1st July....

1849:
England's first Test wicket-keeper John Selby (6 Tests from 1877 to 1882) was born.

1907:
The Lord's match against England was South Africa's first Test abroad after nearly 18 years of Test cricket.

1916:
England all-rounder Major William Booth (2 Tests in 1913-14) died in war in France, aged 29.

1924:
England beat South Africa at Lord's by an innings and 18 runs. The home side lost only two wickets in the entire match.

1925:
England batsman Frank Lowson (7 Tests from 1951 to 1955) was born.

1938:
West Indian pace bowler Chester Watson (7 Tests from 1960 to 1962) was born.

1954:
Pakistani Khalid Hassan made his Test debut against England at Nottingham at the age 16 years 352 days, which was then a world Test record.

1965:
The greatest English batsman Wally Hammond (85 Tests from 1927 to 1947; 7249 runs and 83 wickets and 110 catches) died in Durban, South Africa, aged 62.

1968:
English wicket-keeper Dick Young (2 Tests in 1907-08) died, aged 82.

1969:
England ODI batsman Graham Lloyd (6 matches from 1996 to 1998) was born.

1971:
West Indian all-rounder Lord Learie Constantine (18 Tests from 1928 to 1939; 635 runs & 58 wickets) died in London, aged 69.

1978:
Inadequate covering caused the third day's play of the Leeds Test match between England and Pakistan to be abandoned, although the surrounding districts enjoyed a full programme of league cricket.

1995:
South Africa's leading batsman Bruce Mitchell (42 Tests from 1929 to 1949; 3471 runs & 27 wickets) died aged 86.

1999:
Australian opener Jack Moroney (7 Tests from 1949 to 1952) died aged 81.

2nd July....

1858:
Australian batsman Reginald Allen (1 Test in 1886) was born.

1882:
Australian batsman Edgar Mayne (4 Tests from 1912 to 1921-22) was born.

1907:
Australia's left-handed batsman Leo O'Brien (5 Tests from 1932 to 37) was born.

1912:
English pace bowler Tom Richardson, (14 Tests from 1893 to 1898; 88 wickets) died in France, aged 41.

1921:
Australian fast medium bowler Ted Evans (6 Tests from 1881 to 1886) died, aged 72.

1934:
West Indian all-rounder and leg-spinner Ivan Madray (2 Tests from 1957) was born.

1941:
Indian pace bowler Baqa Jilani (1 Test in 1936) died in Jullundur, aged 29.

1951:
Worcester's keeper Hugo Yarnold stumps six Scottish batsmen at Dundee, to record the maximum stumpings in a first-class innings.

1954:
Denis Compton mauls Pakistan with a brilliant 278 in just 290 minutes with 1 six and 33 fours at Nottingham.

1959:
Peter May equals fellow Englishman Frank Woolley's world record of 52 consecutive appearances at Leeds against India.

1962:
English pace bowler Neil Williams (1 Test in 1990) was born at St Vincent in the Caribbean.

1969:
Ireland dismissed the touring West Indians for a paltry 25 at Sion Mills, Londonderry to win by nine wickets. Irish captain DE Goodwin took five wickets for 6 runs, while AJ O'Riordan claimed four wickets for 18 runs.

1994:
Middlesex pace bowler Richard Johnson captures all ten wickets for 45 runs against Derbyshire at Derby.

1998:
The Manchester Test match between England and South Africa was the first to introduce a speed gun at Test level.

3rd July....

1902:
New Zealand's left arm pace bowler Jack Newman (3 Tests form 1931 to 1933) was born.

1902:
Bramall Lane at Sheffield in England hosted its first and only Test match.

1910:
England batsman Charlie Barnett (20 Tests from 1933 to 1948; 1098 runs) was born.

1910:
England's Test keeper Mordecai Sherwin (3 Tests from 1886 to 1888) died, aged 59.

1911:
England batsman Joe Hardstaff Jr (23 Tests from 1935 to 1948; 1636 runs) was born.

1936:
England opener Eric Russell (10 Tests from 1961 to 1967) was born.

1936:
Indian all-rounder Jahangir Khan kills a sparrow whilst bowling for the Cambridge University against the MCC at Lord's, London. The stuffed sparrow is kept at the Lord's museum.

1940:
South African all-rounder George Shepstone (2 Tests from 1895 to 1899) died, aged 64.

1948:
South Africa's leg-spinning all-rounder Quintin McMillan (13 Tests from 1929 to 1932) died, aged 44.

1950:
New Zealand pace bowler Ewen Chatfield (43 Tests from 1974 to 1989; 123 wickets) was born.

1951:
New Zealand's greatest all-rounder and player Sir Richard Hadlee (86 Tests from 1972 to 1990; 3124 runs and 431 wickets) was born.

1952:
Pakistani all-rounder and leg-spinner Wasim Raja (57 Tests from 1972 to 1985; 2821 runs and 51 wickets) was born.

1976:
Zimbabwean pace bowler Henry Olonga was born.

1980:
India's teenage off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was born.

1984:
West Indian Gordon Greenidge scores a brilliant unbeaten 214 off 241 balls at Lord's to enable his team win by nine wickets and with 11.5 overs to spare, while chasing 342.

1997:
England's pace bowler Dean Headley, whose father and grandfather had represented West Indies, provided the first instance of three generations of a family appearing in Test cricket - when he made his Test debut against Australia at Manchester.

1998:
Gary Kirsten scores 210 in 652 minutes - against England at Manchester.

1999:
England night-watchman Alex Tudor scores an unbeaten 99, as he takes his team to a seven wicket victory over New Zealand at Birmingham.

4th July....

1874:
England batsman David "Lucky" Denton (11 Tests from 1905 to 1910) was born.

