August 31 down the years

Swansea sixes

Garry Sobers began that over with a six, liked the feel of it, and repeated it five times © Getty Images

September 1 | August 30

1968
A day that Malcolm Nash would rather forget. Bowling for Glamorgan against Nottinghamshire inSwansea, he was smashed for six sixes in an over by Garry Sobers, the first time anyone had managed the maximum off a six-ball over. With Nottinghamshire heading towards a declaration, Sobers was looking for quick runs. Left-armer Nash, who was experimenting with left-arm spin rather than bowling in his usual medium-pace style, had Sobers caught on the long-on boundary on the fifth ball but the fielder, Roger Davis, toppled over the rope still clutching the ball. In 1977, Nash was hit for 34 off an over by Frank Hayes, also in Swansea.

1944
That mighty hitter and allround cool dude Clive Lloyd was born. He bludgeoned 7515 Test runs with that oversized bat of his but will be remembered mainly as the man who restored West Indies to a position of dominance. Captain in 74 of his 110 Tests, he led them to a record 27 without defeat which included a "blackwash" of England in 1984. Before bad knees took their toll, he was also one of the great cover fielders.

1969
Few bowlers have had less luck in a Test series than India's strike bowler Javagal Srinath, who was born today. His 11 wickets against England in 1996 cost him 39.36 each - but, as Wisden remarked, these figures "did him no sort of justice." He suffered from dropped catches, and beat the bat so often it became monotonous. Srinath had happier moments after, taking 6 for 21 in Ahmedabad in 1996-97 and 13 wickets, including 8 for 86, against Pakistan in Calcutta in 1998-99. He announced his retirement in November 2003, with 236 Test wickets to his name.

1998
The end of Murali's match. Aided by a parched surface that could have come straight from his hometown of Kandy, Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 for 220 as Sri Lanka thrashed England by ten wickets in this one-off Test at The Oval. Aided by big hundreds from Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva, Murali was utterly mesmeric ... to everyone except David Lloyd, whose murmurs about Murali's action threatened to tarnish an unforgettable display.

1965
Needing 91 to win with 70 minutes left at The Oval, England were frustrated by the weather. So South Africa escaped with a draw that gave them the three-match series 1-0. This was the last day of Test cricket they played in England until 1994.

1981
The destination of the Ashes had been decided by Ian Botham when the sixth and final Test took place was played at The Oval - but the match meant a lot to one Australian. Dirk Wellham, a diabetic who played in glasses, made his Test debut and scored 103 in the second innings. He owed his debut ton to a rather better-known batsman: Geoff Boycott dropped him when he was on 99. His partnership of 86 with wicketkeeper Rod Marsh is still the highest for Australia's sixth wicket at The Oval. Wellham was the only man to captain three Australian states - New South Wales, Tasmania and Queensland - but moves for him to replace Allan Border as Australian captain came to nothing.

1937
A fractious end to the London derby between Middlesex and Surrey at Lord's after Percy Holmes, Surrey's captain, deliberately bowled wides and no-balls to try to speed up the taking of the new ball (which at the time was done on runs scored rather than overs bowled). The crowd made clear their displeasure, Middlesex's batsmen started wasting time, fielders refused to stop the ball and the situation. The umpires then pulled up the stumps, claiming that they had upheld an appeal against the light. The ground was bathed in sunshine.

1979
Death of a high-class wicketkeeper who went on to become one of the characters of the game. EJ "Tiger" Smith lived to be 93, which made him a favourite subject for interviews about the distant past. In his 11 Tests for England, he made 20 dismissals. He made seven in one Derbyshire innings at Edgbaston in 1926. Back in 1911, he helped Warwickshire win the Championship for the first time.

1974
England opener and future national team coach David Lloyd scored 116 in a Prudential Trophy match at Trent Bridge - but that glorious strokemaker Majid Khan replied with 109 in 93 balls to win the match for Pakistan by seven wickets.

Other birthdays
1965 Willie Watson (New Zealand)
1975 Craig Cumming (New Zealand)