Cricket Stats: 365 Day's of Down Memory

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January 1 down the years Mayhem in Queenstown

Corey Anderson blasts a hundred from 36 balls

Corey Anderson: an unforgettable hundred to welcome the new year

2014
The day a 17-year-old record was broken. It was a rude beginning to the new year for West Indies' bowlers as New Zealand's Corey Anderson ransacked a century off just 36 balls in a shortened ODI in Queenstown. He blasted 14 sixes, two behind Rohit Sharma's world record 16, on his way to eclipsing the record set by a 16-year-old Shahid Afridi in 1996. Anderson made best use of the short boundaries and raced to his fifty in 20 balls. He stood at 95 at the start of the 18th over. The first ball from Nikita Miller was short and Anderson duly pulled a six over long-on. He remained the record-holder for only a year, though. In Johannesburg in January 2015, AB de Villiers broke it with a 31-ball hundred, also against West Indies.

1908
One of the greatest of all Test careers began. The wide open spaces of the MCG held no terrors for Jack Hobbs, who scored 83 in his first Test knock. He went on to become the first batter to score 5000 Test runs, and his other feats would take forever to list. Try virtually any page in the first-class batting section of the Wisden Almanack.

1902
Birth of the greatest one-eyed cricketer of Norwegian descent to play in a Test. Eiulf Peter "Buster" Nupen was regarded as one of the best bowlers ever seen on South African matting, and he might have had better Test figures than 50 wickets at 35.76 if he'd had a full complement of eyes. He lost one as a young man while trying to knock two hammers together.

1910
The last of the top underarm lob bowlers made a successful start to his only Test series. A weak England team, stuffed with amateurs, couldn't avoid defeat in Johannesburg, but a first-innings haul of 6 for 43 by one of those unpaid workers, George Hayward Thomas Simpson-Hayward (better known as George Simpson-Hayward), made it a close-run thing.

1923
Another memorable debut, this time in Cape Town, where George Macaulay dismissed George Hearne with his first ball in Test cricket. Macaulay later made the winning hit in England's very narrow victory.

1967
The late 1960s was the golden age of stadium riots on the subcontinent. One of them forced the cancellation of today's play between India and West Indies in Calcutta. Clashes with police, stands set alight: nothing unusual for the time. It didn't affect the result, though - West Indies thumped India by an innings, with seven wickets each for Messrs Sobers and Gibbs.

1995
Batting for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in Delhi, Ravi Sehgal made 216, his maiden first-class hundred, and helped Raman Lamba (312) put on 464, a first-wicket record for any first-class match in India. The match was distinctly one-sided: Himachal Pradesh were dismissed for 205 and 122 and lost by an innings and 310 runs.

1925
That greedy run-accumulator Bill Ponsford collected another 128 of them against England in Melbourne to become the first batter to score a hundred in each of his first two Tests.

2017
Vidarbha won their maiden Ranji Trophy title after beating Delhi by nine wickets in their first final appearance in 61 seasons, in Indore. Medium-pacer Rajneesh Gurbani took a six-for, which included a hat-trick, and wicketkeeper-batter Akshay Wadkar scored his first hundred, in only his fifth first-class game. Thirty-nine-year-old Wasim Jaffer was able to maintain his 100% win record in Ranji finals after previously having been on the winning side eight times with Mumbai.

1905
Despite an undistinguished Test career (a single appearance at The Oval in 1934), Hans Ebeling, who was born today, played a major part in a big Test occasion. He was the prime mover behind the Centenary Test in Melbourne in 1976-77.

1944
Birth of West Indian opener Charlie Davis, whose last Test hundred was his biggest: 183 against New Zealand in Bridgetown in 1971-72, when he put on 254 with Garry Sobers. He'd been almost impossible to dismiss in the 1970-71 series against India (again at home), averaging 132.25.

1928
Genuinely useful but injury-prone seamer Khan Mohammad was born. Often Fazal Mahmood's foil in Tests for Pakistan, the two were just about the only bowlers left standing when Garry Sobers made his world record 365 not out in Kingston in 1957-58. Khan's figures of 0 for 259 are the worst in any Test innings by a wicketless bowler - but his 54 Test wickets cost only 23.92 each and he had figures of 5 for 61 (including Len Hutton for a duck) at Lord's in 1954 and 6 for 21 against New Zealand in Dacca in 1955-56.

1984
The first Bangladesh bowler to take a hat-trick, Alok Kapali, was born today. That feat came in Peshawar in 2003 - when he helped Bangladesh gain their maiden first-innings lead. Kapali scored his maiden ODI hundred in 2008, against India in the Asia Cup in Karachi, but his international career was put on hold when he joined the ICL in 2008. However, he quit after a season and made himself available for selection again.

