8th August – Birthday of a Kiwi run-machine and other legends
Black Caps captain and one of New Zealand’s proficient batsmen, Kane Williamson, celebrates his birthday on 8th August. The batsman is set to dominate the national run tallies in years to come. Along with him, India’s Dilip Sardesai and England’s Bill Voce were also born on 8th August.
One of cricket’s nicest guys
Touted as one of the best players to have donned the Kiwi jersey, Kane Williamson celebrates his birthday on 8th August. Despite being the Player of the Series, Williamson failed to lay his hands on the coveted World Cup trophy in 2019 at the Lord’s. The sight of a dejected Williamson, standing on the field after losing the final by the narrowest of margins, made many fans shed a tear or two.
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Wishing a very happy birthday to the always calm & composed captain of New Zealand! ?
Williamson was an automatic choice to take over the captaincy at the World T20 in 2016 and his cricketing journey has witnessed an exemplary growth since then. Regarded as a modern-day great, Williamson became the first New Zealander to score 20 Test centuries in 2019 with an unbeaten double century against Bangladesh at home.
Integrating his mental strength and calmness into his batting as well as leadership, Williamson so far has donned the Kiwi jersey in 80 Tests, 151 ODIs and 60 T20Is, amassing over 14,000 runs across the three formats. He has paved his way into the elite ‘Fab-4’ list of batsmen in world cricket.
Other legends
Apart from Williamson, two veterans of the game– Dilip Sardesai and Bill Voce also celebrate their birthdays on 8th August. India’s Dilip Sardesai was widely acknowledged as one the best batsmen to play spin. Earning his Test cap in 1961, Sardesai played 30 matches for India during 1961-72, scoring 2001 runs that included 5 tons and 9 half-centuries.
The technically-sound batsman and the only Goa-born cricketer to play for Goa played his last Test against England in 1972. Sardesai scored 449 runs in the five-Test series against England in 1963–64 with 79 and 87 in the Fifth and final Test as the most notable performances.
Birth of India’s First Overseas Double Centurion#OnThisDay in 1940, Dilip Sardesai was born
First Indian to score an Overseas Test Double Hundred: 212 v West Indies, Kingston 1971
First Indian to score a Double Hundred after ‘following on’ in a Test: 200* v NZ, Mumbai 1965 pic.twitter.com/brYgNwGfPq— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) August 8, 2018
Talking about Bill Voce, the England quick was a vital cog their infamous Bodyline strategy in their tour of Australia in 1932–1933. The left-arm pacer donned the England jersey in 27 Tests, scalping 98 wickets including 3 five-wicket hauls.
Following the Bodyline series, Voce declined severely as a bowler but made it up with his batting expeditions. He emerged as a hard-hitting batsman for Nottinghamshire, scoring 1020 runs for an average of over 35 in 1933. Playing a staggering 426 First-class matches, Voce plucked 1,558 including 84 five-wicket hauls.
