April 24 down the years

Tendulkar is born

A legend arrives

Started life as a Test player at 16, retired at 40  •  BCCI

Started life as a Test player at 16, retired at 40  •  BCCI

1973
Few players have been so destined for greatness from such an early age as Sachin Tendulkar, who was born today: at 12 he eased to a century for his school in the Under-17 Harris Shield; at 14 he added a world-record 664 with Vinod Kambli (in the course of a run of scores of 207, 329 and 346, all not out); at 15 he made a century on his first-class debut for Bombay; at 16 he made his Test debut, against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989-90; at 17 he stroked a sublime maiden century to save the Old Trafford Test of 1990. Tendulkar went on to fulfil all the promise of his youthful talent. In 2000 he became the first batter to score 50 international hundreds; in 2003 he aggregated 673 runs in the World Cup, a record that stood for 20 years; in 2008 he went past Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer; and in the following years he went on to make just shy of 16,000 Test runs and 34,357 international runs. At well over 36 years of age he broke a 40-year-old barrier by scoring the first double-century in one-day cricket. He holds the records for most runs and hundreds in both Tests and ODIs and is the only batter to have made a hundred international centuries, marks that look set to stand forever. He retired from Tests in November 2013 after an emotional farewell at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
1905
On the day the Little Master was born, the original Master, Jack Hobbs, made his first-class debut. Batting for Surrey against the Gentlemen of England at The Oval, Hobbs made 18 and 88, top-scoring in both innings. It was the start of something beautiful: Hobbs went on to make 61,237 first-class runs, a record that will surely never be broken.
1970
If he was born anywhere but Australia, Damien Fleming might have made three or four times his 20 Test appearances. A high-quality swing bowler, he took a hat-trick in his first Test, in Rawalpindi in 1994-95, and in the same winter displaced Glenn McGrath in the national team. As well as being the joker of the Australian squad, Fleming was a useful tailender, and spanked 71 not out against England in Brisbane in 1998-99, his highest first-class score.
1978
An innovator is born. Whatever he did in the rest of his career, Zimbabwe allrounder Doug Marillier will be known for the Marillier shot, a lap-scoop over the wicketkeeper off the quicker bowlers that was the predecessor of similar shots that became run of the mill in T20 later in the 21st century, Marillier used the stroke devastating effect in a famous one-day victory in Faridabad during the 2001-02 tour. He quit Zimbabwe cricket in March 2004 and headed to England before returning home in 2010 to play domestic cricket.
2015
Nearly 16 years after their first ODI win over Pakistan - think back to the 1999 World Cup - Bangladesh registered their first series victory over them, sweeping the three games. For good measure, on this day, they won the one-off T20 that followed as well. Back-to-back centuries from opener Tamim Iqbal were decisive; wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim also crafted typically handy knocks in all three games, consigning Pakistan to defeat in the first series they played without the services of Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi, both of whom had quit the format after the 2015 World Cup.
1971
A Sri Lankan World Cup-winner is born. Kumar Dharmasena was a key component of the 1996 side, strangling the life out of teams along with Muthiah Muralidaran in the middle overs, and in the final he grabbed the crucial wicket of Steve Waugh. It's an irony that Dharmasena, a bowler who batted, only ever really won a Test with the bat: in Sri Lanka's famous series win in Pakistan in 1995-96, he played crucial innings of 49 and 62 not out in their victories in Faisalabad and Sialkot. He retired from competitive cricket in November 2006 to pursue a career in umpiring, standing in the 2019 World Cup final among other famous games.
1940
In Inverness, Scotland, an England seamer was born. Northamptonshire's 6ft 7in David Larter had an outstanding Test debut when he took nine Pakistan wickets at The Oval in 1962. He never really reached those heights again, though, and his second five-for came in the last of his ten Tests, the defeat to South Africa at Trent Bridge in 1965. Injuries plagued his career and he retired before he turned 30, ending with the unfortunate total of 666 first-class wickets.
1954
An Edgbaston folk hero is born. The meaty Warwickshire wicketkeeper Geoff Humpage was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and a popular figure throughout his career. He played three one-day internationals against Australia in 1981 but managed only 11 runs. This was out of character, because Humpage could certainly bat: he had a first-class average of 36 and a top score of 254. He also went on the rebel tour to South Africa in 1981-82. He became a police constable after his retirement.
Other birthdays
1934 Allen Aylett (Australia)
1940 William Lawry (England)
1966 M Venkataramana (India)
1975 MSK Prasad (India)