Popularly known as a ‘gentleman’s game’, cricket has unfortunately been witness to some awful instances on the field. While a few of these incidents have been against the spirit of the game, a couple of them also included breaking the laws. The kind of emotions that run alongside the game, it sometimes feels inevitable that these instances keep occurring. On that note, in this article, we take a look at the five most disgraceful moments in cricketing history.
1) Trevor Chappell’s under-arm delivery – 1981
It was the World Series Cup in 1981, and this game was the third final and was happening between Australia and New Zealand. The Aussies were anyways favourites to lift the trophy, and this game had reached a situation where the Kiwis needed seven runs of the last ball to win.
It is at this moment when one of the poorest sportsmanship was exhibited. Aussie captain Greg Chappell asked his brother, Trevor, who was bowling the final delivery to bowl an under-arm ball. It is almost an impossible task to get elevation out of such delivery. Many called this tactic of the Aussies a crooked way to ensure victory. New Zealand batsman Mckechnie, who faced the ball, tossed his bat in frustration.
2) Rowdy crowd behaviour at World Cup Semifinal – 1996
It is not only the players on the field who cause these disreputable moments. On one occasion, even the fans were caught in a shameful act, and this happens to be one of the most disgraceful moments in cricketing history.
In the 1996 World Cup semi-final between India and Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, the hosts were down to 120-8 while chasing 252. This was after they had gotten off to a good start. Baffled by the team’s batting performance, the crowd set the seats on fire and started throwing bottles on the ground. The match was stopped, and although the referee tried to restart, the crowd behaviour was uncontrollable. Sri Lanka was declared as the winners, and they went on to win the World Cup.
3) IPL Slap-gate controversy – 2008
It was the first edition of IPL, and the Indians and foreigners were playing together for the first time in a competitive environment. However, the season had one of the worst black spots with the slap-gate controversy.
After Mumbai Indians lost to Kings XI Punjab, Harbhajan Singh openly slapped S Sreesanth. Both are controversial cricketers, and the incident did not bode well with the spirit of the game. