November 23 is the date that has seen the birth of some of the most brilliant players in cricket history. Apart from this, there are some big events recorded on this day. This article will cover all the big events that took place in cricket on November 23.
1855: Former English cricketer Walter Read was born. He set the record for the highest score by a No. 10 in test cricket. Read scored 117 runs off 155 balls against Australia in August 1884 at the Oval. That record is still alive even after approximately 140 years. In that game, he added 151 with William Scotton, which is still England’s highest ninth-wicket stand in an Ashes test. Read played 18 tests and scored 720 runs between 1882 and 1893.
1956: Former Kiwi opener Bruce Edgar was born. He played 39 Tests and 64 ODIs between 1978 and 1986 and scored 1958 and 1814 runs, respectively. After leading New Zealand to a series victory on the England tour in 1986, he retired at 29. Edgar was the first batter to remain unbeaten on 99 in an ODI game against India in 1981 in Auckland.
1958: Former Kiwi pacer Martin Snedden was born. He had a decent domestic career but didn’t get success at the international level, taking on Fifer in 25 tests. His only fifer (5/68) came against West Indies in Christchurch, which helped New Zealand win the series in 1986–87. He took 58 tests and 114 ODI wickets between 1980 and 1990.
1961: Former Australian legend Merv Hughes, who was infamous for his sledging, drinking, and moustache, was born. Hughes was a quick bowler who played 53 tests and 33 ODIs between 1985 and 1994. His competitive approach made him a pretty difficult bowler to face. Hughes took 212 tests and 38 ODI wickets. His best of 13/217 came in Perth against the West Indies, when he took a hat-trick but the game ended in a losing cause. These are the second-best figures in a loss.
1967: One of the best South African openers, Gary Kirsten was born on this day. He was considered South Africa’s best batter during his career. He played his first test against Australia in December 1993 at the MCG. In his only second game in Sydney, he made 67 and 41 to help his team win the game. Kirsten scored 21 test centuries, and 8 of those were over 150. He was the first South African to score 7,000 test runs. Kirsten made 7289 and 6798 runs in tests and ODIs, for a total of 34 international centuries.
1974: A bizarre incident of a game being stopped due to politics. It happened during the Ashes 1974, when Lord Mayor of Brisbane and member of the cricket ground trust Clem Jones sacked the Gabba curator when he denied preparing the pitch and rolled sideways. He took the job himself, and that decision ended in Australia’s favor as they won the game by 166 runs and the series 4-1.
1991: Pakistani star Ahmed Shehzad was born on this day. He played his first first-class game at 15. He became the first Pakistani batter to score a T20I century when he made 111 not out against Bangladesh in the 2014 T20 World Cup. This century also helped him become the first Pakistani to score a hundred in all three formats. But after a ban in 2018 after failing a doping test, he was completely sidelined from the team.
1996: India and South Africa produced a thrilling game in Ahmedabad when India registered a 64-run win. India made 223 runs, and South Africa replied with 244 in the first inning. In the second innings, India got all out for 190 and gave the visitors a target of 170 runs. But Javagal Srinath bowled an exceptional spell of 6/21, and South Africa were dismissed for 105 runs in 38.5 overs, and India won.
November 23 Birthdays
1858 Frank Hearne (England/South Africa)
1872 Billy Frank (South Africa)
1935 Ken Eastwood (Australia)
1953 Martin Kent (Australia)
1960 Jayananda Warnaweera (Sri Lanka)
1964 Kapila Wijegunewardene (Sri Lanka)
1987 Dhiman Ghosh (Bangladesh)
1992 Navdeep Saini (India)
November 23 Debuts
1989 Nadeem Abbasi (PAK), Naved Anjum (PAK), Vivek Razdan (IND)
2000 Marlon Black (WI)
2002 Barney Rogers (ZIM), Kamran Akmal (PAK), Richard Sims (ZIM), Stuart Matsikenyeri (ZIM)
2007 Dale Steyn (SA), Gareth Hopkins (NZ), Jamie How (NZ)
2010 Suranga Lakmal (SL)
2017 Cameron Bancroft (AUS)