1975
With a batting average over 45 and a bowling average under 30 Jacques Kallis, who was born today, has a record comparable with most allrounders in cricket history. It took him a while to find his feet, but a masterful, match-saving 101 at Melbourne in 1997-98 announced the arrival of a batsman of real class. He would bowl a lot more too, were South Africa not so chock-full with allrounders, but he has produced some destructive spells, notably at Lord's in 1998 when he cleaned England up with 4 for 24. However Kallis is not everyone's cup of tea, mainly by virtue of his rather staid style. He is no swashbuckler, and he lacks the ability to empty bars that Botham or Imran had. Having said that, he would still walk into any team in the world.

1952
At Delhi, Pakistan became the seventh Test-playing nation. Like most before them, they were hammered in their inaugural match. India eased to victory by an innings and 70 runs, with Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed adding an Indian-record 109 for the last wicket. Then Vinoo Mankad got to work. His innings (8 for 52) and match (13 for 131) figures remain the best in Tests at Delhi, and a record in matches between these sides. Pakistan did bounce back with a win in the next match, though.

1876
Birth of the man who scored South Africa's first three Test hundreds. Jimmy Sinclair was a fine fast bowler and a brutal hitter who apparently once smashed Wilfred Rhodes out of the Harrogate ground so fiercely that he knocked a cabbie off his hansom. His first Test hundred was also his maiden first-class one, 106 against England at Cape Town in 1898-99. He also took 6 for 26 and 3 for 63 in the match, but South Africa still lost by 210 runs. Two Tests and three years later Sinclair took 101 off Australia at Johannesburg, and in the next match at Cape Town he smashed a century in just 80 minutes. It included six sixes and remains South Africa's fastest in terms of time. He died in Johannesburg in 1913.

1944
The birth of Bob Cottam, England's specialist bowling coach until he was replaced by Graham Dilley after the 2001 Ashes defeat. In Cottam's time (he started in 1998) Darren Gough and Andy Caddick developed into England's best new-ball pair since Willis and Botham, while Craig White went from county trundler to a man capable of bowling Brian Lara round his legs first-up. And he got Dominic Cork swinging the ball again - for a while, anyway. As a player Cottam was a typically English seamer who was a little unlucky not to play more than four Tests, all of which were on the subcontinent. With 14 wickets at an average of 23, he certainly didn't let anyone down.

1995
A violent assault by Brian Lara on the Sri Lankan bowlers in the Champions Trophy match at Sharjah. Lara made his highest one-day score, 169, off 129 balls with 15 fours and four sixes. It was the spinners who bore the brunt: Kumar Dharmasena disappeared for 72 off 10 overs and Aravinda de Silva 51 off six. But Sri Lanka almost won, despite a seemingly impossible target of 334. Hashan Tillekeratne hit an even 100 to lead a recovery from 109 for 5, but when he was last out, in the final over, Sri Lanka were an agonising five runs short of victory.

1978
That great allrounder Kapil Dev made his Test debut at Faisalabad. He didn't make the most auspicious start - 1 for 96 and eight runs in the match - but things would get better. Kapil finished with 5248 runs and took 434 wickets, a world record until Courtney Walsh usurped him last year. The game itself was a classic bore-draw, with big hundreds for Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and Gundappa Viswanath. Not the biggest surprise in the world this - it was the 13th consecutive draw between the sides.

1995
Allan Donald proved too hot for Zimbabwe in the one-off Test at Harare, the first between the two countries. Donald took 8 for 71 in the second innings to complete a match haul of 11 as South Africa eased home by seven wickets. Donald also chipped in with a useful 33, adding 79 for the ninth wicket with Brian McMillan (98 not out) to take the game away from the Zims. It was South Africa's fifth consecutive Test win, their best-ever run and one which they equalled when they whitewashed West Indies in 1998-99.

Other birthdays
1885 Sid Emery (Australia)
1968 Robert van Oosterom (Holland)
1971 David Johnson (India)
1975 Sadagoppan Ramesh (India)

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd