4th March...

1931:
Sir Don Bradman recorded his first duck of his Test career against West Indies at Sydney. Fast bowler Herman Griffith was the first bowler to achieve this distinction.

1931:
West Indies beat Australia by 30 runs at Sydney to record its first away win in Tests.

1937:
New Zealand captain and batsman Graham Dowling (39 Tests from 1961 to 1972; 2306 runs) was born.

1967:
South African batsman Daryll Cullinan since 1993 with over 4000 Test runs was born.

1973:
Indian left-arm spinner Nilesh Kulkarni (2 Tests in 1997; his only Test wicket came off his first ball in Tests) was born.

1977:
Playing in his only second Test match, Colin Croft (8-29) achieved the best analysis by a West Indian fast bowler in Tests - against Pakistan at Port of Spain.

1997:
Australia beat South Africa at Johannesburg by an innings and 196 runs as the latter suffered its biggest defeat since 1950.

1999:
Playing in his 55th Test match Hashan Tillekeratne became Sri Lanka's seventh Test captain - against Pakistan at Lahore in the Asian Test Championship.

5th March...

1918
: Indian pace bowler Ranga Sohoni (4 Tests from 1946 to 1951) was born.

1921
: Pakistan's first centurion Nazar Mohammad (5 Tests in 1952-53) was born.

1922
: Indian wicket-keeper ES Maka (2 Tests from 1952 to 1953) was born.

1949
: Sir Don Bradman, then aged 40, appeared in this last first-class innings - for South Australia against Victoria at Adelaide. He scored 30.

1951
: Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg (38 Tests from 1978 to 1984; 123 wickets) was born.

1963
: Zimbabwe pace bowler Eddo Brandes (10 Tests from 1992 to 1999) was born.

1975
: England pace bowler Chris Silverwood since 1996 was born.

1978:
New Zealand's Geoff Howarth who scored 122 against England at Auckland reached his hundred in 455 minutes (307 balls)

1978:
West Indies beat Australia by an innings and 106 runs at Port of Spain as Australia's last six wickets fell for 15 runs in the course of 26 balls.

1986:
West Indies captain and batsman Teddy Hoad (4 Tests from 1928 to 1933) died aged 90.

6th March...

1882:
Australian Alick Bannerman and Percy McDonnell put on 199 for the fourth wicket- against England at Sydney, then the highest partnership for any wicket in Tests.

1895:
England's JT Brown (140) scores the fastest fifty in Test history - in 28 minutes, while his hundred took 95 minutes - against Australia at Melbourne. He and Albert Ward put on 210 for the third wicket - then best for any wicket in Test cricket.

1905:
Australian pace bowler Lisle Nagel (1 Test in 1932) was born.

1929:
England captain and batsman Rev. David Sheppard (22 Tests from 1950 to 1963; 1172 runs) was born.

1930:
South African captain and batsman William Milton (3 Tests from 1889 to 1892) died in Cannes, France, aged 75.

1933:
South African all-rounder Kim Elgie (3 Tests from 1961 to 1962) was born.

1965:
Bruce Taylor, a last-minute replacement in the Zealand side and batting at number eight made 105 on Test debut against India at Calcutta.

1974:
Australian Greg Chappell scores 380 runs in a Test match (247 not out and 133) - against New Zealand at Wellington - then the most runs by a batsman in a Test match.

1977:
South Africa fast bowler Nantie Hayward since 1999 was born.

1981:
England all-rounder George Geary (14 Tests from 1924 to 1934; 249 runs and 46 wickets) died aged 87.

1984:
New Zealand all-rounder Ian Cromb (5 Tests from 1931 to 1932) died aged 78.

1996:
Sri Lanka scores 398-5 in 50 overs against Kenya at Kandy in the World Cup - the highest team total ever achieved in a one-day international game.

1999:
Pakistan's Wasim Akram became the first Test captain and the first bowler from the sub-continent to claim a Test hat-trick - against Sri Lanka at Lahore in the Asian Test Championship.

2000:
England all-rounder Chris Balderstone (2 Tests in 1976) died aged 59.

2000:
Mohammad Azharuddin (102) playing in his 99th Test match scored a hundred against South Africa at Bangalore, which proved to be his last Test match of his career.

2000:
South Africa beat India by an innings & 71 runs at Bangalore, which ended India's sequence of 11 unbeaten series (excluding one-off Tests).

7th March...

1851:
England batsman Frank Penn (1 Test in 1880) was born.

1860:
England left-handed batsman Reginald Wood (1 Test 1887) was born.

1864:
England batsman George Bean (3 Tests in 1892) was born.

1882:
England's Arthur Shrewsbury (82 and 47) became the first batsman in Test history to top-score in each innings of Test match - against Australia at Sydney.

1904:
Australian captain Monty Noble - against England at Melbourne - achieves an all-rounder's double - 1000 runs and 100 wickets.

1918:
England batsman Jack Ikin (18 Tests from 1946 to 1955; 606 runs) was born.

1920:
England left-handed batsman Willie Watson (23 Tests from 1951 to 1959; 879 runs) was born.

1934:
Indian captain and left-handed batsman Nari Contractor (31 Tests from 1955 to 1962; 1611 runs) was born.

1942:
Indian left-arm pace bowler Umesh Kulkarni (4 Tests from 1967 to 1968) was born.

1952:
West Indian captain and batsman Viv Richards (121 Tests from 1974 to 1991; 8540 runs) was born.

1953:
South African opener Jackie McGlew scores an unbeaten 255 (in 534 minutes) against New Zealand at Wellington - then the highest by a South African in Tests.

