1956
In Kingston, one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batsmen of them all is born. Jeff Dujon was a wonderfully athletic keeper, and an exhilarating sight standing back to the West Indian pace battery of the 1980s. Only Ian Healy and Rod Marsh have topped his 272 Test dismissals, and he never lost a series. He was good enough to play his first two Tests as a specialist batsman, and to open in one Test in England in 1988, and to make 3322 Test runs in all. Dujon was the Healy of his day, but with grace: a frightening irritant at No. 7, especially to England. In that 1988 series he and Gus Logie rescued West Indies from 54 for 5 at Lord's, and 57 for 4 at The Oval. Dujon's value is best shown by the desperate musical chairs West Indies have played with the keeping position since his retirement.

1912
Two Test hat-tricks in one day for Australian legspinner Jimmy Matthews. Unsurprisingly, it's a unique feat, but what's even more amazing is that Matthews didn't need the help of any fielders: two of the six were bowled, two lbw, and two caught-and-bowled. This came in the first match of the Triangular Tournament - a nine-Test series that also involved England - as the Aussies routed South Africa by an innings and 88 runs at Old Trafford. Bizarrely, Matthews never played after that tournament.

1988
Graeme Hick's seemingly inexorable path to greatness rumbled on as he became only the second man since the war (New Zealand's Glenn Turner was the other) to make 1000 first-class runs in England by the end of May. He did it against West Indies too, punishing his future torturers Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh in a blistering 172. The milestone came up when he reached 153. It's richly ironic that Ambrose was the bowler, such was the devastating impact he would later have on Hick's career.

1934
Nobody, not even Hick, has scored more than the great Jack Hobbs's 197 first-class centuries, and on this day at Old Trafford he made his last, for Surrey against Lancashire, at the age of 51 years 163 days.

1965
A drinks break with a difference. It was so cold in the first Test between England and New Zealand at Edgbaston that hot coffee was twice served to the batsmen on this, the second day. The caffeine didn't do much for Ken Barrington, who was stuck on 85 for 20 overs, made 137 in over seven hours, and was dropped for the next Test for slow batting, even though his innings anchored England's nine-wicket win. The Wisden Almanack noted that "seldom in England has a Test been contested in such cold cheerless weather."

1995
Proof positive that Mike Atherton should have played more one-day internationals came with this magnificent century in the series decider against West Indies at Lord's. Atherton lost the toss, and made only 3 off 43 balls as Curtly Ambrose tortured him on a damp wicket. A pinch-hitter would have probably long since got himself out, but as the pitch became more placid, Atherton's bat broadened. He made 127 where nobody else on either side topped 40, and England took the series with a 73-run victory. If ever there was a moment when Athers was on the verge of achieving greatness, it was here. But as time wore on, back injuries and a poor side wore Atherton down to the ranks of the merely very good.

1911
Birth of the South African quickie Bob Crisp, who played nine Tests in the 1930s - and is the the only man to twice take four wickets in four balls in first-class cricket - but was better known for his off-field exploits. He climbed Kilimanjaro twice in two weeks, he was wounded five times as a tank commander in the Western Desert and was awarded the MC, and he also wrote for the Daily Express as well as founding the magazine Drum. Crisp died in Colchester in 1994.

Other birthdays

1864 Basil Grieve (England)
1929 Leslie Wight (West Indies)
1966 Gavin Robertson (Australia)
1968 Shakeel Khan (Pakistan)
1974 Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan)

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