Kumar Dharmasena (on left) and Sanjeeva Ranatunga who celebrated their 50th and 52nd birthdays respectively during the weekend1932 – Legendary English fast bowler Bill Lockwood, who took 43 wickets in 12 Tests, dies1988 – NBA approves the addition of a third referee in the 1988-89 season1991 – Soccer legend Diego Maradona, suspended for using cocaine, arrested in Argentina for possession and distribution of illegal narcotics1996 – South African fast bowler Shaun Pollock takes four wickets in four balls for Warwickshire in a B&H tournament match in England2003 – South African (SA) Jacques Rudolph becomes only the fifth batsman to score a double-century (222 n.o.) on Test debut, against Bangladesh at Chittagong. He added 429 with Boeta Dippenaar (177), the highest by a SA pair for any wicket. SA won the Test by an innings and 60 runs2003 – Another double-century, this time in Colombo, by New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming; his career best knock (274) made in a high-scoring draw, took more than ten hours before New Zealand declared at 515/72019 – After testing positive for recreational drug use, England’s Alex Hales received a three-week ban and was subsequently withdrawn from all England squads for the 2019 season, including the World Cup* 24 April birthdays:India’s Little Master Sachin Tendulkar (born in 1973), Australian fast bowler Damien Fleming (1970), and our own Kumar Dharmasena (1971), who was a key component of the 1996 World Cup winning Sri Lanka side* 25 April birthdays:Birth of probably England’s greatest all-round sportsman, the legendary C.B. Fry (in 1872), England bowler-turned-journalist Mike Selvey (1948), and Sanjeeva Ranatunga (1969), another of the famous Ranatunga brothers, who played in nine Tests and 13 ODIs during 1994-97

Source: The Nation April 26, 2021 06:00 UTC