1990
Another Bangladeshi born on New Year's Day. Rubel Hossain made memorable debuts in ODIs and Tests - in a rare one-day win for his side, over Sri Lanka in Mirpur in 2009, and in their historic Test series win in West Indies later that year. He sank New Zealand in an ODI in Mirpur in 2013 with 6 for 26 and famously took Bangladesh into the 2015 World Cup quarter-finals with a four-for. Hossain was first spotted at a pace-hunt programme, and went the Under-19 route before establishing himself in the national side.

1980
And another. Bangladesh fast bowler Mushfiqur Rahman, whose ten-Test, 28-ODI career progressed much like his team's faltering steps in international cricket was also born today. After going wicketless in his first two Tests, in Zimbabwe in 2001, Rahman was dropped for two years. His comeback in 2003-04 didn't grab headlines either; his career-best figures were 4 for 65 against West Indies in a Test in St Lucia in 2004, and though he had a few scores in the 40s in Tests and ODIs, he never got a fifty in either format.

© ESPN SPORTS MEDIA LTD.

🤠Jan 2nd

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January 2 down the yearsThe Demon strikes three times

Spofforth takes Test cricket's first hat-trick

Fred "Demon" Spofforth finished with 13 wickets in the Melbourne Test

1879
It was only fitting that Fred Spofforth should take the first hat-trick in Test cricket, against England in Melbourne: he was the greatest bowler of his age, a demon in the eyes of Englishmen everywhere. The second victim in his hat-trick was Francis Alexander MacKinnon, the 35th MacKinnon of MacKinnon, who was facing his first ball in international cricket. A lot of scorers were grateful that this was his only Test.

1992
An equally great Australian bowler made an inauspicious Test debut. Only one of Shane Warne's 700-plus Test wickets was taken in this game, against India in Sydney, and it cost him 150 runs - Ravi Shastri was his victim, but not before he hit 206. Warne didn't get any at all in the next Test, in Adelaide, but it was understandable: before this series he'd played in only seven first-class matches. Still, he turned out to be quite useful.

1978
By scoring 182 in the second innings of the third Test against West Indies in Calcutta, Sunil Gavaskar added to his list of records: he became the first batter to hit a century in each innings of a Test match three times. He had made a mere 107 in the first innings.

2013
New Zealand were bowled out for 45, their third-lowest total, in Cape Town. Their innings lasted less than 20 overs. They had just memorably beaten Sri Lanka away, but hardly had the euphoria evaporated, and the drama over Ross Taylor's sacking as captain receded from the headlines, that they were rolled over for an innings and 27 runs. Doug Bracewell became Dale Steyn's 300th Test victim. New Zealand lost by an innings in the next Test in Port Elizabeth as well.

1984
When you make your maiden first-class hundred at the age of 16, as Daryll Cullinan did today, for Border against Natal B in East London, you're expected to go on and become a star. Although he made an unbeaten 275 in Auckland in 1998-99, then a record for South Africa in Tests, his frailty against Shane Warne and his chatty chums held Cullinan's reputation in check. He averaged only 12.75 against Australia, compared to 48 against everybody else.

1985
Bob Holland took his best Test figures and Kepler Wessels scored his fourth hundred for Australia in a dead rubber in the final Test at the SCG as they beat West Indies by an innings and 55 runs. However West Indies won the series 3-1. Wessels' 173 took Australia to 471 and then legspinner Holland took 6 for 54 to enforce the follow-on. He took four more in the second to finish with 10 for 144. This was West Indies' first defeat since they lost in Melbourne 27 Tests earlier, in the 1981-82 series, and their first by an innings since 1968-69.

1960
Raman Lamba, who was born today, joined a sad, select club that includes England men Andy Ducat and Wilf Slack when he died at the crease in Dhaka in 1998 after taking a fatal blow to the head while fielding at short leg. A good enough opening batter to play four Tests for India, Lamba was also the man chased all the way to third man by a maniacal, stump-wielding Rashid Patel in an infamous incident in 1990. Lamba was by no means blameless - he had been taunting Patel, and the ensuing fencing match got Lamba a ten-month ban and Patel 14 months. Lamba had an Irish wife, and played for Ireland against Sussex in the NatWest Trophy in 1990.

2003
Herschelle Gibbs (228) and Graeme Smith (151) destroyed Pakistan's demoralised bowling with an opening stand of 368, at the time South Africa's best for any wicket, on the first day of the Newlands Test. Gibbs' double-hundred is the fastest by a South African and he also became the sixth from his country to reach 3000 Test runs during his innings. South Africa went on to win by an innings and 142 runs. It was the start of a productive year for Smith, who was made captain in March and went on to score consecutive double-centuries in England in July.

