1970
Given their current nadir it seems strange that West Indies can't find a place for the dashing Sherwin Campbell, who was born today. He was dropped after their disastrous tour of Australia in 2000-01 and has not looked like getting back since. Campbell is a curious case, a swashbuckling chancer of an opener whose flashing blade makes him a dangerous customer on any surface (his 82 was comfortably the highest score in the Lord's dogfight of 2000). But he is just as likely to die by that scything blade, and his run of scores in international matches in New Zealand in 1999-00 (170, 0, 0, 3, 51, 0, 0) are symptomatic of the man.

1974
The events of March 13-14, 2001, forever changed the life of VVS Laxman, who was born today. Up to then an underachiever with a Test average of only 28, Laxman stroked a magnificent, chanceless 281 at Calcutta at a time when India looked set to go 2-0 down to Australia. It is the highest Test score by an Indian, sixth in the Wisden 100 (he hit 59 of India's first-innings 171 too, and his match effort tops the Wisden 100 batting performances in the same Test), and it went a long way towards ending Australia's 16-match winning streak. He had done it to Australia before, lacing 167 out of 261 at Sydney in 1999-2000. That ended in defeat, but thanks to the support of Rahul Dravid and Harbhajan Singh in particular, his 281 set up one of the greatest Test victories of all time.

1919
Birth of the Indian who provided the ultimate sting in the tail. Shute Banerjee played only one Test, against West Indies at Bombay in 1948-49, but his real claim to fame came three years earlier. Playing for the 1946 Indian tourists against Surrey - Alec Bedser and all - at The Oval, Banerjee added 249 for the tenth wicket (the highest in England) with Chandu Sarwate. Both made hundreds (Banerjee 121, Sarwate 124 not out), the only instance of Nos. 10 and 11 both doing so in the same first-class innings. And they made them fairly comfortably too - with an average of 20, Banerjee was too good to be batting at No. 11. The first Bengali to play international cricket, he died in Calcutta in 1980.

1998
South Africa confirmed their place as perhaps the best one-day side of the time with victory over West Indies in the final of the Wills International Cup. Philo Wallace caned 103, including five sixes, but good work from Jacques Kallis (5 for 30) restricted the West Indies to 245, and thanks to a flying start (the 50 came up in the seventh over) South Africa were always up with the rate. Hansie Cronje anchored them with an unbeaten 61, and South Africa (minus Gary Kirsten, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Allan Donald) eased home by four wickets with three overs to spare. Winning the mini-World Cup was one thing, but the real deal proved beyond them nine months later after that fateful tie with Australia in the semi-final.

1865
Birth of England's youngest captain. Monty Bowden played only two Tests, both in South Africa in 1888-89, but in the second at Cape Town he was captain, aged only 23, in the absence of the injured Aubrey Smith. Bowden and Smith stayed behind in South Africa after that to form a stockbroking firm, before Bowden travelled to Rhodesia with Cecil Rhodes's Pioneer Column. He died there in 1892, still only 26, after falling from his cart. He was taken to Umtali Hospital (basically no more than a mud-hut), where he died. Prior to being buried in a coffin made out of whisky-cases his body had to be protected from prowling lions.

1989
Pakistan won the Nehru Cup after a thrilling victory over West Indies in the final at Calcutta. Chasing 274 after Desmond Haynes had batted through for 107, Pakistan kept up with the rate throughout their reply, with Salim Malik cracking 71 off only 62 balls. It eventually came down to the final over: three were needed off two balls when Wasim Akram swung his first delivery (from Viv Richards, who'd bowled his big guns out and had to take the last over himself) high over midwicket for six to finish things off in style.

Other birthdays
1923 Bruce Dooland (Australia)
1926 Gerald Smithson (England)
1951 Craig Serjeant (Australia)
1964 Kosala Kuruppuarachchi (Sri Lanka)
1968 Akram Khan (Bangladesh)

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