On This Day In Cricket - January 12

The 12th of January is a glorious day in cricket, marked by numerous firsts and incredible performances. This day is important, from the birth of New Zealand’s Dick Motz, the country’s first player to take 100 Test wickets, to India’s series-leveling win in Sydney in 1978. It is also the day when Rohit Sharma scored 171* against Australia, and Australia reached a world record of 1,000 international wins. In 2024, Tim Southee made history by becoming the first bowler to reach 150 T20I wickets on this day. Let us today take a closer look at all the events that happened on this date in the pages of cricket history.

On This Day - January 12, 1940 - Dick Motz Was Born

All-rounder Dick Motz was born today in Christchurch, New Zealand. Motz was the first New Zealand bowler to take 100 wickets in Test cricket, achieving this feat in August 1969 against England at The Oval. In 1968, he was also the first bowler in Test cricket history to be banned from bowling for running on the pitch. Playing domestic cricket for Canterbury in 1967-68, he scored his only first-class century in less than an hour against Otago. Dick Motz was, in a similar way, the first to tread a new path for New Zealand cricket. He was the first to reach the milestone of 100 Test wickets from the New Zealand team.

Motz made his Test debut on 8 December 1961 against the South African team at Durban. He started showing his impact the moment he entered the game and took a total of 19 wickets in the US five-Test series. This was the most successful tour of New Zealand of our time. Is pure tour me unhones total of 81 wickets at an average of 19. Throughout Motz’s 32-Test career, he was known for his hostile bowling and aggressive batting style. In his final Test match against England at The Oval in August 1969, he became the first New Zealand bowler to take 100 Test wickets. Despite being a lower-order batsman, he scored three Test half-centuries, all of which were achieved at home against England and were noted for being laden with sixes.

On This Day - January 12, 2024 - New Zealand Dominates Pakistan in Series Opener

New Zealand played Pakistan in the first T20I at Eden Park in Auckland in 2024. After being given to bat first, the New Zealand team posted 226 for 8 wickets, it was their highest T20I score against Pakistan. Daryl Mitchell was the top scorer with 61 runs off 27 balls, while skipper Kane Williamson added 57 runs on his return to the team. Pakistan's debutant Abbas Afridi and captain Shaheen Shah Afridi both took three wickets, but they were unable to prevent the Kiwis from setting a challenging target.

This partnership broke Australia's previous record of 234 wickets, making it the highest third-wicket partnership in ODIs. Babar Azam fought hard with a half-century (57 runs), but the rest of the batting lineup struggled to keep up with the high necessary run rate. Tim Southee of New Zealand was the highlight of the bowling attack, taking four wickets for 25 runs and becoming the first bowler in T20 international history to reach 150 wickets. New Zealand won convincingly by 46 runs, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

On This Day - January 12, 1978 - India Levels Series with Innings Victory at Sydney

On this day in 1978, India won a historic Test against Australia at Sydney. The series took a surprising turn in the fourth match of the five-match series. Australia began their second innings at 243/8 on the 5th day of the game with Jeff Thomson scoring 4 and Peter Toohey 77 runs. To seal India’s win, Karsan Ghavri bowled well, dismissing Peter Toohey for 85 and Jeff Thomson for 16. Australia was all out for 263 runs and India won by an innings and two runs.

This victory was especially important for the Indian team because it leveled the series at 2-2. The Indian spinners put on an amazing performance, limiting Australia's first innings to just 131. In response, India concluded their first innings at 396 for the loss of 8 wickets. Gundappa Viswanath batted effectively for 79 runs, while Karsan Ghavri scored 64. Spinner Erapalli Prasanna got four critical wickets for 51 runs in the second innings, helping to keep Australia from reaching the target. Australia's poor fielding and dropped catches allowed India to win the match.

On This Day - January 12, 1978 - India Levels Series with Innings Victory at SCG

Australia held its first official T20 match at the famous WACA Ground in Perth on 12 January 1978. This match was played between two state teams, Western Warriors and Victorian Bushrangers. At the time, this short form of cricket was still very new. It was formed to be much faster than the traditional long matches to attract fans who wanted to see more action in just a few hours. The match was an incredible success, drawing a crowd of 20,071 people for the first time in the stadium in around 25 years.

The match was full of thrills and featured legendary players like Shane Warne, who played for Victoria. They batted first and scored 141 runs, but Western Australia chased down the total very quickly. They reached the target in only 12.1 overs and won the match by eight wickets with 47 balls left. Luke Ronchi was the hero of the match and was named Player of the Match for hitting a massive 67 runs from just 24 balls. This game's massive popularity proved that Australians loved the new format and helped in a way for the international T20 matches and the Big Bash League we see today.

On This Day - January 12, 2016 - Rohit Sharma's Unbeaten 171 at WACA

Rohit Sharma scored an unforgettable 171* runs off 163 balls in the opening ODI of India's tour of Australia in January 2016 at the WACA in Perth. He began his innings patiently, hitting 13 fours and 7 sixes before attacking the Australian bowlers. Virat Kohli also scored 91 and helped India achieve a total of 309/3 partnered with Rohit for an astonishing 207 runs. Rohit's ability to score massive hundreds was made clear by this performance, as he quickly reached his century and continued to create havoc even after. He scored his final 71 runs in just 41 deliveries.

The surprising thing is that, despite this brilliant innings of Rohit and Virat, Australia won the match by five wickets by successfully chasing 310 runs. It was the highest successful run chase ever recorded at the WACA ground. The match was record-breaking because it was the first time in ODI history that two 200-plus partnerships occurred in a single game. While Rohit and Kohli set one for India, Australia’s Steven Smith scored a mammoth total of 149 and George Bailey made 112 runs, responding with a 242-run stand. This partnership broke Australia's previous record of 234 wickets, making it the highest third-wicket partnership in ODIs.

On This Day - January 12, 2019 - Australia’s 1,000 Win Record

Australia became the first team in history to win 1,000 international cricket matches. This feat was made during an ODI match against India at the Sydney Ground in 2019. Led by captain Aaron Finch, the Australian side won the match by 34 runs and hit the thousand-win mark after previously being left waiting for the landmark following a Test victory in Perth. It was a historic moment for the Aussies, which confirmed their status as one of the most dominant teams in cricket history.

These 1,000 victories were total winnings across all major formats of the game, including Tests, ODIs and T20Is. Australia held the world record for the most Test wins of 384 and ODI wins of 558 at that time. Their most frequent rival throughout this journey has been England, whom they have defeated more than any other team, with 234 wins. This feat highlights the major success of legendary captains such as Ricky Ponting, who holds the record for the most wins as captain, and Steve Waugh.