1970
Few people take a hat-trick in their last international appearance. But the New South Wales seamer Anthony Stuart, who was born today, did. He took 5 for 26 in his third one-day appearance, against Pakistan in Melbourne in 1996-97, including Ijaz Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim and Moin Khan with successive deliveries. He had already dismissed Aamer Sohail and Zahoor Elahi, but he suffered an ankle injury and Australia never picked him again.

1964
One of the early pillars of Sri Lanka's bowling was born. Rumesh Ratnayake's brisk pace brought him 73 Test wickets from 1982-83 (when he was only 19) to 1991-92, including 5 for 69 at Lord's in 1991 and 20 wickets at 22.95 against India in 1985-86, the first series Sri Lanka ever won. Mind you, he needed to brush up on his image as a demon fast bowler: after breaking John Wright's nose with a bouncer in a Test in Wellington in 1982-83, he fainted at the sight of blood.

1973
A tall and forceful batter, John Benaud couldn't hope to match his brother Richie's profile, but he averaged 44.60 in his three Tests for Australia, largely thanks to the 142 he made today (93 before lunch) against Pakistan in Melbourne - after being told that he wouldn't be playing in the next Test.

1886
Dependable South African opening batter Jack "Billy" Zulch was born. Both of his Test hundreds were made in Australia in 1910-11 (his only series abroad), but he was probably better known for the way he was dismissed in Johannesburg in 1921-22. The ball, sent down by Australia's pantherine opening bowler Ted McDonald, was so fast it broke his bat, a sliver of the blade hitting the stumps.

© ESPN SPORTS MEDIA LTD.

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January 3 down the years Five-ton Weekes

A quintet of centuries for the West Indian

Everton Weekes (right) made 141, 128, 194, 162 and 101 back to back

1949
That devastating and prolific batter Everton Weekes set a world record that looks likely to last a while longer. His 101 in Calcutta completed a sequence of scoring a century in each of five consecutive Test innings. He might have set a target that would really have had 'em chasing if he hadn't been run out for 90 in his next Test innings, in Madras. Weekes' run began with 141 against England in Kingston in March 1948 and continued with 128 in Delhi, 194 in Bombay and then 162 in the first innings in Calcutta. In 1955, Weekes also scored three back-to-back hundreds against New Zealand.

1886
If we say one of cricket's great characters was born, it might suggest Arthur Mailey was better known for his whims and wit than his legbreaks. But he's still the only bowler to take nine wickets in a Test innings for Australia, his 9 for 121 against England in Melbourne helping Australia to win the series 5-0. Happy to buy his wickets when necessary ("Medium-pacers can keep the score down. I'm here to take wickets"), he was amused to finish with 99 in Tests, and his 10 for 66 in an innings against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham in 1921 gave him the perfect title for his autobiography: Ten For 66 And All That.

2016
Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow's 399-run stand in Cape Town set a new record for the sixth wicket in Tests - surpassing Kane Williamson and BJ Watling's 365 from the year before - and the second-highest overall for England. Stokes' double-hundred was the second fastest of all time, of which 130 came on the morning of day two, breaking an 81-year-old record for most runs by a batter in the first session of a day in Tests. The drawn match was a run fest. Hashim Amla also scored a double-century (and then stepped down as South Africa's Test captain), and Temba Bavuma became the country's first black African batter to score a Test hundred.

2003
A dream day for Steve Waugh at his home ground in Sydney. Playing his last Ashes Test, Waugh clattered Richard Dawson through cover to bring up his hundred off the final ball of the day. It was an uncharacteristically quick knock too, taking just 130 balls. Earlier that day, Waugh had reached another milestone, becoming only the third player - after Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border - to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

1952
Tension all around as Australia's last two batters, tailenders Doug Ring and Bill Johnston, put on 38 to win the Melbourne Test. Instead of winning their second successive Test to level the series, West Indies lost it after going 3-1 down.

1929
The first of too many in English eyes. Here in Melbourne, Don Bradman made his maiden Test century, one of 19 against England, a record for any batter against any one country.

1932
Australia's only win in the Bodyline series was in Melbourne. Don Bradman returned to the side for the second Test, after illness kept him out of the first, and was bowled first ball by Bill Bowes. However England captain Douglas Jardine had made the mistake of including Bowes in place of spinner Hedley Verity, anticipating a fast track. The dead pitch instead favoured the Australian spinners - Bill O'Reilly took a match haul of 10 for 129 - and Bradman scored an unbeaten century in the second innings. Australia won by 111 runs.

