The month of December has always been a busy one as far as cricket is concerned, with a large number of the major cricket playing nations battling against each other ahead of the festive period. This year is no different with India and England taking on each other while Trans-Tasman rivals Australia and New Zealand are also locked in battle.
The festive month, especially today, the 6th of December is also the birthday of many great cricketers, past and present, with England’s Andrew Flintoff and India’s Ravindra Jadeja the standout names in the list of cricketers born today. Let’s take a look at an XI of cricketers who have their birthdays on December 6.
#1 Shreyas Iyer
The talented Mumbai cricketer is one to look out for in the future and had a memorable Ranji Trophy debut scoring 809 runs at an average of above 50. He went one better in the 2015-16 season, scoring 1321 runs including four centuries and though he has failed to reproduce the heroics this time around, the 22-year-old is certainly destined to make his mark for India sooner rather than later.
#2 Cyril Washbrook
Cyril Washbrook was a former English cricketer who played his entire first-class cricket for Lancashire. Spanning across 26 years, Washbrook played 592 first-class matches scoring runs at an average above 42, including 76 centuries. He also represented England in 37 Test matches.
#3 Karun Nair (WK)
The 25-year-old had to wait some time after playing a stellar role in Karnataka’s Ranji Trophy triumphs in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 season before making his debut for India earlier this year. After making his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in June, Nair earner his Test call-up in the third Test against England and though he failed to make any meaningful impact, he is someone Virat Kohli and Anil Kumble will have their eyes on.
#4 Frank Hayes
Another English cricketer makes the list with 69-year-old Frank Hayes, who represented England in nine Test matches and 6 ODIs, als born on December 6. He also played 272 matches for Lancashire and made more of an impact in the domestic circuit despite scoring a century on his Test debut.
#5 Andrew Flintoff
The English all-rounder, who turns 39 today, was the hero behind the memorable 2005 Ashes triumph and ranks only behind the legendary Sir Ian Botham in the list of greatest all-rounders England has ever produced.
With more than 7000 runs and 394 wickets in international cricket, Flintoff was one of the greatest all-rounders of his generation who was an agile slip fielder as well. Fitness issues curtailed his career no doubt and England is still struggling to find an able replacement to match Flintoff’s consistency with both bat and ball.
#6 Peter Willey
#7 Sean Ervine
The Zimbabwean all-rounder was one of the many talented cricketers from the African nation whose international careers were cut short due to the political unrest caused by the Robert Mugabe regime. The 33-year-old played 42 ODIs and 5 Test matches for Zimbabwe before opting to move to Australia and subsequently to England with Hampshire.
#8 Ravindra Jadeja
The 28-year-old has been the subject of many trolls ever since making his debut back in 2009, but the Saurashtra all-rounder has fought back strongly to prove his worth to the Indian team on more than one occasion. He is arguably India’s best fielder and is a strong bet with the ball especially in home conditions.
Also Read: 5 best moments from Ravindra Jadeja's international career
Just 5 wickets shy of the 100-mark in Test cricket, Jadeja has 147 ODI wickets and 31 T20 wickets to his name. He also boasts of a healthy average of above 32 in ODI cricket with the bat.
#9 Jasprit Bumrah
The talented Indian pace bowler also has December 6th as his birth date with the Mumbai Indians death-overs specialist turning 22 today. He has made his mark already in limited-overs cricket for India with his intelligent bowling that often defies his young age.
Also Read: Stats: Determining India's best fast bowler since the 2015 World Cup
With 28 T20 wickets in 21 matches, Bumrah is the leading T20 wicket-taker in 2016 and with very few matches left to be played this year, the record looks safe in Bumrah’s name and it will be a fitting tribute to what has been a truly memorable debut year in international cricket.
#10 RP Singh
Considering the time he has been around, it might come as a surprise to many that RP Singh turned just 30 today. The left-arm pacer from Uttar Pradesh might be away from the national cricket scene for the moment but he still has a few years left to make a comeback.
Though he has not played T20 cricket for India, he has been a much sought-after player in the IPL with his wicket-taking abilities ideally suited to the shortest format of the game.
#11 Malcolm Jarvis
The 61-year-old former Zimbabwean cricketer had a short career with the national team spanning across eight years and featured in 5 Tests ad 12 ODIs picking up 11 wickets and 9 wickets respectively. He also played 53 first-class matches picking up 163 wickets at an average of just above 29.
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