1959:
Pakistan's Fazal Mahmood takes 6-34 as West Indies were dismissed for 76 - then its lowest in Tests - at the Dacca Stadium.

1965:
New Zealand all-rounder Bruce Taylor became the first and only player to score a hundred and also claim a five-wicket (5-86) haul on Test debut - against India at Calcutta.

1987:
Playing his 212th innings in his 124th Test, India's Sunil Gavaskar became the first batsman in Test history to reach 10,000 runs during his innings of 63 against Pakistan at Ahmedabad.

1993:
South African batsman Tony Harris (3 Tests from 1947 to 1949) died aged 76.

1999:
West Indian Courtney Walsh - against Australia at Port of Spain - became the third bowler to take 400 Test wickets.

8th March...

1854:
Australian captain and all-rounder Tom Horan (15 Tests from 1877 to 1885) was born in Ireland.

1904:
Australian offie Hugh Trumble (7-28) against England at Melbourne - takes a hat-trick in the final first-class match of his career.

1931:
South African pace bowler Neil Adcock (26 Tests from 1953 to 1962; 104 wickets) was born.

1938:
Pakistani fast medium bowler Mohammad Farooq (7 Tests from 1960 to 1965) was born in India.

1945:
Australian all-rounder Graeme Watson (5 Tests from 1966 to 1972) was born.

1946:
Pakistani off-spinner and now an international umpire Mohammad Nazir jr. (14 Tests from 1969 to 1983) was born.

1951:
England left-arm spinner Phil Edmonds (51 Tests from 1975 to 1987; 125 wickets) was born.

1954:
South African batsman PST Jones (1 Test in 1902) died aged 77.

1959:
Playing in their 25th Test match Pakistan beat West Indies by 41 runs at the Dacca Stadium. Fazal Mahmood takes 12-100 in the match.

1961:
Zimbabwe batsman Kevin Arnott (4 Tests from 1992 to 1993) was born.

1963:
Indian batsman Gursharan Singh (1 Test in 1990) was born.

1963:
England's leg-spinner John Hartley (2 Tests in 1906) died aged 88.

1978:
Left-arm pace bowler Richard Collinge against England at Auckland became the New Zealand's leading wicket-taker with 112 wickets.

1978:
England's Clive Radley scores Test cricket's slowest 150 (in 594 minutes, 484 balls) against New Zealand at Auckland.

1997:
Bryan Young scores an unbeaten 267 against Sri Lanka at Dunedin - the highest by a Kiwi opening batsman in Tests.

1998:
Playing in his last Test match, South African pace bowler Fannie deVilliers takes 6-23 in 11.5 overs - his best figures of his career - against Pakistan at Port Elizabeth.

1999:
West Indies were dismissed for 51 in 19.1 overs by Australia at Port of Spain.

2000:
Russel Arnold (99) - against Pakistan at Peshawar became the first Sri Lankan to miss a Test hundred by one run.

9th March...

1887:
England's left-handed Phil Mead (17 Tests from 1911 to 1928; 1185 runs, avg. 49.38) was born.

1904:
West Indian medium pace bowler Edwin St. Hill (2 Tests in 1930) was born.

1937:
South African left-arm slow bowler Grahame Chevalier (1 Test in 1970) was born.

1944:
South African left-handed batsman Lee Irvine (4 Tests in 1970) was born.

1947:
England captain and all-rounder Sir Stanley Jackson (20 Tests from 1893 to 1905; 1415 runs & 24 wickets) died aged 76.

1971:
Off-spinner Jack Noreiga takes 9 wickets for 95 runs - against India at Port of Spain - still the best figures by a West Indian bowler in Tests.

1973:
New Zealand batsman Gordon Leggat (9 Tests from 1952 to 1956) died aged 46.

1997:
West Indian pace bowler Franklyn Rose claims 6-100 against India at Kingston - on debut - to record the second best figures by a West Indian debutant.

1998:
Ian Healy - against India at Chennai - became the second wicket-keeper after fellow Australian Rodney Marsh to take 350 dismissals in Tests.

2000:
Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 57 runs at Peshawar to win their second Test series in Pakistan.

10th March...

1906:
West Indian Edward "Barto" Bartlett (5 Tests from 1928 to 1931) was born

1928:
England batsman Arthur Milton (6 Tests from 1958 to 1959) was born.

1938:
Pakistani batsman and keeper Ijaz Butt (8 Tests from 1959 to 1962) was born.

1964:
Australian Greg Campbell (4 Tests from 1989 to 1990) was born.

1970:
South Africa beat Australia by 323 runs at Port Elizabeth to win series 4-0. This was South Africa's last Test match before their 22-year old ban from international cricket.

1971:
India beat West Indies by seven wickets at Port of Spain, their first win over the Caribbean team in 25 attempts. Twenty-one year old Sunil Gavaskar making his Test debut scores 65 and 67 not out.

1974:
West Indian Lawrence Rowe scores 302 (in 612 minutes, 430 balls, 1 six and 36 fours) against England at Bridgetown.

1979:
Pakistan was playing its 100th Test match - against Australia at Melbourne with their captain Mushtaq Mohammad appearing in his 56th Test match then the maximum by a Pakistani player.

1985:
India beat Pakistan to win the World Championship of Cricket at Melbourne. India's Ravi Shastri won an AUDI car after he was named as the Champion of Champions.

1998:
India beat Australia at Chennai by 179 runs to take a one-nil lead in the three-match Test series.

1998:
South Africa beat Pakistan at Port Elizabeth by 259 runs to level the series. Keeper Mark Boucher takes nine dismissals in the match, which equalled the South African Test record.

Compiled by MOHANDAS MENON

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