1948
Two more centuries for Bradman in Melbourne, in both innings - the only time in his career - in Australia's 233-run win against India. Vinoo Mankad scored the only century by India and took 4 for 135 in the first innings. Indian wicketkeeper Khokhan Singh made his debut in the Test.

1978
Another Australia-India match in Melbourne, but one that India won to record their first success in the country. On the fourth day Bhagwath Chandrasekhar took 6 for 52 for the second time in the match to bring Australia down to their knees at 123 for 8, needing 387 to win. Bishan Bedi took the final two on the fifth day and India won by 222 runs. Sunil Gavaskar scored the only century in the low-scoring game.

1985
Mohammad Azharuddin announced his arrival with a century on debut in an otherwise tedious draw with England in Calcutta. The hosts reached 164 for 4 on day one and added only ten more on day two, more or less lost to smog and rain. Azhar batted soundly during his 110 but his partnership with Ravi Shastri dragged on painfully till the third day, for they scored at under two an over. Shastri, who batted on all five days of the match, took an hour longer for his second fifty than for his first, seven hours in all, and spent an hour in the 90s.

1989
Birth of England's first T20I centurion. Alex Hales had made 99 in his fifth T20, but had to wait two years before he could go past 100, during the 2014 World T20. He made his one-day debut that year and scored his maiden century in the format during England's memorable series win against Pakistan in the UAE in 2015. England's Test series defeat on that tour prompted the selectors to try out Hales as Alastair Cook's opening partner in the Tests in South Africa. He scored five fifties in 11 Tests between December 2015 and August 2016 before being dropped. But Hales was far more prolific in ODIs in that period, making five scores of 50-plus back to back and then setting the record for the highest score by an England batter - 171, against Pakistan at Trent Bridge. Two years later at the same venue, he and Jonny Bairstow helped England to a world-record total of 481 against Australia.

1958
Unorthodox slow left-armer Lindsay Kline, who featured in another famous last-wicket stand against West Indies, in Adelaide in 1960-61, did his day job today in Cape Town, taking a hat-trick to wrap up Australia's innings win over South Africa.

1939
Queensland wicketkeeper Don Tallon, one of the greatest ever produced by Australia, made his 12th dismissal of the match against New South Wales in Sydney. This equalled Ted Pooley's total for Surrey against Sussex at The Oval way back in 1868, and remained a joint world record until Wayne James made 13 dismissals for Matabeleland against Mashonaland in Bulawayo in 1995-96.

1902
Test centuries by No. 10 batters don't grow on trees, and only two have been scored by a No. 10 making his debut. Held back while a rain-affected pitch lost its venom, Reggie Duff - who usually opened - hit 104 to help Australia beat England in Melbourne. He and fellow debutant Warwick Armstrong made Test cricket's first century partnership for the last wicket. The next day Hugh Trumble finished off their second innings with the first of his two Test hat-tricks and Australia won by 229 runs.

1966
Birth of Indian seamer Chetan Sharma, best remembered for the victorious six Javed Miandad hit off him from the last ball of the 1986 Sharjah final. Two months later, Sharma took his only ten-wicket haul in Tests, against England at Edgbaston. When Sharma took the first World Cup hat-trick (all bowled) against New Zealand in Nagpur in 1987-88, joy wasn't altogether unconfined: there had been murmurs about his bowling action, especially when he sent down the bouncer. Another action raised some eyebrows in Kanpur in 1989-90: a startling one-day hundred against England.

1997
Talking of one-day international hat-tricks... Eddo Brandes, chicken farmer and seamer rolled into one, took 5 for 28, including three in three balls, against England in Harare as Zimbabwe sealed the series 3-0

1963
A chequered career for Aamer Malik, who was born today. He is one of only three men to score a century in both innings of his first-class debut (Arthur Morris and Nari Contractor are the others). Malik made a seven-hour unbeaten 98 in his second Test, made back-to-back hundreds against India in 1989-90, effected a Test stumping as stand-in keeper, took one Test wicket (Australia's Peter Taylor - batting at No. 2), and was recalled after a four-year absence to face Australia in 1994-95. He helped save the second Test with a crucial second-innings 65... and was dropped, this time for good.

© ESPN SPORTS MEDIA LTD.

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January 4 down the yearsThe story of Jonah

The first bowler to be called for throwing

Ernie Jones: threw a ball through the most famous beard in cricket

1898
Big in frame and heart, Australian fast bowler Ernie Jones is famous for two things. Sending a bouncer through WG Grace's beard ("Sorry, Doc, she slipped") - and becoming the first bowler to be called for throwing in a Test, which happened on this day against England in Melbourne. "Jonah", who was no-balled by umpire Jim Phillips, the scourge of all chuckers, took 64 Test wickets, some of them possibly kosher.

