April 26 down the years
A debut double
Rudolph makes 222
Jacques Rudolph was unbeaten on 222 in his debut Test innings • Getty Images
2003
A double-century on debut. Jacques Rudolph batted more than eight and a half hours in steamy Chittagong to become the fifth batter to reach the landmark in his first Test. He added 429 with Boeta Dippenaar (177) - the highest by a South African pair for any wicket. South Africa won by an innings and 60 runs.
A double-century on debut. Jacques Rudolph batted more than eight and a half hours in steamy Chittagong to become the fifth batter to reach the landmark in his first Test. He added 429 with Boeta Dippenaar (177) - the highest by a South African pair for any wicket. South Africa won by an innings and 60 runs.
1985
The nightmare start to Ken Rutherford's Test career continued as the third Test between West Indies and New Zealand got underway in Barbados. Rutherford had made 0, 0 (when he was run-out without facing a ball to bag a debut pair) and 4 opening the innings; here he was dropped down to No. 3... and went first ball to Malcolm Marshall. It didn't get much better for our Ken: he made 2 in the second innings, and 1 and 5 in the final Test, for a shocking debut series of 12 runs in seven innings. It got worse before it got better: Rutherford made three more noughts in his next five innings, but he went on to captain his country and play 56 Tests. He also once hammered 317 in a tour match in Scarborough in 1986.
The nightmare start to Ken Rutherford's Test career continued as the third Test between West Indies and New Zealand got underway in Barbados. Rutherford had made 0, 0 (when he was run-out without facing a ball to bag a debut pair) and 4 opening the innings; here he was dropped down to No. 3... and went first ball to Malcolm Marshall. It didn't get much better for our Ken: he made 2 in the second innings, and 1 and 5 in the final Test, for a shocking debut series of 12 runs in seven innings. It got worse before it got better: Rutherford made three more noughts in his next five innings, but he went on to captain his country and play 56 Tests. He also once hammered 317 in a tour match in Scarborough in 1986.
1996
Shaun Pollock took four wickets in four balls in his first match for Warwickshire, against Leicestershire in the Benson & Hedges Cup match in Edgbaston. At one stage his figures were 5 for 1 - and Leicestershire were 9 for 5. Pollock ended with 6 for 21, a handshake from the watching Allan Donald on the boundary, and his county cap.
Shaun Pollock took four wickets in four balls in his first match for Warwickshire, against Leicestershire in the Benson & Hedges Cup match in Edgbaston. At one stage his figures were 5 for 1 - and Leicestershire were 9 for 5. Pollock ended with 6 for 21, a handshake from the watching Allan Donald on the boundary, and his county cap.
2003
Another double-century, this time in Colombo. Stephen Fleming made his career best in a high-scoring draw, his 74th Test. He batted nearly two days (more than ten hours) for his 274 and New Zealand declared at 515 for 7. Fleming's unbeaten half-century in the second innings took about half as long as his double-hundred in the first - he batted 303 minutes for 69.
Another double-century, this time in Colombo. Stephen Fleming made his career best in a high-scoring draw, his 74th Test. He batted nearly two days (more than ten hours) for his 274 and New Zealand declared at 515 for 7. Fleming's unbeaten half-century in the second innings took about half as long as his double-hundred in the first - he batted 303 minutes for 69.
2019
After testing positive for recreational drug use, Alex Hales received a three-week ban and was subsequently withdrawn from all England squads for the 2019 season, including the World Cup. Four months before the drug offence, Hales had been banned for six white-ball games (four of them suspended) and fined £17,500 by the ECB for his part in the brawl outside a Bristol nightclub that led to Ben Stokes being arrested and subsequently missing the Ashes before being acquitted.
After testing positive for recreational drug use, Alex Hales received a three-week ban and was subsequently withdrawn from all England squads for the 2019 season, including the World Cup. Four months before the drug offence, Hales had been banned for six white-ball games (four of them suspended) and fined £17,500 by the ECB for his part in the brawl outside a Bristol nightclub that led to Ben Stokes being arrested and subsequently missing the Ashes before being acquitted.
1909
Birth of the Worcestershire allrounder Dick Howorth, who played five Tests for England in 1947-48. As a defensive left-handed batter he could bat anywhere from No. 1 to No. 9, but left-arm bowling was his strongest suit. Howorth took a wicket with his first ball in Tests - the only Englishman to do so between 1924 and 1991 - when South Africa's Dennis Dyer was caught by Cliff Gladwin in the fifth Test at The Oval in 1947, and he took 6 for 124 in his next Test, against West Indies in Barbados. He died in Worcester in 1980.
Birth of the Worcestershire allrounder Dick Howorth, who played five Tests for England in 1947-48. As a defensive left-handed batter he could bat anywhere from No. 1 to No. 9, but left-arm bowling was his strongest suit. Howorth took a wicket with his first ball in Tests - the only Englishman to do so between 1924 and 1991 - when South Africa's Dennis Dyer was caught by Cliff Gladwin in the fifth Test at The Oval in 1947, and he took 6 for 124 in his next Test, against West Indies in Barbados. He died in Worcester in 1980.
1990
He's always remembered as one of Australia's greatest, grittiest batters, but when he bothered to bring himself on, Allan Border could be a very useful left-arm spinner. In Australia's 63-run Austral-Asia Cup victory over New Zealand in Sharjah on this day, Border cut a swathe through the Kiwis with a spell of 3 for 1 in 14 balls. Border's one-day bowling record was eminently respectable, and his average (73 wickets at 28.37) is lower than those of Ian Botham (28.54) and Courtney Walsh (30.54).
He's always remembered as one of Australia's greatest, grittiest batters, but when he bothered to bring himself on, Allan Border could be a very useful left-arm spinner. In Australia's 63-run Austral-Asia Cup victory over New Zealand in Sharjah on this day, Border cut a swathe through the Kiwis with a spell of 3 for 1 in 14 balls. Border's one-day bowling record was eminently respectable, and his average (73 wickets at 28.37) is lower than those of Ian Botham (28.54) and Courtney Walsh (30.54).
Other birthday
1874 Biddy Anderson (South Africa)
1945 VK Ramaswamy (India)
1970 Martyn Ball (England)
1971 Jodi Dannatt (Australia)
1985 Leanne Davis (England)
1874 Biddy Anderson (South Africa)
1945 VK Ramaswamy (India)
1970 Martyn Ball (England)
1971 Jodi Dannatt (Australia)
1985 Leanne Davis (England)