Born On This Day: 9th February

Michael Brown was born in Burnley in 1980. He was a right-handed opening batsman who played first-class cricket for Middlesex (1999-2003) and Durham University (2001-2002) before moving to Hampshire in 2004, where he played for five years before a brief, injury-hit spell at Surrey, retiring age 29.

In his first Hampshire season, he scored 838 runs with two centuries but was less successful in the next two years before, in 2007, he passed 1,000 runs for the only time at 43.12 with three centuries. He was only 60 runs short of four figures in 2008 (40.86) and then moved to Surrey. In his only full season for them he scored 992 runs but hardly played in his last two seasons.

For Hampshire, Brown scored 3,645 first-class runs at 34.71 with seven first-class centuries, including his Championship best of 126* v Durham which was very close to a special record. Hampshire hung on for a draw in the match, despite Ottis Gibson taking 10-47, as Brown carried his bat with 56*, and he was poised to repeat the feat in the second innings, until last man David Griffiths stayed for twenty minutes, without scoring, to deny Durham.

Brown played in just 14 limited-overs matches for Hampshire in five seasons but there was an innings of 96* v Worcestershire in 2008, leading Hampshire from 65-6 to a four-wicket victory with 202-6. He played in ten T20 matches, without reaching fifty.

Also today: Ryan McLaren