1891
An unlikely cricketing giant was born. Small, bald and wizened, known as The Gnome, Clarrie Grimmett didn't play Test cricket till he was 33, but went on to become the first bowler to take 200 Test wickets, the last 44 (which matched his age) in the 1935-36 series in South Africa. His legspin partnership with Bill O'Reilly was the greatest of all time, and he often celebrated his Christmas birthday on the field of play, usually for South Australia v Queensland, taking six wickets in 1929, five in 1933, and setting up an innings win in 1939. South Australia were forever playing Queensland at Adelaide on Christmas Day at the time. They did so 24 times from 1926 to 1969.

1972
On his Test debut, Tony Lewis followed the nightmare start of a first-knock duck with a captain's innings of 70 not out that led his team to victory at Delhi, a series lead England couldn't hold.

1975
Birth of a batsman who hasn't looked back after topping the averages in his first Test series. From the moment he made his England debut in the NatWest series in 2000, Somerset left-hander Marcus Trescothick established himself as a key player in both forms of the game. He hit 66 and 38 not out at Old Trafford against West Indies on his Test debut. He followed that with 70s in each of the next two matches to help England win a series against West Indies for the first time since 1969. After a maiden Test century against Sri Lanka at Galle the following winter, and another against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 2001, he was annoyed to get out for 99, when he looked in excellent form again, against India at Ahmedabad in 2001-02.

1940
No Christmas cheer for Grimmett's famous skipper, who controversially left him out of the 1938 trip to England. Playing for South Australia v Victoria at Adelaide, Don Bradman was out first ball. Any other words fail us.

1951
In the first Christmas Day's play in Test cricket, West Indies completed a three-day win at Adelaide, their only success in a series they eventually lost 4-1.

1957
A record-breaking partner was born. Playing for Karachi Whites v Quetta at Karachi in 1976-77, Mansoor Akhtar scored 224 in an unbroken stand of 561 with Waheed Mirza (324). Their opening partnership, still the highest in first-class cricket, was a hammer cracking a nut: Quetta made only 104 and 163 and lost by the little matter of an innings and 294.

1997
The one-day international between India and Sri Lanka at Indore was the first international match to be called off because of an unsafe pitch. Sri Lanka chose to bat but appealed to the umpires as early as the third over, to the annoyance of Madhya Pradesh officials.

1884
The first Christmas Day's play in any first-class match: Hawkes Bay v Wellington at Napier.

Other birthdays
1872 Charlie Smith (South Africa)
1875 Walter Lees (England)
1900 Walter "Tich" Cornford (England)
1912 Donald McRae (New Zealand)
1943 Hedley Howarth (New Zealand)
1968 Azhar Saeed (UAE)
1970 Mohammad Ramzan (Pakistan)

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