There's more where McGrath came from

Johnny Wardle: his outspokeness cost him his career © The Cricketer International Enlarge

1991
Birth of Australian fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who at 17 became the youngest fast bowler to be picked by New Zealand, and made his one-day debut at 19. His Test debut needed to wait another four years, but he took seven wickets in his first appearance, against India at the Gabba in 2014. He took 15 wickets in the Ashes in England the next year, and his second-innings 6 for 70 against New Zealand tilted the first day-night Test in Australia's favour in Adelaide that November. The home summer of 2016-17 was particularly satisfying for Hazlewood. He took 17 and 15 wickets in three Tests each against South Africa and Pakistan respectively. The next summer, his 21 wickets helped deliver a 4-0 Ashes thrashing to England, and come the 2019 Ashes, he was to the fore again, with nine wickets in the thriller at Headingley, and 20 in his four Tests overall. In December 2020, when India were blown away for 36 in Adelaide, Hazlewood was wrecker in chief, taking 5 for 8. In ODIs, Hazlewood is a tight operator, excelling in his control, much like Glenn McGrath, his idol. Hazlewood was part of the winning Australia side in both ODI World Cups he played in, in 2015 and 2023.

1923
A talented but ultimately controversial slow bowler was born. As well as orthodox left-arm spin, Johnny Wardle could bowl them out of the back of the hand: his left-arm wristspinners and wrong'uns brought him 26 wickets at 13.80 in the 1956-57 series in South Africa. He took 102 Test wickets at only 20.39 each, and would have played in more Tests if Tony Lock hadn't been Jim Laker's spin twin at Surrey. Wardle's sacking by Yorkshire after he wrote a series of articles criticising the captain also ended his Test career: his invitation to tour Australia in 1958-59 was withdrawn. He died in Doncaster in 1985.

2018
Eighteen wickets fell on the fourth day - effectively the third, since day three was washed out - of the low-scoring Cape Town Test which South Africa won by 72 runs after successfully defending 208, the smallest target defended since readmission, against India. South Africa had received a rude shock on the opening morning when Bhuvneshwar Kumar reduced them to 12 for 3. A rescue effort by AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis eventually took South Africa to 286, and despite Hardik Pandya's 95-ball 93 from No. 7, they gained a first-innings lead that proved to be crucial, especially after they lost the services of Dale Steyn, who damaged his left heel. They still had Vernon Philander, a Newlands favourite, who took a career-best 6 for 42 in the second innings.

1909
Before South Africa were allowed back into international cricket, Bruce Mitchell, who was born today, had scored the most Test runs for them: 3471, at the impressive average of 48.88. A complete batter, whose Test career lasted nearly 20 years, he made eight Test centuries, including one in each innings at The Oval in 1947.

1949
There was so much unfulfilled potential in Lawrence Rowe, who was born today: his career was dogged by persistent eye trouble and (a tough one, this, for a professional cricketer) an allergy to grass. He showed what might have been by becoming the only batter to hit a century and a double-century on his debut, against New Zealand in Kingston in 1971-72, followed by a triple-century against England in Bridgetown in 1973-74, which was described, among other things, as a "master performance" by the Wisden Almanack. It was also his maiden first-class century outside his native Jamaica.

1901
Talking of big scores made quickly, New South Wales completed their innings of 918 against South Australia in Sydney on this day. Made in only 560 minutes, with centuries from five different batter, it beat Yorkshire's 887 against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 1896 and remained a world record until Victoria made 1059 against Tasmania in Melbourne in 1922-23.

1973 and 1981
Greg Chappell took his career-best Test and one-day figures on the same day - eight years apart. In the 1972-73 series against Pakistan, he took 5 for 61 in the first innings of the Sydney Test that Australia won by 52 runs to sweep the series. At the same ground, in the 1981 Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, his figures read 9.5-5-15-5 as India were bowled out for 63 - their lowest total at the time. Australia won by nine wickets. His victims, across both games, included Asif Iqbal, Mushtaq Mohammad and Sunil Gavaskar.

1991
Carl Rackemann won the Ashes. Well, not quite, but his 107-minute 9 had a big say in Australia grabbing the draw in the third Test, in Sydney, which gave them a decisive 2-0 lead with two to play. England had declared in arrears and Phil Tufnell and Eddie Hemmings seemed to be bowling them to victory on a slow turner. But they couldn't shift Rackemann, and Graham Gooch took an age to bring Devon Malcolm on. When he did, Malcolm cleaned up Rackemann straight away. England needed 255 off 28 overs, and Gooch and the promoted David Gower went for it - 81 runs came off 11 overs before a flurry of wickets. When Mike Atherton strode in at No. 6, everyone knew the game was up.

1961
Into a famous cricketing family, a son and nephew is born. Shoaib Mohammad's seven Test centuries for Pakistan added to the 23 made by his famous father Hanif and uncles Wazir and Mushtaq. He twice made 203 not out in Tests, against India in Lahore in 1989-90, and New Zealand in Karachi in 1990-91.

1913
Birth of Dennis Smith, who holds a unique little world record as the bowler who took his only Test wicket with his very first ball. It was a pretty good single scalp too, England's Eddie Paynter (Test batting average 59.23), bowled in Christchurch in 1932-33. He finished with 1 for 113 from 20 overs in his only Test, but New Zealand were saved by a dust storm and bad light after following on.

2018
An innings victory in Sydney gave Australia a 4-0 win in the Ashes. Shaun and Mitchell Marsh became the third pair of Australian brothers to score hundreds in the same Test innings, and along with Usman Khawaja, who made 171, battered the England bowlers to the tune of 649 runs.

Other birthdays
1902 Jack Iddon (England)
1965 Champaka Ramanayake (Sri Lanka)
1968 Desmond Chumney (Canada)
1981 Clare Shillington (Ireland)
1986 Tino Mawoyo (Zimbabwe)