The two-day Test

All Today's Yesterdays - August 18 down the years

August 17 | August 19

2000
An unforgettable victory for England at Headingley, and the first twoday Test in over 50 years. When West Indies began their second innings midway through the afternoon session, they were exactly 100 runs behind England. After 26.2 overs, they'd been demolished for just 61 - their second double-figure score in three Tests - and England had beaten them by an innings for the first time since 1966. It was unforgettably delirious stuff. The cherry on the icing came when Andy Caddick took four wickets in an over, the last three all castled by swinging yorkers.

1934
The end of one of the monumental partnerships. England needed only a draw at The Oval to retain the Ashes - but big Bill Ponsford made his last Test a memorable one. His 266 achieved the rare feat of outscoring Don Bradman, who hit a mere 244. Their stand of 451, made in only five hours, was then the highest for any wicket in Tests and is still in the top four. England, understandably overwhelmed, lost by a whopping 562 runs.

1920
One of the great wicketkeepers and characters was born. Extrovert and genuinely brilliant standing back or close up, Godfrey Evans played in 91 Tests for England, making 219 dismissals, both world records at the time, and hitting two dashing hundreds. A vivid personality long after his retirement, with the most famous mutton-chop whiskers in cricket, he was the Ladbrokes rep who quoted odds of 500-1 against England winning the famous Headingley Test of 1981.

1974
Birth of Shiv Chanderpaul. When he made his debut against England at Georgetown in 1993-94, he was the first teenager to play in a Test for West Indies since Elquemedo Willett in 1972-73. Chanderpaul's slim frame encases the ideal temperament for a Test batsman - and West Indies have missed it when his frequent injuries have ruled him out. He scored only two hundreds in his first 53 Tests, but improved that ratio by notching three in four matches against India in 2002.

1926
After the humiliations of the early 1920s and the frustrations of this rain-affected series, England made Percy Chapman captain, recalled the 48-year-old Wilfred Rhodes, and regained the Ashes. On this the last day at The Oval, pace bowlers Maurice Tate and Harold Larwood made the early inroads, after which Rhodes's slow left-arm took 4 for 44. Australia were dismissed for 125 and lost the series 1-0.

1920
The start of one of the alltime great careers. Wally Hammond made his first-class debut for Gloucestershire against Lancashire at Cheltenham. Ironically, for a batsman of the highest possible class, he made a duck in his first innings. He went on to set any number of world records, among them becoming the first man to score 7000 Test runs and the first to take 100 Test catches. Three of his big scores are in the Wisden 100: his 336 not out at Auckland in 1932-33, another Test record at the time - and two majestic double-hundreds against Australia. One of the undisputed legends of the game.

1956
Birth of dashing batsman and film star Sandeep Patil, who played in 29 Tests for India. His four Test centuries included genuinely brilliant knocks at Adelaide in 1980-81 (174) and Old Trafford in 1982 (129 not out), when he hit six fours in an over from Bob Willis. His important 27 in a low-scoring match helped India win the 1983 World Cup final.

1936
On the last day at The Oval, England captain and pace bowler Gubby Allen completed figures of 7 for 80, the best of his Test career, to help England beat India by nine wickets and take the three-match series 2-0.

Other birthdays
1879 Hugh Bromley-Davenport (England)
1908 Bill Merritt (New Zealand)
1923 Jahangir Khan Irani (India)
1923 Sadu Shinde (India)