1937
The start of Don Bradman's 270 against England in Melbourne. Trailing 2-0 after defeats in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia were facing defeat when Bradman, struggling with flu, his reputation as a batter and captain on the line, came in for the second innings. He faced Bill Voce and Gubby Allen, frighteningly fast on a rain-affected pitch that also helped the master spinner Hedley Verity. Careful at first, increasing the tempo as he went on, Bradman hit his highest score against England at home, sharing a record stand of 346 with Jack Fingleton, and turning the match and the series. Australia remain the only side to come back to win from two-down in a five-match series.

1975
A rare instance of a captain dropping himself. A shell-shocked Mike Denness left himself out of the England side for the fourth Test against Australia in Sydney after scoring 65 runs in six innings. The ploy didn't work as England lost the match by 171 runs and with it the Ashes. Denness' replacement as captain, John Edrich, was struck by Dennis Lillee with the first ball he received and was taken to hospital with a broken rib. Denness returned with a half-century in the fifth Test and a hundred in the final game of the series.

2002
Muttiah Muralitharan came agonisingly close to the best innings figures in all Test cricket. By the first evening in Kandy against Zimbabwe, he had taken 9 for 51 from 39 overs. The next morning Travis Friend offered a regulation bat-pad catch off Murali's first ball, only for Russel Arnold to drop it; then an lbw appeal was turned down. At the other end Chaminda Vaas bowled wide of off stump to Henry Olonga but could not stop him nicking one - which Kumar Sangakkara could not bring himself to drop. Murali took four in the second innings and Sri Lanka won by an innings and 94 runs.

1906
England on the receiving end again. It was only by one wicket, but that was enough to give South Africa their first ever Test victory. They needed a last-wicket stand of 48 between Percy Sherwell, their captain, wicketkeeper and No. 11, and AW "Dave" Nourse, to beat a scandalously weak England team. South Africa won the next two Tests as well, and took the series 4-1.

1936
Clarrie Grimmett's 190th Test wicket, for Australia v South Africa in Cape Town on this day, overtook the total reached by the great Sydney Barnes, also in South Africa, in 1913-14

2016
Chris Gayle found himself at the centre of an ugly storm of his own making when he made sexist remarks to a pitch-side reporter on camera during the BBL. Interviewed by Channel Ten's Mel McLaughlin after his dismissal in a game for the Melbourne Renegades, Gayle said, "I wanted to come and have an interview with you as well. That's the reason why I'm here, just to see your eyes for the first time. It's nice so… Hopefully we can win this game and have a drink after. Don't blush, baby." Gayle was fined A$10,000 by the Renegades for his remarks. He had previously got off scot-free after a similar incident in the Caribbean Premier League in 2014, when, asked by a female reporter about the surface his team would be playing on in the next game, he replied: "Well, I haven't touched yours yet so I don't know how it feels."

© ESPN SPORTS MEDIA LTD.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Kumar Sangakkara have scored 50-plus in both innings of the Test 12 times in their career.

January 5 down the year....

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi makes his entrance

1941
Birth of Mansur Ali Khan, aka the Nawab of Pataudi junior. The Nawab of Pataudi senior had scored a Test century for England, but his son "Tiger" played exclusively for India, 40 times as captain (in 46 Tests), scoring 2793 runs and six centuries. Not bad for someone whose Test career didn't begin until a car crash had cost him the sight in one eye. Pataudi Jr was credited with the strategy that saw India play a spin-heavy attack for much of the 1970s, and it was under him that they won their first Test overseas, against New Zealand in 1968. Pataudi, arguably India's finest captain, first took charge in 1962, at 21, becoming the youngest captain in Tests, a record that stood for over 40 years. He retired in 1975, and served as a match eferee between 1993 aon in 2011.

2022
Bangladesh pulled off one of the all-time-great upsets when they beat world Test champions New Zealand by eight wickets in Mount Maunganui. Fast bowler Ebadot Hossain was the hero, ripping through the home side in their second innings to take six wickets, bowling them out for 169. Earlier in the game, Mominul Haque and Liton Das set the platform with a fifth-wicket stand of 158 that took their team 130 runs ahead on first innings. For Bangladesh, who were coming off a wretched run, having won just three Tests of their 15 over a three-year period, it was only the sixth win in Tests away from home. It was also their first win in New Zealand in any format, and it brought to an end a 17-match unbeaten streak at home for New Zealand.

1971
In the first ever one-day international, in Melbourne, John Edrich was Man of the Match for his top score of 82, but England's bowlers were too expensive to stop Australia winning by five wickets. The match was played only because the third Test had been washed out. To the astonishment of the Australian board, 46,000 turned up - it was then they realised that this one-day malarkey might be a good, money-spinning idea.

