Know him? Here is Angelo Mathews in 2009, his first year in highest internationals, in England during the T20 World Cup[/caption]
1904 - Birth of John Weissmuller in Timisoara, Romania. He was an actor (Tarzan) and a 100m swimmer (Olympic gold in 1924 and 1928)
1908 - Birth of a man who went on to become the oldest living Test cricketer. New Zealand batsman Lindsay “Dad” Weir inherited the title when England’s Alf Gover died in October 2001 and held it until his death in October 2003, aged 95
1865 - Birth of one of the greatest bowlers of all time, George Lohmann. His stats are jaw-dropping: In 18 Tests, he took 112 wickets at the average of 10.75. To put that in context: nobody else with 70 Test wickets has an average below 15
1965 - The Waugh brothers are born in the Sydney suburb of Bankstown. Steve, about four minutes older than Mark, made his Test Debut five years before his brother. Mark had been called up to replace Steve, but they eventually became the first male twins to play in a Test together; in all they did it 108 times.
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Happy birthday Jayantha Silva, the first to play Test cricket from Holy Cross College, Kalutara![/caption]
1973 - Birth of Jayantha Silva, the Sri Lankan left-arm spinner whose seven-Test career divided into two extremes. In three Tests against Zimbabwe he took 16 wickets at an average of 10.12, including a couple of match-winning hands in Colombo in 1996-97. But in four Tests against India, Australia, and Pakistan, Silva was plundered for four wickets at an average of 121.25!
1987 - Birth of Sri Lankan all-rounder Angelo Mathews, who blew India away with six for 19 in a one-dayer at the R. Premadasa in 2009. A year later, he was the driving force in the world-record stand of 132 for the ninth wicket with Lasith Malinga in an ODI that Sri Lanka won by one wicket at the MCG. In February 2013, he became Sri Lanka’s youngest Test Captain, at 25. In June the next year, Mathews led them to their first series victory in England, scoring hundreds in both Tests
1989 - Birth of Steven Smith, who started out as a leg-spinner who was handy with the bat but then turned into batter extraordinaire. Smith was temporarily in charge of the team in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke against India, made a century in each of the four Tests - the only batsman after Jacques Kallis to do so in a series of four matches or more. His scores in the 2017-18 Ashes, which Australia swept 4-0, were 141 n.o., 40, six, 239, 76, 102 n.o., and 83. Shortly after, came the fall: In Cape Town in March 2018, with the series tied 1-1, Australia were caught tampering with the ball. Smith and his Vice Captain David Warner were banned for a year for the transgression
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John Weissmuller is the Tarzan. But do you know he was the gold medal winner in 100m swimming in 1924 Paris and 1928 Amsterdam Olympics?[/caption]