For absolutely no reason other than the fact I’m looking for content to fill time, I’ll make mention of some events that occurred on July 26-27 involving past Australian cricket captains.

On July 27, 1948, Australian captain Don Bradman (In his penultimate Test match) scored his 29th and last Test century as the 1948 Invincibles produced the jewel in their crown, chasing down England’s world record target of 404 for the loss of just 3 wickets on the final day of the 4th Test at Headingley, with Bradman, in the midst of a fibrositis attack, finishing unbeaten on 173 in just over 4 hours at the crease, highlighted by a 2nd Wicket partnership of 301 in only 217 minutes alongside Arthur Morris.

The record 4th Innings chase stood until 1976 when India chased down 406 against the West Indies in Port of Spain, and 74 years on, the 1948 Headingley Test still holds the record for the greatest attendance of a Test match in England, with 158,000 patrons over the 5 days.

Next, the one and only Allan Robert ‘Captain Grumpy’ Border turns 67 years young today, the first player to appear in 150 Test matches, the only player to score 150 runs in both innings of a Test match, and the player who scored the most Test runs in the 20th Century.

Of course, AB is also remembered for his no nonsense approach to captaincy, as shown when Craig McDermott found out why AB was nicknamed Captain Grumpy:

In fact, AB’s second and last Test double century (200 not out) came in the 1st Innings against England in the 4th Test at Headingley in 1993, with Border’s penultimate Test century coming just shy of his 38th birthday (Border was at the crease from July 22-24, 1993):

And on July 26, 1997, a young Tasmanian by the name of Ricky Ponting (On his Ashes debut) came to the crease with Australia stuck on 4/50 in the 4th Test at Headingley, and with Matthew Elliott on his way to 199, Punter carved out his maiden Test century (127), the first of a record 41 Test centuries for Australia.

Weird, every Test century in this video was scored against England at Headingley….