2007
Australia drubbed England 5-0 in the Ashes - only the second whitewash in the bilateral contest - with a win in the final Test in Sydney. It was a fitting way to get over the loss in 2005, and also a fitting farewell for Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer - the Test careers of all three came to a close with the series.

2014
Seven years later, they whitewashed England again. They did it in style, wiping the floor with the old enemy to the tune of 281 runs on day three of the fifth Test, in Sydney. It brought to a close a one-sided series that gave the lie to the 3-0 scoreline in England's favour the previous summer. Mitchell Johnson was head and shoulders a deserving Man of the Series for his 37 wickets at an eye-popping 13.97 each. In Sydney, as at points earlier in the tour, England flattered to deceive when they had Australia on the mat at 97 for 5 in the first innings, only for Steve Smith to come to the rescue with his second century of the series. In the fourth Test, in Melbourne, Chris Rogers, another of Australia's finds of the series, swung the deal with a fifty and a hundred, and Nathan Lyon chipped in with five wickets in England's second innings. The lone bright spot in the visitors' ill-starred campaign (which featured the retirement of Graeme Swann after the series was lost 3-0 in Perth) was debutant allrounder Ben Stokes, who took 15 wickets and made 279 runs in the four matches he played.

1993
A maiden, and epic, Test century for Brian Lara turned into a crucial and commanding one, the first of nine against Australia. Wisden described his 277 in Sydney as an innings of "breathtaking quality" which turned a series that was slipping from West Indies. Richie Richardson, who scored a century of his own, later said: "I can hardly remember my hundred. It was difficult playing and being a spectator at the same time." At the close on the third day Lara had made 124.

2016
The day a Mumbai schoolboy scored over 1000 runs, in one innings. Pranav Dhanawade, 15, smashed an unbeaten 1009 not out off 327 deliveries to notch up the highest individual score in minor cricket, breaking a 117-year-old record, going past Albert Collins' 628 not out, scored in 1899. Representing Smt KC Gandhi School, Dhanwade hit 129 fours and 59 sixes against Arya Gurukul. He ended the opening day of the two-day game on 652 and went past 1000 in the second session on the final day before his team declared their innings at 1465 for 3.

1904
England won by 185 runs in Melbourne thanks to the slow left-arm of Wilfred Rhodes, who took 7 for 56 and 8 for 68. Australia's totals would have been much lower if eight catches hadn't been dropped off Rhodes' bowling.

2021
South Africa put paid to Sri Lanka in two days and a bit to sweep the Test series 2-0 with a ten-wicket win in Johannesburg. Sri Lanka, with their injury list nearly in the double digits, were not expected to make waves, but in the event, Dimuth Karunaratne notched up his first Test hundred in South Africa. For the home side, Anrich Nortje, bowling fast and short, had a six-for; and Dean Elgar made a century in his team's first innings, and led the small fourth-innings chase at breakneck speed.

1928
One of Pakistan's early stalwarts was born. Wicketkeeper, batter and captain, Imtiaz Ahmed played in 41 Tests from 1952-53 to 1962, making 93 dismissals, including seven catches, all off Fazal Mahmood, in Pakistan's first Test win against England, at The Oval in 1954. The highest of his three Test centuries was 209, at No. 8, against New Zealand in Lahore in 1955-56.

1937
You can't keep Don Bradman off these pages. Here at MCG he shared another huge stand against England, adding 346 with Jack Fingleton, then the highest stand for the sixth wicket.

1962
Birth of Brendon Kuruppu, who set two Test records while making his debut for Sri Lanka, against New Zealand at the Colombo Cricket Club. His 201 was at the time the highest not-out score by a batter playing in his first Test, let alone his first Test innings and it was the slowest Test double-ton of all time. Kuruppu's innings lasted 777 minutes, which must be some kind of devil's number as it is three minutes short of 13 hours. He kept wicket too, so he had his pads on for the entire match.

1984
In his final Test innings, against Pakistan in Sydney, Greg Chappell signed off a great career with an innings of 182. Against West Indies eight years earlier, he'd made the same score on the same ground on the same day.

1941
Bob Cunis, an honest seamer and lower-order scrapper, played 20 Tests for New Zealand between 1964 and 1972 with limited success. He made only one fifty and took only one five-for, the latter against England in Auckland in 1970-71, when he bowled Alan Knott four runs short of a second hundred in the match. Cunis went on to coach New Zealand for a time, and in his playing days was also a very handy rugby three-quarter.

1996
After being called for throwing in a Test match (see December 26), Muthiah Muralidaran had to suffer the same humiliation in a one-day international, against West Indies in Brisbane.

