Considered by many as the fastest bowler cricket has ever seen, Australian Jeff Thomson was born on this day in 1950.
When Thomson took 0 for 110 on his Test debut in 1972-73, no one knew he had a broken toe – nor could they have expected the damage he would make on his recall against England in 1974-75.
He generated mind-blowing pace and steep bounce from a slingshot action, and took 33 cheap wickets to help Dennis Lillee destroy England 4-1 and regain the Ashes.
The combination of him and Lillee was considered the most fearsome in Test cricket history.
In 1975, during an exhibition match against the West Indies, Thomson was timed using high-speed cameras with a speed of 160.45 km/h.
Held back by injuries, Thommo nevertheless took exactly 200 Test wickets (half of them against England).
1950: Hasely Crawford, ex-sprinter, who won Trinidad and Tobago’s first Olympic gold, winning 100m in 1976 (66).
1961: Christian Okoye, Nigerian-American former NFL player, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (55).
1974: Krisztina Egerszegi (below), Hungarian legendary swimmer, who won five Olympic gold medals from 1988-96 (41).
1982: Joleon Lescott, British footballer, who plays for Aston Villa and is a former England defender (34).
