Cricketers Born on August 14

Kurt WilkinsonWI
Kurt Wilkinson

44y / 1981

Batsman

Saeed AzadPK
Saeed Azad

61y / 1964

Batsman

Alec DaviesSCO
Alec Davies

63y / 1962

Wicket-keeper batsman

Peter TruscottNZ
Peter Truscott

84y / 1941

Batsman

Len DarlingAU
Len Darling

116y / 1909

Batsman

Tommy ScottWI
Tommy Scott

133y / 1892

All-rounder

David ObuyaKE
David Obuya

46y / 1979

Wicket-keeper batsman

Pramodya WickramasingheLK
Pramodya Wickramasinghe

54y / 1971

Bowler

Pravin AmreIN
Pravin Amre

57y / 1968

Batsman

Ramiz RajaPK
Ramiz Raja

63y / 1962

Batsman

Jack Morrison GregoryAU
Jack Morrison Gregory

130y / 1895

All-rounder

Player Info
England reached the lowest point of the home series against Australia, bowled out for 52 - but the main talking-point at The Oval was probably the most dramatic duck in Test cricket.

1948

England hit rock bottom in their home series against Australia, skittled for just 52. But the real drama at The Oval came when Don Bradman, needing only four runs to reach 7000 in Tests and secure a career average of 100, was bowled second ball by Eric Hollies. England lost by an innings, meaning “The Don” never got a second chance in his final Test. The cricketing gods, it seemed, held something back for the very end.

1990

A teenage masterclass. Just 17 years and 112 days old, Sachin Tendulkar struck his maiden Test century — 119* against England at Old Trafford. He became the third youngest to do so, behind Mushtaq Mohammad and later Mohammad Ashraful, who would break the record in 2001. Alongside Manoj Prabhakar, Tendulkar batted for the final two and a half hours to save India from what looked like certain defeat.

1984

Before lunch on the last day at The Oval, Clive Lloyd’s West Indies bowled England out for 202 to win by 172 runs and seal a 5-0 “blackwash” — still the only time England have lost every match of a home Test series.

1981

On this day, South Africa lost one of its greatest batters, Dudley Nourse. In just 34 Tests he averaged 53.81, often carrying the batting single-handedly. His finest hour came in 1951 at Trent Bridge, scoring 208 with a broken thumb.

2016

Pakistan stormed to a ten-wicket win at The Oval, squaring the series against England and banishing memories of the spot-fixing scandal from their 2010 tour. Younis Khan’s majestic 218 and Asad Shafiq’s 109 set up a huge first-innings lead, before Yasir Shah’s five-for exposed England’s weakness against legspin yet again.

1976

The day Tony Greig “grovelled.” Before the series, England’s captain had made the ill-judged boast that his team would make the West Indies “grovel.” After heavy defeats in the third and fourth Tests, Greig literally dropped to his knees at The Oval in front of a packed crowd. The match was marred by a pitch invasion after his dismissal.

1938

Death of Hugh Trumble, one of Australia’s finest. All 141 of his Test wickets — a record at the time — came against England.

1885

JS Carrick batted through a two-day game at Chichester, scoring 419 for West of Scotland against Priory Park — then the highest individual innings. The record lasted less than 13 months.

2006

Claire Taylor lit up Lord’s with a sublime 156 off 151 balls — the highest individual ODI score at the ground, surpassing Viv Richards’ 138* in 1979. She was rewarded with her own spot on the Lord’s honours board.

1895

Birth of Jack Gregory, the Australian allrounder who terrorised the 1920s. Known for his hostile pace, big hitting, and sharp close fielding, he still holds the record for the fastest hundred by minutes — 70 minutes against South Africa in 1921.

1995

Mike Watkinson and Richard Illingworth, with just six Test caps between them, pulled off an unlikely escape for England against West Indies at Trent Bridge. Their unbroken 80-run stand for the last wicket thwarted Brian Lara’s side, despite Lara himself being in blistering form.

1962

Birth of Ramiz Raja, Pakistan batter turned administrator and commentator. His second Test century — 114 against India in Jaipur — helped secure a draw. His brother Wasim Raja also represented Pakistan.

1982

Gladstone Small had a nightmare start for Warwickshire against Middlesex — his opening over lasted 18 balls, including 11 no-balls and a wide.

1968

Birth of Indian batter Pravin Amre, who scored a century on debut in Durban in 1992 but played just 11 Tests.

2000

Death of South Africa pacer Cuan McCarthy, who took 36 wickets in his short career but was plagued by allegations of throwing.

1971

Sri Lankan seamer Pramodya Wickramasinghe was born. He took 85 wickets in 40 Tests and, despite not taking a single wicket in the 1996 World Cup, went home with a winner’s medal.

1979

Birth of Kenya wicketkeeper David Obuya, younger brother of Kennedy Otieno. He played in the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, the latter featuring a memorable half-century against Sri Lanka.

1892

Birth of Tommy Scott, the West Indies legspinning allrounder whose five wickets in England’s 849 at Kingston cost him 266 runs — still the third-most conceded in a Test innings.

1966

Death of “Tip” Snooke, the South African allrounder whose only Test century helped secure victory in Australia in 1910-11.

1909

Birth of Len Darling, the stylish Australian left-hander drafted in for the final two Tests of the Bodyline series.

2017

India completed their first-ever away clean sweep in a series of three or more Tests, hammering Sri Lanka 3-0. Standouts included Shikhar Dhawan’s fluent batting, Hardik Pandya’s maiden first-class hundred, and relentless all-round bowling.

Last updated on: August 14, 2025