2017
South Africa marched to an unassailable 2-0 series lead, crushing Sri Lanka by 282 runs in the New Year Test at Newlands. Kagiso Rabada was the standout performer, with match figures of 10 for 92, while Vernon Philander kept his record at the venue intact with 7 for 75, taking his ground figures to 57 wickets at 18.73. The platform had been laid by Dean Elgar's solid top-order hundred in the first innings. Sri Lanka's batters could not follow his lead, and looked out of their depth in seamer-friendly conditions.

© ESPN SPORTS MEDIA LTD.

STATS ANALYSIS

Stats - England and their four centurions break a 112-year Test record

The run fest in Rawalpindi against Pakistan threw up some amazing number

506 for 4 England's total at stumps in Rawalpindi. They bettered a record that has stood since 1910 to become the first team to cross the 500-run mark on the first day of a Test match. England's tally of 506 is also the second-most scored by any team in a single day of Test cricket, behind Sri Lanka's 509 on day two against Bangladesh in 2002.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

1 England became the first team ever to end day one of a Test match with four centurions. Australia managed three - once in 1884 against England and once in 2012 against South Africa.

2 Previous instances of four centurions for England in a Test innings: 1938 against Australia and 2007 against West Indies.

1 This is the first-ever instance of four or more batters scoring a hundred in a Test innings against Pakistan.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

174 Runs scored by England before lunch in Rawalpindi, the second-most in the first session of a Test match (where known). The highest is 179 in a 41-over session by South Africa against Australia in 1902.

233 Partnership runs between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, the highest opening stand for England in Tests since 273 between Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss against South Africa in 2004. It is the eighth-highest opening stand for England in Test cricket and the sixth-highest by any team against Pakistan.

6.53 Run-rate of the partnership between Crawley and Duckett. It is the fastest double-century opening partnership in Test cricket and the third-fastest for any wicket. The previous quickest first-wicket stand, in terms of run-rate, was 6.29 between Joe Burns and David Warner against New Zealand in 2015.

80 Balls for Harry Brook to score a hundred, the third-fastest in for England Test cricket. Gilbert Jessop scored a 76-ball century against Australia in 1902, while Jonny Bairstow took 77 balls against New Zealand earlier this year. Brook's hundred is also the second-fastest by any batter against Pakistan in Pakistan, behind Brian Lara's 77-ball century in Multan in 2006.

5 batters to hit six fours in an over. Brook joins the list after clattering Saud Shakeel to all parts in Rawalpindi. The last time such a thing happened was 2007, when Sanath Jayasuriya took a liking to James Anderson.

3 Players with a century in less than 100 balls for England - Brook (80), Crawley (86) and Ollie Pope (90). That's another first in Test cricket. The closest anything gets to this record is the 2006 Lahore Test where three rapid centuries were split between players of two different teams: Shahid Afridi (78), Kamran Akmal (81) and Virender Sehwag (93).

2 Players with a quicker maiden Test century than Brook's 80-ball effort: Colin de Grandhomme (71) and Jessop (76)

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Scoring 500 or more in First innings but Beaten in test its happen 8 times

6 instances when teams lost despite scoring 500 in the first innings

If a team registers a total in excess of 500 in the very first innings of a Test match, they are often considered the favourites to win the match. However, things may not always be all that easy if the opposition team is determined to give a tough fight and possibly turn the tables.

#6 Australia beat England by 6 wickets, Adelaide, 2006/07 Ashes

England 1st innings score – 551 for 6 dec.

This was the follow-up series to the iconic 2005 Ashes series where England had scripted an unforgettable 2-1 win against the odds. The Australians were clearly out for revenge and started off the series with a majestic 277-run victory in the first Test at Brisbane.

In the second Test at Adelaide, though, the momentum looked to be tilting back in England’s favour as they batted first and rode a double century from Paul Collingwood to register a massive total of 551 for 6 in their first innings.

However, the hosts were up for the challenge and managed to notch up 513 runs, courtesy of centuries from Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke. This was followed by an inspired bowling performance, led by Shane Warne’s 4 for 49, which helped dismiss the English for just 129.

With just 168 runs to chase in the 4th innings, the Aussies went about their business at a brisk pace and finished the game in 32.5 overs with 6 wickets still intact.

#5 England beat Australia by 10 runs, Sydney, 1894/95 Ashes

The England team led by Andrew Stoddart which pulled off the great win

Australia 1st innings score – 586 all out

The 1894/95 Ashes series was a closely-fought one with England emerging eventual winners by a 3-2 margin. The 1st Test of the series was played at the Sydney Cricket Ground and the home side decided to bat first after skipper Jack Blackham won the toss.

