Born on this day, Allan Border would go on to become one of Australia's greatest cricketers and captains. Thrown into the mix during the chaos of World Series Cricket in 1978, Border quickly became the backbone of Australia's batting. Known early on as "Captain Grumpy" for his no-nonsense demeanor, he led Australia through tough times—including a string of losses and two straight series defeats to New Zealand in 1985–86.
But Border never backed down. His gritty knocks of 98* and 100* against the West Indies in Trinidad in 1984 are legendary, dragging Australia to a draw almost single-handedly. Under his leadership, Australia won the 1987 World Cup and the 1989 Ashes—setting the tone for a new era of dominance. In a 15-year career, he set world records for most Tests (156), most runs (11,174), most catches (156), and most consecutive Tests (153), including 93 as captain.

In a golden summer, Graham Gooch smashed 333 runs against India at Lord's—his career-best score—on this day. In a match filled with iconic moments (Azharuddin's elegant 121, Kapil Dev's four sixes in a row, and a young Tendulkar's stunning catch), Gooch's performance stood tallest. He followed up his triple-century with another ton—123 in the second innings—becoming the first player ever to score a triple and a century in the same first-class match. England won by 247 runs.

One of cricket's most iconic fielders, Jonty Rhodes was born on this day. His flying run-out of Inzamam-ul-Haq in the 1992 World Cup became a defining image of South African cricket. Renowned for his athleticism and acrobatic catches, Rhodes also scored three Test centuries. He retired from Tests in 2000 to focus on ODIs, and eventually from all cricket after an injury during the 2003 World Cup.

West Indies retained the Wisden Trophy with a 55-run win over England at Headingley. Chasing 260, England collapsed from 140 for 4, and Tony Greig's gritty 76* couldn't save them. Ironically, it was Greig who had fired up the West Indies with his infamous "grovel" comment—and England wouldn't beat them in a Test for another 14 years.

Australian spinner Jack Iverson, born today, bowled with a unique grip—flicking the ball using a bent middle finger and thumb. He baffled batters during the 1950–51 Ashes, taking 21 wickets in his only series, including 6 for 27 in Sydney. Despite his success, he never played another Test and retired quietly.

In a one-day match for Somerset against Essex, Brian Langford produced a spell for the ages: 8 overs, 8 maidens, 0 runs, 0 wickets. No bowler has ever matched that kind of precision in a limited-overs game.

On this day at Headingley, Don Bradman scored his 29th and final Test century—an unbeaten 173—leading Australia to a stunning chase of 404 against England. Alongside Arthur Morris (182), Bradman steered his team to a seven-wicket victory, ending with 6996 Test runs.

England and India combined for a Test record 588 runs in a single day. England scored 398, with Joe Hardstaff Jr contributing 94 and Hedley Verity smashing his career-best 66*. But India responded in style, ending the day at 190 without loss, thanks to Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Merchant.

Rohan Kanhai and John Jameson put together a mammoth 465-run partnership for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire—starting and finishing the record-breaking stand on the same day.

Tom Moody hammered a century in just 26 minutes for Warwickshire against Glamorgan, capitalizing on deliberately tame bowling in a rain-hit match at Swansea.

Kenya's Collins Obuya made headlines in the 2003 World Cup, taking 5 for 24 against Sri Lanka in a game that helped Kenya reach the semifinals. Though his county stint with Warwickshire didn't pan out, he reinvented himself as a batter and led Kenya at the 2011 World Cup. He later took over as captain from Jimmy Kamande.