Junior makes his mark

Mark Waugh made a hundred on debut © Bob Thomas/Getty Images Enlarge

1991
More than five years after his twin brother Steve took his bow, Mark Waugh made his Test debut in the fourth Test between Australia and England in Adelaide, coming into the side in place of Steve, who was dropped after a poor trot and broke the bittersweet news to his sibling. Waugh marked his debut with a stunning century, described in Wisden Cricket Monthly as "so sublime that sages battled to recall a better start to a Test career". The match was drawn, but only after England made a brave attempt to chase 472 to win, with Graham Gooch and Michael Atherton putting on 203 for the first wicket.

1957
In the third Test at Kingsmead, Hugh Tayfield bowled 137 balls without conceding a run during England's first innings against South Africa. It remains the record for most consecutive dot-balls delivered.

1976
Another debut ton from another member of a famous cricket dynasty. Surinder Amarnath, son of Lala (who also made a hundred on debut) and brother of Mohinder, stroked 124 as India took a grip of the first Test against New Zealand in Auckland. India eventually won by eight wickets, benefitting from ignoring the "when in Rome" rhetoric: New Zealand wickets are supposed to favour seamers, but Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Erapalli Prasanna twirled away here to share 19 wickets.

1952
The debut of one Richie Benaud in Sydney. He didn't have much to do as Australia hammered West Indies by 202 runs - he made 3 and 19 and took 1 for 14, bowling Alf Valentine. It was an odd game: on a perfect pitch 19 wickets went down for 180 on the first day, with West Indies blown away for 78. Jeff Stollmeyer made a fine hundred in the second innings - no other West Indian passed 25 in the match - but Australia were always comfortable and sealed a 4-1 series win.

1879
The Grand Old Man of South African cricket is born. Arthur William "Dave" Nourse was born in Croydon, England, but went to South Africa as a 17-year-old and ended up making 45 consecutive Test appearances for them. A dogged left-hander and swing bowler, he made 15 Test fifties but only one hundred, 111 against Australia in Johannesburg in 1921-22. He played first-class cricket until he was 57, hence the nickname. His son, Dudley, also played 34 Tests for South Africa. He died in Port Elizabeth in 1948.

1985
Plucked from nowhere by Javed Miandad, and so green that he didn't have any bowling boots before the tour, the 18-year-old Wasim Akram made his debut today in the second Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Auckland. He failed to score a run, took 2 for 105, and Pakistan were trounced by an innings - but Wasim soon made his mark with 10 wickets in the next Test, in Dunedin.

2008
Adam Gilchrist went past Mark Boucher's world record of 413 Test dismissals on the second day of the Adelaide Test. Gilchrist announced his retirement the next day, and finished his career with 416 dismissals. Boucher took the record back one month later, and looks set to hold it for a while, with no one close behind.

1906
South African allrounder Denys Morkel, born today, bowled fast-medium away-swingers with an easy action and plenty of pace off the pitch and was a fine driver on the both sides of the wicket and shone in his first overseas tour to England in 1929, taking 14 wickets and scoring 321 runs in five Tests. But having decided to move to England, he was unavailable to play the MCC in 1930-31. He did make South Africa's tour to Australia in 1931-32 but was a disappointment, mostly because of ill-health. He set up a business in the motor trade in Nottingham, which became a flourishing concern.

1985
Birth of Lendl Simmons, nephew of Phil, and a West Indies opening batsman. Simmons scored a half-century in his second ODI in 2006, and got a game in the World Cup next year. He got into the Test side in 2009 and starred for West Indies in the World Twenty20 that year. However, his form waned thereafter, in every format, and he spent a year out before turning 2011 into a bumper year in one-dayers, with eight half-centuries and one hundred in 13 innings between April and December.

1929
A couple of Don Bradman masterclasses to finish off with. On this day he smashed 340 not out for New South Wales against Victoria, an innings that included 38 fours. But though NSW racked up 713 for 6, it wasn't enough for victory ...

1932
... this one was, though. With the poor Victorians on the receiving end again, The Don slammed 167 in the second innings to set up a comfortable NSW win. For good measure, Bradman snapped up the last wicket.

Other birthdays
1867 Bill Storer (England)
1908 Hopper Levett (England)
1925 Eric Dempster (New Zealand)
1969 Tim de Leede (Netherlands)
1979 David Mutendera (Zimbabwe)
1988 Cheteshwar Pujara (India)