1928
One of Australia's greatest batsman was born. Neil Harvey was a gloriously elegant left-hander who remains his country's youngest centurion - he was 19 years and 121 days old when he stroked 153 against India at Melbourne in 1947-48. He followed up with 112 in his next Test innings, at Headingley the following summer, when the Wisden Almanack said he and Keith Miller "scattered England's attack in a hurricane assault". It was a taste of things to come; in his first 13 Test innings, before he had turned 22, Harvey hit a remarkable six centuries. Another left-hander, Neil Harvey Fairbrother, was named after him. The original Neil Harvey went on to become a Test selector, and was awarded the MBE for his services to cricket.

1945
Birth of one of the last of a rare breed - the West Indian fast-medium bowler. Barbados-born Vanburn Holder was a quality awayswing bowler whose decline coincided with the advent of the West Indian policy of using four out-and-out quicks. As befits a master craftsman, Holder took 74 of his 109 Test wickets overseas. But he only took three five-fors in 40 Tests, and his strike rate (83.44 balls per wicket) was never going to cut the mustard with the likes of Roberts and Croft bursting onto the scene. He was a dignified, popular character who played for Worcestershire and now umpires in England.

1997
A couple of notable Test firsts on a frustrating day for South Africa at Rawalpindi. Ali Naqvi and Azhar Mahmood became the first pair of debutants to score centuries in the same innings, and Azhar added 151 for the last wicket with Mushtaq Ahmed, equalling the Test record set by Brian Hastings and Richard Collinge for New Zealand against Pakistan at Auckland in 1972-73.

1872
Many an England fan has been left looking for divine intervention in recent times but in his day Albert Knight, who was born today, would pray before going into bat - and even at the wicket on occasions. He was a Methodist whose predilection for prayer once apparently made Walter Brearley consider reporting him to MCC. Knight only played three Tests, but he was an outstanding hard-wicket batsman who made almost 20,000 first-class runs with Leicestershire. He died in Edmonton, London in 1946.

1987
The fourth World Cup got under way at Hyderabad. Co-hosts Pakistan began with a tight victory over Sri Lanka. Javed Miandad's 103 took him past 4000 one-day runs, while his captain Imran Khan took his 100th wicket. Despite 89 from Roshan Mahanama and a 32-ball 42 from Aravinda de Silva (batting at No. 7), Sri Lanka fell 15 runs short of Pakistan's 267 for 6.

1964
A series of niggling injuries meant that Kent's lively seamer Alan Igglesden, who was born today, played only three Tests. In an era when England changed their quicks with startling frequency, he can count himself unlucky. In 1993 Igglesden was picked for the first Test against Australia and looked set for an extended run. He didn't play in a single Test that summer however, thanks to a groin injury and then a side strain. He did play twice in the Caribbean the following winter, but took only three wickets and was not picked again. Igglesden suffered an epileptic fit while playing for Berkshire in 1999. Doctors found a non-cancerous brain tumour that has been successfully treated by medication.

1969
India got a dose of their own medicine at Nagpur. New Zealand took just 40 minutes on the final morning to wrap up a 167-run victory, their first on the subcontinent. It was the spinners who did the damage on a raging turner: Hedley Howarth took 5 for 34 and Vic Pollard 3 for 21 as India collapsed for 109.

Other birthdays
1890 Cyril Browne (England)
1919 Mac Anderson (New Zealand)
1968 Sameer Dighe (India)
1976 Mohammad Hussain (Pakistan)

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