1895:
South African left-handed batsman Eric Marx (2 Tests in 1921) was born.

1918:
England's best post war medium pacer Alec Bedser (51 Tests from 1946 to 1955; 236 wickets) was born with his twin brother Eric (a Surrey player).

1922:
Indian off-spinner and captain Ghulam Ahmed (22 Tests from 1948 to 1959; 68 wickets) was born.

1931:
England's left handed opener Peter Richardson (34 Tests from 1956 to 1963; 2061 runs) was born.

1971:
South Africa's fast bowler Joe Cox (3 Tests in 1913-14) died aged 85.

1972:
New Zealand opening batsman Craig Spearman, since 1995, was born.

1981:
South African all-rounder Clive Rice for Nottinghamshire scores an unbeaten 105 out of his team's total of 143 against Hampshire at Bournemouth. It was the lowest total in first-class history to included a hundred.

1987:
Imran Khan takes his 300th Test wicket (Jack Richards), against England at Leeds. He became the first Pakistani to do so.

5th July....

1855:
England keeper Dick Pilling (8 Tests from 1881 to 1888) was born.

1905:
South African wicket-keeper and captain Jock Cameron (26 Tests from 1927 to 1935) was born.

1913:
England keeper and occasional bowler Alfred Lyttelton (4 Tests from 1880 to 1884) died aged 56.

1920:
England's right hand batsman John Shuter (1 Test in 1888) died aged 65.

1921:
In the Leeds Test match England loses its eight consecutive Test match - all against Australia.

1923:
England's fast bowler Maurice Tremlett (3 Tests from 1947-48) was born.

1929:
England's left-arm spinner Tony Lock (49 Tests from 1952 to 1968; 174 wickets) was born.

1938:
Australian batsman John McIlwraith (1 Test in 1886) died aged 80.

1954:
New Zealand's left-handed opening batsman and now Indian cricket team coach John Wright (Tests 82 from 1978 to 1993, 5334 runs) was born.

1962:
The Leeds Test was the first match for Pakistan in which their keeper Imtiaz Ahmed did not play. It was Pakistan's 40th Test match since its first in October 1952.

1972:
Sri Lanka's right-arm spinner and useful bat Upul Chandana was born.

1973:
Famous English Test umpire Harold "Dickie" Bird officiated in his maiden Test against New Zealand at Leeds.

1985:
South African spinner Jack Robertson (3 Tests in 1935-36) died aged 79.

1999:
New Zealand pace bowler Leonard Butterfield (1 Test in 1946) died aged 85.

6th July....

1890:
English opener and Test cricket's first centurion Andrew Sandham (14 Tests from 1921 to 1930) was born.

1893:
West Indian batsman Wilton St Hill (3 Tests from1928 to 1930) was born.

1934:
Englishman middle-order batsman Percy Hendren scores 132 against Australia at Manchester and 45 years 151 days he is still the second oldest after Jack Hobbs to score a Test hundred.

1938:
England batsman and captain Tony Lewis (9 Tests from 1972 to 1973) was born in Swansea, Wales.

1939:
Indian right hand batsman Man Mohan Sood (1 Test in 1959) was born.

1958:
English left-hander Mark Benson (1 Test in 1986) was born.

1959:
Pakistani paceman Tahir Naqqash (15 Tests from 1981 to 1985) was born.

1961:
England recalls paceman Les Jackson against Australia at Leeds after 12 years after his debut Test in 1949.

1972:
West Indian pace bowler Vincent Valentine (2 Tests in 1933) died aged 64.

1977:
South African fast bowler Makhaya Ntini since 1998 was born.

1993:
English left-hander Graham Thorpe scores an unbeaten 114 on Test debut against Australia at Nottingham - he became the 14th Englishman and the only left-hander to do so.

1997:
Steve Waugh (116) scores centuries in each innings of the Manchester Test match against England, after scoring 108 in the first innings.

1997:
New Zealand batsman Frank "Runty" Smith (4 Tests from 1947 to 1952) died aged 75.

1999:
Indian batsman ML Jaisimha (39 Tests from 1959 to 1971; 2056 runs) died aged 60.

7th July....

1856:
English left-handed batsman George Hearne (1 Test in 1891) was born.

1868:
Surrey's wicket-keeper Ed Pooley claims the record 12 dismissals (8 cts+4sts) against Sussex at The Oval.

1875:
South African batsman Vincent Tancred (1 Test in 1898) was born.

1931:
South African fast bowler "Kodgee" Kotze (3 Tests from 1902 to 1907) died aged 51.

1934:
South African batsman "Doodles" Tapscott (2 Tests in 1922-23) died aged 40.

1934:
England's Gubby Allen first over in the Manchester Test against Australia lasted 13 balls; he was called for three wides and four no-balls.

1951:
South Africa's 40 year-old pace bowler Geoff Chubb playing in his only Test series took 6-51 in 26.3 overs against England at Manchester.

1958:
Arthur.Milton scores an unbeaten 104 on Test debut for England against New Zealand at Leeds. He became the second Gloucestershire player to score hundred on debut after WG Grace in 1880.

1965:
English fast bowler Bill Hitch (7 Tests from 1911 to 1921) died aged 79.

1970:
English left-arm spinner Min Patel (2 Tests v India in 1996) was born in Bombay.

1979:
South African medium pacer "Conky" Conyngham (1 Test in 1922-23) died aged 82.

1996:
Indian born New Zealand off-spinner Narotam Puna (3 Tests in 1966) died aged 66.

1998:
India beat Sri Lanka by six runs to win the Sri Lankan Independence Cup at Colombo.

Compiled by:
Mohandas Menon

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Mail Cricket Editor