The greatest one-day knock of all

All Today's Yesterdays - May 31 down the years

1984
The greatest innings in one-day international history, according to the Wisden 100 and almost anyone who witnessed it. Viv Richards smeared England all round Old Trafford in the first Texaco Trophy match, with his 189 not out coming off only 170 balls, with 21 fours and five sixes. What makes the innings so great is its context: West Indies were 102 for 7 at one point, then 166 for 9. They ended up making 272 for 9, and won by 104 runs. Of the last-wicket partnership of 106, Michael Holding made 12. Eldine Baptiste was the only other West Indian even to reach double figures. Geoff Miller and Bob Willis were fortunate enough to get through their overs before things got messy. Neil Foster, Derek Pringle and Ian Botham weren't quite so lucky.

1999
Eyebrows were raised as Pakistan lost to Bangladesh in an amazing World Cup match at Northampton. In Wisden Cricket Monthly, Kamran Abbasi wrote that "Pakistan lost their heads in a flurry of poor strokes and worse running," but it wasn't long before the accusations started flying, most notably from Salim Malik, who played in the match and said it was rigged. Suspicions remain, and to put this into context, it was Bangladesh's only win against major opposition in eight years.

1973
At Northampton, New Zealand's Glenn Turner became the first man since the Second World War to score 1000 first-class runs by the end of May. But if anything, Turner peaked too early: in the Tests his scores were 11, 9, 4, 11 and 81.

1815
The first first-class game at the third and final home of Thomas Lord's ground. After moving from Dorset Square and a site that's now under the Regent's Canal, Lord's came to rest at its present site in St John's Wood. The notoriously poor wicket was already a feature in a game which saw 40 wickets fall for 210 runs. Middlesex beat MCC by 16 runs.

1928
Birth of one half of the biggest opening partnership in Test history. Against New Zealand on a Madras shirt-front in 1955-56, India's Pankaj Roy added 413 in 472 minutes with Vinoo Mankad (231), and made a Test-best 173. He was less accomplished when the ball jagged around, though: in nine Tests in England he averaged 13, thanks mainly to five ducks in six innings when Fred Trueman terrorised him in 1952. He captained India just once, at Lord's in 1959, when he made another duck. His son Pranab also played Test cricket for India. Pankaj died in his native Calcutta in 2001.

1950
At a Test trial in his hometown of Bradford, Jim Laker returned the astonishing figures of 14-12-2-8 as England bowled The Rest out for 27. Of the two runs he conceded, one was a gentle one off the mark for his Surrey team-mate Eric Bedser. Laker, not entirely surprisingly, was selected, but was then dropped after taking only one wicket in England's first-Test victory against West Indies.

1924
Birth of the first man to be given out "handled the ball" in a Test. South African Russell Endean made history when he palmed down a delivery from Jim Laker at Cape Town in 1956-57 that was spinning back towards his stumps. Endean was also a hockey international, and this method of controlling the ball was allowed at the time. Ironically, Endean was involved in another unusual dismissal on his debut: at The Oval in 1951, when Len Hutton became the only man to be given out "obstructing the field" for preventing Endean from attempting a catch. Endean played that Test as a wicketkeeper, but soon concentrated on his batting as John Waite's superiority behind the stumps became apparent. Endean made all of his three Test tons overseas, including matchwinning efforts at the MCG in 1952-53 and Headingley in 1955.

1966
A batting average of 29.27 from 52 Tests might suggest a modest career for the dashing Sri Lankan Roshan Mahanama, who was born today, but there is one match he'll never forget. In Colombo in 1997-98, Mahanama added 576 for the second wicket with Sanath Jayasuriya, the highest partnership in Test history. They were the first pair to bat through two full days' play of a Test, with Mahanama making 225 and Jayasuriya 340 as Sri Lanka ran up 952 for 6, another Test record. Apart from that, Mahanama often struggled to rein in his attacking instincts; his best years were between 1992 and 1994, when he made three centuries in six Tests. He was also part of the World Cup-winning squad in 1995-96. In six matches, Mahanama only needed to bat three times: he made 80 runs without being dismissed, including 58 in the semi-final against India.

1998
A surprise win for New Zealand in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo ... and a surprise matchwinner too. On his debut, Paul Wiseman outbowled Muttiah Muralitharan in the battle of the offies, taking 7 for 143 in the match as against Murali's 9 for 227. Thanks to Wiseman's second-innings five-for - and big, chalk-and-cheese centuries from Stephen Fleming and Craig McMillan - New Zealand won three Tests in a row for the first time.

Other birthdays
1935 Bruce Bolton (New Zealand)