Everything went well for Australia as a double century from Syd Gregory and 161 by George Giffen propelled their first innings score to 586. The English batsmen fought hard but were unable to reach anywhere the Aussie total and ended up getting dismissed for 325.

Following on in their 2nd innings, England lifted their performance with the bat and managed to post 437 runs on the board. Opening batsman Albert Ward top-scored for them with 117 and there were important contributions from Jack Brown, Francis Ford and Johny Briggs.

Chasing 177 to win in the 4th innings, the Australians were cruising to victory at 130 for 2. However, things took a turn for the worse as they lost their last 8 wickets for only 36 runs and handed England an unlikely 10-run victory.

#4 South Africa beat Australia by 6 wickets, Melbourne, 1953

Roy McLean(left) and Hugh Tayfield starred for South Africa in their famous win

Australia 1st innings score – 520 all out

South Africa toured Australia in the 1952/53 season for a 5-match Test series which turned out to be an exciting affair. With the home side leading 2-1 after the first 4 Tests, the final one at Melbourne was a must-win game for the visitors.

The Australians batted brilliantly in the 1st innings of the match led by Neil Harvey’s 205 and recorded a score of 520. The Proteas responded strongly by putting 435 on the board, thanks to half-centuries from as many as 5 of their batsmen.

A five-wicket haul by pacer Eddie Fuller ensured that Australia were all out for 209 in their 2nd innings, leaving South Africa with a target of 295 runs to win the match. An unbeaten 76 by Roy McLean accompanied by fifties from Russell Endean and John Watkins saw them home with 6 wickets in hand.

The victory meant that the South Africans denied the Aussies a series win by drawing level 2-2.

#3 Australia beat England by 5 wickets, Melbourne, 1928/29 Ashes

Donald Bradman led the way for Australia in their victory

England 1st innings score – 519 all out

A large part of the 1928/29 Ashes was dominated by the England side as they won the first 4 Tests of a 5-match series. The tourists were favourites to win the final Test, too, as hundreds from Jack Hobbs and Maurice Leyland took their 1st innings score to a huge 519.

The Australians, though, had nothing to lose and ran the English total close by putting 491 runs on the board when they batted. England’s 2nd innings, though, saw an inspired bowling performance from the home bowlers as they managed to dismiss the tourists for 257.

With 286 runs required to win their only Test in the series, the Aussie batsman kept eating away at the target despite losing wickets at regular intervals. In the end, it was an unbeaten 6th wicket partnership of 83 runs between Donald Bradman and Jack Ryder which ensured a 5-wicket win for Australia.

#2 England beat West Indies by 7 wickets, Port of Spain, 1968

Geoffrey Boycott was the hero during England’s 4th innings run chase

West Indies 1st innings score – 526 for 7 dec.

The 4th Test of a 5-match series between West Indies and England back in 1968 was an important one as the first 3 matches had ended in draws. The toss was won by the home side and they had no hesitation in batting first and putting the English team under pressure.

Rohan Kanhai and Seymour Nurse scored 153 and 136 respectively as the West Indians amassed 526 for 7 in their 1st innings. The England response was a strong one but they still managed to fall short of the opposition’s total by 122 runs.

In their second innings, West Indies declared quickly at 92 for 2 and England were required to score 215 runs in quick time to register a win. Geoffrey Boycott and Colin Cowdrey led the charge for the Englishmen and put together 118 runs for the 2nd wicket.

Even after Cowdrey was dismissed for 71, Boycott was unfazed and took his team across the line by 7 wickets. The victory proved to be a decisive one as England won the series 1-0.

#1 India beat Australia by 4 wickets, Adelaide, 2003/04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Rahul Dravid made history for India at Adelaide in 2003

Australia 1st innings score – 556 all out

One of India’s greatest victories on foreign soil came against Australia at Adelaide during the 2003/04 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. However, no one would have imagined that they would win the match considering the fact that the Aussies scored 556 in their first innings after batting first.

The scenario changed completely when the Indians batted, though, as a brilliant 233 from Rahul Dravid led them a total of 523. Things only got worse for Australia in their 2nd innings as Ajit Agarkar’s spell of 6 for 41 ensured that the hosts folded up for 196.

Also read: Stats: India don't win Test matches abroad, but neither do others

Although India were under constant pressure while chasing 230 for a famous victory, an ice-cool Dravid did a hero turn once again by anchoring the chase with an unbeaten 72. The Indian team emerged victorious by 7 wickets and took an unlikely 1-0 lead in the 4-match series.

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Bangladesh scored 595/8 declared in nz vs nz.shakib hits 217 & Mominul 159.

Nz posted 539 with Latham hits 177.

But 2nd Innings BD 160 all out ).on Day 5

Williamson hits 100 as nz beat BD

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