On This Day In Cricket - December 17

For cricket fans, 17 December is a special day with many important events that happened on this day, which started careers, shattered records and even changed the game.  This date has seen it all, from the births of South African great Aubrey Faulkner and Indian great Syed Mushtaq Ali to Bill Ponsford's highest individual score in first-class cricket and Sir Don Bradman's first-class debut.  On the same day, AB de Villiers made his Test debut, Sai Sudharsan made his ODI debut, and bowlers like Nathan Lyon and Arshdeep Singh had great games.  Let’s have a look at these historical cricket moments that make this date even more special for cricket fans.

On This Day - December 17, 1881 - South Africa’s Great All-Rounder Faulkner Was Born

South Africa's first and finest all-round cricketer Aubrey Faulkner was born on this day in 1881 in Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony. Falkuar was one of those inspirational individuals whose career was crucial in establishing South Africa's standing in Test cricket against strong teams like England and Australia. He was born even before the nation's first Test match in 1889 and laid the foundation of Test cricket for his nation.

Faulkner was known for his aggressive right-handed batting, effective leg-break and googly bowling and brilliant fielding. In his cricket journey from 1906 to 1924, he played 25 Test matches and scored a total of 1754 runs and took 82 wickets. One of his notable achievements includes becoming the first South African to score a double century against Australia in a Test match in Adelaide in 1911. His all-rounding skills made him an asset for the team, who was capable of turning the match in favour with both bat and ball.

On This Day - December 17, 1927 - Bill Ponsford Completes World Record Score of 437

Australian batsman Bill Ponsford completed the highest individual innings score ever recorded in first-class cricket on 17 December 1927. While playing for Victoria against Queensland in a Sheffield Shield match at Melbourne Ground, Ponsford scored a huge total of 437 runs. This extraordinary performance set a new world record for the highest individual score in the format and surpassing his own previous world record of 429. This match was a remarkable fixture in the Australian domestic calendar, which shows the premier talent of the era.

Ponsford's innings lasted for a phenomenal 10 hours and 21 minutes over two days. Just two years later in January 1930, Sir Donald Bradman surpassed this score with an unbeaten 452.  Ponsford's 437 highlights his legendary batting skills and which gave Victoria's stunning victory.

On This Day - December 17, 1927 - Don Bradman’s Century on First-Class Debut

On the very same day in 1927, widely regarded as the greatest batsman in cricket history, Sir Don Bradman made his remarkable entry into first-class cricket by scoring a century on his debut match. In a match against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval, the young man from New South Wales showed the signs of his extraordinary talent and composure in the Sheffield Shield competition. This match proved to be a life-changing performance in his career, which confirmed his ability and immediately drew attention across Australia.

Came to bat at number 7, Bradman batted for 188 minutes on the crease and scored a total of 118 runs with 8 fours. In the second innings, he scored 33 runs before being bowled by the notable leg-spinner Clarrie Grimmett. Bradman was the 20th Australian batsman to score a century in his first first-class match and started a legendary cricket career.

On This Day - December 17, 1933 - Lala Amarnath Scored India’s First Test Century

Lala Amarnath scored India's first Test century on 17 December 1933 against England with an innings of 118 runs on his debut match. This match was the first Test of England's tour of India in 1934-1935 and was played at Bombay Gymkhana. This century was not only India's first but also the first Test century scored by any player from Asia and was achieved by Amarnath under the captaincy of C.K. Nayudu.

Amarnath formed a crucial 186-run partnership with captain C.K. Nayudu, where he scored 118 runs off 185 balls, including 21 fours. India scored 219 and 258 runs in both innings, while England scored 438 in their first innings and 40 runs for the loss of one wicket in their second innings and secured the victory.

On This Day - December 17, 1914 - Syed Mushtaq Ali Was Born

Syed Mushtaq Ali, the first Indian to score a Test century overseas, was born on 17 December 1914 in Indore. He played this innings of 112 runs against England at Old Trafford in Manchester in 1936. In that match, he shared a partnership of 203 runs with opener Vijay Merchant, which garnered considerable attention for him. Mushtaq Ali also played domestic cricket primarily for Madhya Pradesh, Central India and Bengal.

