's Godfrey Evans became the first wicket-keeper to make 200 dismissals in Test cricket when he held West Indian OG Smith at Leeds.

1959:
Indian Abbas Ali Baig scores 112 on debut for India against England at Manchester. At 20 years 131 days he was then India's youngest to score a Test hundred.

1963:
Pakistani all-rounder Naved Anjum (2 Tests from 1989 to 1991) was born

1967:
England ODI all-rounder NMK 'Neil' Smith (7 matches in 1996) was born

1974:
Warwickshire's John Jameson and Rohan Kanhai put on an unbeaten record 465 runs for the second wicket against Gloucestershire at Birmingham. It was then the highest this wicket in first-class cricket.

1983:
Pakistani's left arm pace bowler Mufasir-ul Haq (1 Test in 1965) died aged 38. He became the youngest Pakistani Test cricketer to die.

1990:
England's Graham Gooch scores 333 against India at Lord's - the highest ever individual score made by a batsman at this venue in all first-class cricket.

28th July....

1888:
South African all-rounder Sid Pegler (16 Tests from 1909 to 1924; 356 runs and 47 wickets) was born.

1891:
Australian all-rounder Ron Oxenham (7 Tests from 1928 to 1932) was born.

1902:
West Indian batsman Vibart Wight (2 Tests from 1928 to 1930) was born.

1924:
New Zealand all-rounder Eric Fisher (1 Test in 1952-53) was born.

1931:
Aussie left-armer Johnny Martin (8 Tests from 1960 to 1967) was born.

1934:
South African batsman Louis Tancred (14 Tests from 1902 to 1914; 530 runs) died aged 57.

1936:
Perhaps Test cricket's greatest all-rounder West Indian Sir Gary Sobers (93 matches from 1954 to 1974; 8032 runs, 235 wickets and 109 catches) was born at Bridgetown.

1937:
Lancashire's Eddie Paynter and Hampshire's Richard Moore scored 322 and 316 against Sussex and Warwickshire respectively on the same day.

1954:
West Indian right arm leg-spinner Imtiaz Ali (1 Test in 1976) was born.

1964:
England reply with 611 runs to Australia's 656-8 decl. at Manchester in a drawn encounter. This remains the only Test match in which both teams recorded totals of 600 or more.

1969:
New Zealand's opener Glenn Turner (43 not out against England at Lord's) at 22 years 63 days became the youngest player to carry his bat through a Test innings.

1970:
Zimbabwean right arm leg-break bowler Paul Strang (20 Tests from 1994; 57 wickets) was born.

1973:
West Indies' all-round pace bowler Nixon McLean (10 Tests from 1998) was born.

1986:
South African batsman Syd Curnow (7 Tests from 1930 to 1932) died at Perth, Australia, aged 78.

Compiled by:
Mohandas Menon

Complete archive

Mail Cricket Editor