On This Day In Cricket - February 19

19th February is remembered in cricket history for great all-round performances and thrilling wins. On this day, Ian Botham became the first player in the world to score a century and take 10 wickets in the same Test match. On the same date, Doug Walters played a historic 250-run innings despite being hungover. This day is also special for Pakistan cricket, as their Under-19 team defended just 109 runs against India to win the World Cup. It is also the birthday of triple centurion Azhar Ali and Indian fast bowler Prasidh Krishna. On this day in the 2003 World Cup, India also made a strong comeback by defeating Zimbabwe.

On This Day - February 19, 1977 - Doug Walters’ Historic 250 in a Hangover

On February 19, 1977, Australian batsman Doug Walters scored a brilliant 250 runs against New Zealand in the Christchurch Test. This innings became famous because Walters had spent the previous night drinking at a bar and came to the ground without sleep. When he walked out to bat, he was reportedly hungover and his eyes were red. He struggled to see the ball at the start, but once he settled in, he dominated the New Zealand bowlers and played one of the most memorable innings in Test history.

Australia were struggling at 208/6. Then Doug Walters and Gary Gilmour built a record 217-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Gilmour scored 101 runs, which was the only Test century of his career. Walters hit 30 fours and 2 sixes in his innings of 250 runs. At that time, it was the highest score by an Australian batsman against New Zealand in Test cricket.

On This Day - February 19, 1980 - Ian Botham's Golden Jubilee Masterclass

Ian Botham created a unique record in cricket in 1980 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. In the Golden Jubilee Test against India, he scored 114 runs and took a total of 13 wickets in the match, with 6 for 58 in the first innings and 7 for 48 in the second innings. With this performance, he became the first player in Test cricket history to score a century and take 10 wickets in the same match.

England were in serious trouble during their innings and lost 5 wickets for just 58 runs. Ian Botham then added 171 runs for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper Bob Taylor and took the team out of danger. Because of his strong batting and bowling performance, England won the match easily by 10 wickets. Later, Imran Khan in 1983 and Shakib Al Hasan in 2014 also matched this rare record.

On This Day - February 19, 1985 - Pakistan’s Triple Centurion Azhar Ali

Pakistan’s triple centurion Azhar Ali was born on 19 February 1985 in Lahore. He is one of Pakistan’s most successful Test openers. He started his career as a leg-spinner and used to bat at number nine, but later he developed himself into a top-order batsman. Azhar is the first player in the world to score a century, double century, and triple century in Day-Night Test matches. He scored an unbeaten 302 runs against West Indies in 2016.

Azhar Ali was an important member of Pakistan’s 2017 Champions Trophy-winning team and he scored 59 runs in the final. He holds the record for the highest Test score by a Pakistani batter in Australia, which he made in Melbourne. After retirement, he was appointed as the PCB’s Head of Youth Development in November 2024.

On This Day - February 19, 1996 - Prasidh Krishna Was Born

Prasidh Krishna was born on 19 February 1996 in Bengaluru. He is an Indian fast bowler. He made his ODI debut against England in March 2021 and took 4 wickets. With this performance, he became the Indian bowler with the most wickets on ODI debut and broke a 24-year-old record. He was also part of India’s 2023 Asia Cup-winning team and the 2023 World Cup runner-up squad, where he was included after Hardik Pandya got injured.

Krishna represents Karnataka in domestic cricket. He took a wicket on the very first ball of his first-class debut. In the IPL, he has played for Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. According to sources, Gujarat Titans signed him for ₹9.5 crore in the 2025 IPL auction. In that season, he took 25 wickets and finished as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament. He won the Purple Cap for his performance.

On This Day - February 19, 2003 - Canada’s Lowest World Cup Score

On 19 February 2003 in Paarl, Canada created an unwanted World Cup record. Against Sri Lanka’s strong bowling attack, Canada were bowled out for just 36 runs in 18.4 overs. At that time, it was the lowest total in ODI history. No Canadian batter reached double figures. The team lost 6 wickets for just 12 runs during the collapse.

Sri Lanka fast bowler Prabath Nissanka produced the best bowling performance of his career and took 4 wickets for 12 runs. He was named Man of the Match for his performance. This became the shortest match in World Cup history and finished in less than two hours. In reply, Sri Lanka chased the target in just 4.4 overs, scoring the runs in 28 balls and losing only 1 wicket to win by 9 wickets.

On This Day - February 19, 2003 - India Defeats Zimbabwe by 83 Runs

On 19 February 2003 in Harare, India defeated Zimbabwe by 83 runs to make an important comeback in the World Cup. This match was very important for India because fans were angry after a poor start to the tournament and were burning effigies of the players. Sachin Tendulkar scored 81 runs in this high-pressure game and added 99 runs for the first wicket with Virender Sehwag. Rahul Dravid scored 43 runs and helped India post 255/7 in 50 overs.

In reply, Zimbabwe’s batting collapsed against the Indian bowlers. Javagal Srinath took 2 wickets for 14 runs and gave early breakthroughs, but the real impact came from captain Sourav Ganguly, who took 3 wickets for 22 runs with his medium pace bowling. Zimbabwe were all out for 172 runs in 44.4 overs. An interesting fact from this match was that the ICC conducted a random bat inspection before the game and found that some players from both teams were using bats that were slightly wider than the allowed limit. Sachin Tendulkar was named Man of the Match for his performance.

On This Day - February 19, 2006 - Pakistan Defends 109 to Win U19 World Cup

At the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Pakistan’s Under-19 team created history by defending a total of just 109 runs against India. Pakistan were bowled out for a low score, and it looked like India would win the match easily in the final. However, Pakistan’s bowlers produced an outstanding performance and bowled India out for just 71 runs to win the World Cup for the second time in a row.

The main hero of this win was fast bowler Anwar Ali, who took 5 wickets for 35 runs with his swing bowling and destroyed the Indian top order. Because of the deadly bowling by Anwar Ali and Jamshed Ahmed, India were reduced to 9 runs for 6 wickets at one stage. Batsmen like Rohit Sharma, who scored 4 runs, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who was out for 0, could not stay at the crease and were bowled. Piyush Chawla took 4 wickets for India, but Anwar Ali’s performance helped Pakistan secure this thrilling victory.