1977
One of the most highly charged days in English cricket ends with Geoff Boycott making his 100th hundred. In a perfect piece of stage-management, he scored it on his home ground at Headingley in a Test against Australia. He was the first player to hit his 100th ton in a Test match. Boycott went on to make 191 as England won by an innings to regain the Ashes.

1870
One of England's mightiest pace bowlers was born. Blessed with a powerful frame and boundless stamina, Surrey's Tom Richardson could bowl fast all day – and often had to. At Old Trafford in 1896, for example, he sent down 110.3 five-ball overs and took 13 for 244 in a narrow defeat. He finished with 88 wickets in only 14 Tests and took 809 in first-class cricket in the three seasons 1895 to 1897, a towering physical achievement by one of the alltime greats.

1965
Death of one of Australia's finest captains and ambassadors. An opening batsman known as The Unbowlable, Bill Woodfull averaged 46.00 in Tests, scoring seven centuries – and was best known for his courageous captaincy during the 1932-33 Bodyline series, when he carried his bat at Adelaide and stood firm against the assaults of Harold Larwood, who hit him on the body several times. There was no shortage of success by way of compensation: Woodfull captained Australia in England in 1930 and 1934, regaining the Ashes on his birthday each time.

1884
The first double-century stand in Test cricket was completed at The Oval, Billy Murdoch and HJH `Tup' Scott making 205 of their 207 for the third wicket, with Scott scoring his only Test century. Australia eventually made 551 but England held out for a draw.

1909
By adding 130 to his 136 in the first innings, Warren Bardsley became the first player to score a century in each innings of a Test. The draw at The Oval gave Australia the series 2-1. Bardsley, one of the great batsmen of his generation, had to wait 17 years for his next hundred against England, when he made 193 not out at Lord's.

1954
Birth of that attacking little batsman Yashpal Sharma, who made a duck in his last Test innings and averaged a rather moderate 33.45 in his 37 Tests for India - but also scored 140, the second of his two Test hundreds, in a partnership of 316 with Gundappa Viswanath against England at Madras in 1981-82, still the highest stand for any Test between the two countries.

1974
Birth of allround talent Anju Jain, who was India's captain, wicketkeeper and opening bat in the 2000 women's World Cup. Her score of 16 was India's second-highest in the semi-final against hosts and eventual champions New Zealand.

Other birthdays
1855 John Hodges (Australia)
1892 Archie Wiles (West Indies)
1907 Ted a'Beckett (Australia)
1910 Denis Moloney (New Zealand)
1954 Modireddy "Bobby" Narasimha Rao (India)
1962 Uvais Karnain (Sri Lanka)

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