1953
The birth of the first black man to play for England. Roland Butcher was born in Barbados but came to England at 14, and after success with Middlesex he was called up for the Prudential Trophy match against Australia at Edgbaston in 1980. He seized the moment with a charming, Hollioake-esque 38-ball 52 that won him a place on the tour of West Indies the following winter. And he even made his Test debut in his native Barbados, but that's where the Boys Own story ended: Butcher laboured against the short ball, made only 71 runs in three Tests and was not picked again.

1882
The third greatest wicket-taker of alltime was born in Gloucester. Remarkably, Charlie Parker only played one Test, but he snared 3278 wickets for Gloucestershire -- only Wilfred Rhodes and Tich Freeman have taken more in first-class cricket. He was especially irresistible on sticky wickets, and his career was studded with some remarkable performances: 17 for 56 against Essex in 1925 and nine wickets in an innings on eight occasions. But his only Test appearance came in 1921, against Australia at Old Trafford. It seems his figures -- 2 for 32 off 28 overs -- were not good enough, though a falling-out with Plum Warner and his notorious outspokenness probably had more to do with it.

1968
Birth of one of match-fixing's chief whistle-blowers. Rashid Latif retired from international cricket in 1994-95 as a protest against some dubious goings-on, and though he later returned as captain, his honesty made him unpopular with many of his teammates. But for that, and an ongoing rivalry with Moin Khan, he would have played many more Tests, as he is a very classy wicketkeeper-batsman. He stroked a stylish 50 on debut at The Oval in 1992, which gained him £5 from Geoff Boycott, who bet he would not pass 35.

1989
The fourth one-day hat-trick. West Indies looked to be cruising to victory over Pakistan at Sharjah when Wasim Akram clean bowled Jeff Dujon, Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose with consecutive deliveries. Pakistan eventually squeezed home by 11 runs. There have been 13 hat-tricks in ODIs; perhaps not entirely surprisingly, seven have been taken by Pakistanis.

1912
Jack Crapp, who was born today, played seven Tests with reasonable success but is best known for the amusing, and possibly apocryphal, story of a misunderstanding with a hotel receptionist. When Crapp reported to the front desk, he was asked "Bed sir?" Presuming he had been mistaken for Alec Bedser, he replied, "No, Crapp." The receptionist duly directed him to the first door on the right.

1999
New Zealand held on for a draw in the first Test at Chandigarh, surviving 135 overs to compile 251 for 7 with men all around the bat and the ball turning prodigiously. It was a finish that looked unlikely when New Zealand bowled India out for 83 (Dion Nash 6 for 27) on the first morning. But India didn't make the same mistake second time round. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar both made hundreds in a score of 505 for 3 declared, which left New Zealand needing 374 for a win that looked a formality at lunch on day one. By the end, they were more than happy with a draw.

1918
Birth of the useful Australian allrounder Doug Ring. He was a hard-hitting batsman and a fearless legspinner who played 13 Tests. His record was modest but he will never forget the fourth Test at Melbourne in 1951-52. With West Indies poised to square the series, Ring added 38 for the last wicket with Bill Johnston to pull off an unlikely victory.

Other birthdays
1900 Eddie McLeod (New Zealand)
1902 Stanley Coen (South Africa)
1912 Jack Young (England)
1914 Tom Dollery (England)
1976 Tillekeratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka)

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