On This Day In Cricket - February 3

3 February is a special day in Indian cricket history. On this day, India won the Under-19 World Cup for a record fourth time. It is also the birthday of two cricket greats, Lord Harris and Bob Simpson, with Simpson famously scoring a triple century as his first Test hundred. This date is also remembered for England’s thrilling win in Mumbai and Andrew Flintoff’s iconic shirtless celebration. On the same day, India won an ODI series in New Zealand by 4-1 and the Australian women’s team retained the Ashes. This article looks back at all these memorable moments from 3 February.

On This Day - February 3, 2018 - India Won ICC U19 World Cup

On 3 February 2018 at Mount Maunganui, India defeated Australia to win the Under-19 World Cup for a record fourth time. Under the captaincy of Prithvi Shaw, India beat Australia by 8 wickets in the final. Chasing a target of 217, Manjot Kalra scored a brilliant unbeaten 101 off 102 balls. He finished the match with 67 balls remaining. Harvik Desai scored 47 runs and Shubman Gill added 31 to support him in the chase.

Before that, India’s bowlers restricted Australia to 216 runs. Australia were in a good position at 183 for 4, but then lost their last 6 wickets for just 33 runs. Shiva Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ishan Porel and Anukul Roy shared the wickets and turned the match around. A lot of credit for this title win went to head coach Rahul Dravid, who managed injured players like Porel and Nagarkoti well and guided the team to an unbeaten tournament victory.

On This Day - February 3, 1851 - England’s Lord Harris Was Born

On this day in 1851, George Harris aka Lord Harris was born in Trinidad. He is remembered as one of the most influential cricket administrators in history and played a major role in shaping the game’s rules and structure. As a player, he captained Kent from 1870 to 1889 and played four Test matches for England. He was England’s captain during the famous 1879 match linked with the ‘Sydney Riot,’ and he also led England to victory in the first-ever Test match played on English soil in 1880.

Lord Harris had a strong connection with Indian cricket. He was the Governor of Bombay (Mumbai) from 1890 to 1895 and helped organise cricket in the city. He was criticised because he did not interact much with local people. He later served as President and Treasurer of the MCC. He strongly opposed throwing (illegal bowling actions) and took strict steps to remove it from the game. Because of his tough decisions, he was often called a dictator of cricket, but his role in keeping the game fair is still remembered.

On This Day - February 3, 1936 - Australia's Bob Simpson Was Born

Bob Simpson was one of Australia’s greatest all-round cricketers, who was born in Sydney in 1936. He created a unique record by scoring a triple century (311 runs) for his first-ever Test hundred, which came against England at Old Trafford in 1964. He was well known for his strong opening partnership with Bill Lawry and his excellent slip fielding. Simpson took 110 catches in 62 Test matches, which was a world record at that time.

Simpson’s contribution went beyond his playing career. Ten years after retiring, he returned to the field at the age of 41 to captain Australia against India and the West Indies. Later, in 1986, he transformed Australian cricket as a coach. He brought discipline to a struggling team and turned it into the world’s strongest side. Under his influence, Australia won the 1987 World Cup and regained the Ashes.

On This Day - February 3, 2002 - Flintoff’s Iconic Shirtless Finish

At the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, England beat India by 5 runs in a thrilling match and levelled the six-match ODI series 3-3. Marcus Trescothick gave England a fast start by scoring 95 runs off just 80 balls. In the middle overs, Harbhajan Singh turned the game around as England collapsed from 153/2 to 174/7, with Harbhajan taking 4 wickets for just 2 runs in seven balls. Later, Andrew Flintoff played a crucial knock of 40 runs, helping England reach a competitive total of 255.

While chasing the target, Sourav Ganguly scored 80 runs and, along with Dinesh Mongia, kept India on track for a win. However, Ganguly got out in a very strange way when the ball hit the back of his bat and crashed into the stumps, changing the game completely. In the final over, India needed only a few runs, but Andrew Flintoff bowled brilliantly. He dismissed Javagal Srinath to bowl India out for 250 and then celebrated the win by taking off his shirt and waving it in the air, creating one of the most iconic moments in cricket history.

On This Day - February 3, 2013 - Bailey’s Maiden Century and Australia’s Comeback

On 3 February 2013 at the WACA in Perth, Australia beat West Indies by 54 runs. At one stage, Australia were in big trouble at 98 for 6 because of West Indies’ sharp fielding. George Bailey then took control of the innings. He scored an unbeaten 125, which was his first international century. Bailey also shared a crucial 100-run partnership for the seventh wicket with James Faulkner. Because of this stand, Australia reached a strong total of 266. In the final over, Bailey scored quick runs off Dwayne Bravo and pushed the team to a safe score.

Mitchell Starc was outstanding with the ball and destroyed the West Indies top order. He took 5 wickets for 32 runs, his second five-wicket haul in a row. For West Indies, Kieran Powell fought hard and scored 83 runs, but Glenn Maxwell took 4 wickets and helped bowl them out for 212. It was a dramatic day for Maxwell. He was out for zero while batting and Sunil Narine hit him for four sixes in four balls. During the same match, news came that Maxwell had been bought for 1 million dollars in the IPL auction.

On This Day - February 3, 2019 - India Clinches Series 4-1 vs New Zealand

India defeated New Zealand by 35 runs in the fifth ODI at Wellington on this day and won the series 4-1. Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first in difficult conditions. India had a terrible start as Trent Boult’s swing bowling destroyed the top order, leaving the score at 18 for 4. At that tough moment, Man of the Match Ambati Rayudu played a calm and sensible innings of 90 runs. He added a steady partnership with Vijay Shankar, who scored 45 and helped India reach a competitive total of 252 runs.

At the end of the innings, Hardik Pandya played a quick knock and scored 45 runs off just 22 balls. He hit three sixes in a row in one over from Todd Astle, the fifth time he had done this in his career. While chasing the target, New Zealand kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets, but the turning point came when Kedar Jadhav dismissed Kane Williamson and broke the key partnership. With this win, India showed their dominance in New Zealand. Mohammed Shami was named Player of the Series for taking nine wickets in the series.

On This Day - February 3, 2022 - Australia Retains Women's Ashes

On 3 February 2022, Australia Women beat England by 27 runs in the first ODI at Canberra and retained the Women’s Ashes. With this win, Australia took an unassailable 8–4 lead in the multi-format series. Australia had a shaky start with the bat, but Beth Mooney steadied the innings with a fine knock of 73 runs and helped the team reach a respectable total of 205. Her innings was even more impressive because she was struggling with quad tightness and later did not come out to field.

While chasing 206 runs, England collapsed against young fast bowler Darcie Brown. She took 4 wickets for 34 runs and ripped through the top order, dismissing captain Heather Knight lbw on the very first ball for a duck. A dramatic moment came when Amy Jones was given out caught off a waist-high full toss, which the third umpire checked for a long time before ruling it a fair delivery. In the same match, Megan Schutt became the second-fastest bowler in women’s ODI history to reach 100 wickets. England were eventually bowled out for 178 runs.