International cricket was played very little during World War II, which resulted in the loss of several crucial years of Mushtaq Ali's career. In his cricket career from 1934 to 1952, he played only 11 Test matches, scoring a total of 612 runs at an average of 32.21, including two centuries and three half-centuries. His first-class record was impressive, where he scored a total of 13,213 runs in 226 matches at an average of 35.81, including 30 centuries. India's premier domestic T20 tournament the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is named after him in tribute to his aggressive batting style.

On This Day - December 17, 2004 - AB de Villiers Makes Test Debut

AB de Villiers made his Test debut against England at St George's Park in South Africa on 17 December 2004 at the age of just 20. Batting at number 6, he scored 28 runs in the first innings and 14 runs in the second innings for South Africa. Along with de Villiers, Dale Steyn also debuted in this match for South Africa and took 3 wickets.

De Villiers did not score many runs in the first matches of his Test debut, but in the last match of the same series, he played a very powerful innings, in which he scored 92 runs with 15 fours in the first innings and 109 runs with 11 fours in the second innings. In his Test career from 2004 to 2018, he played a total of 114 matches, scoring 8765 runs with a highest score of 278 not out and 22 centuries.

On This Day - December 17, 2023 - Nathan Lyon Claims 500th Test Wicket in Perth

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon took his 500th Test wicket on 17 December 2023 during the first Test match against Pakistan at Perth Stadium. After this historic achievement, Australia defeated Pakistan by a huge margin of 360 runs. In the first match of Australia vs Pakistan being played at Perth Stadium in Australia, Lyon achieved this position by taking the wicket of Pakistani Lyon Faheem Ashraf and became the third bowler of Australia and the eighth bowler in the world who has taken 500 or more Test wickets.

Lyon's journey began as a groundsman, from where he made his place in the Australian Test team and also created the record of playing 100 consecutive Test matches. He was the third Australian bowler to take 500 wickets in Tests after Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath. He has played a total of 114+ games in his Test career and has become one of Australia's greatest bowlers with 24 five-wicket hauls in an innings. His 50 for 8 against India in Bangalore in 2017 is the best by any foreign spinner in the subcontinent.

On This Day - December 17, 2023 - Arshdeep Singh and Sai Sudharsan Made History

In the match played between India and South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on 17 December 17 2023, Arshdeep Singh and Sai Sudharsan won everyone's hearts with their performances. Arshdeep Singh became the first Indian fast bowler to take five wickets in an ODI against South Africa, while Sai Sudharsan delighted the fans with an unbeaten knock of 55 runs on his ODI debut.

In the first innings of the match, Arshdeep took the wickets of Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Tony de Zorzi, Heinrich Klaasen and Andile Phehlukwayo and earned the Player of the Match award. In the second innings, debutant Sudharsan shared a 55-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer (52) and played a brilliant unbeaten knock with 9 fours to help India chase down the small target of 117 runs with ease by 8 wickets.

On This Day - December 17, 2023 - South Africa Records One of Lowest Home ODI Totals

South Africa were all out for just 116 runs in the first ODI against India played in Johannesburg on 17 December 2023. The South African batting lineup collapsed like a house of cards against the Indian fast bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan. This is the same match where Arshdeep earned the record of being the first Indian fast bowler to take five wickets in an ODI against South Africa. Batting first, South Africa was all out for only 116 runs in 27.3 overs. This was South Africa's lowest score in ODI cricket on their home ground.

However, being bowled out for the lowest total wasn’t new for South Africa. Their lowest score in international ODI cricket is 69, which they made against Australia in Sydney in 1993. Before this match, South Africa's lowest score against India was 83, which they made in Kolkata during the 2023 World Cup. This score of 116 runs is their fourth-lowest total against India.