Ron Hamence played for the Australian cricket team in 1948, dubbed the "Invincibles", when they went undefeated for an unprecedented 34 matches on a tour of England. He was not instrumental in the team's success, and his selection was a subject of controversy because many batsmen who had scored more runs in the preceding Australian season had been overlooked. Hamence played in only non-Test tour matches to allow the leading batsmen to conserve energy for the Tests, as play was scheduled for six days a week. Because the team captain Donald Bradman was reluctant to risk the team's unbeaten record, Hamence did not receive many opportunities to bat high in the order, and scored only 582 runs at a batting average of 32.33, with a top-score of 99. He was the only frontline Australian batsman not to score a century. The remaining eight frontline batsmen each scored at least 973 runs and all averaged no less than 47.30.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Hamence_with_the_Australian_cricket_team_in_England_in_1948

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1491:

Reconquista: The Granada War was effectively brought to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Granada between Castile-Aragon and the Emirate of Granada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granada_War

1863:

American Civil War: Confederate forces were defeated at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, opening the door to the Union's invasion of the Deep South. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Missionary_Ridge

1915:

Albert Einstein presented to the Prussian Academy of Science his field equations of general relativity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_general_relativity

1975:

Upon Suriname's independence from the Netherlands, Johan Ferrier became its first president. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_Ferrier

1984:

Band Aid, a supergroup consisting of over 30 leading British and Irish pop musicians, recorded the song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_They_Know_It%27s_Christmas%3F

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

whirlpool: 1. A swirling body of water. 2. Turmoil, or agitated excitement. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whirlpool

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

In the past several years, my hard work, my books which I wrote through blood and tears, and the purpose of my life all has been focused on: helping everyone to have a spring, so that everyone's heart will be bright, everyone will have a happy life, and everyone will have the freedom to develop in any way they want. I aroused people to have thirst for, thirst for brightness; I put a cause in front of people, a cause which is worthy of people's devotion.   --Ba Jin https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ba_Jin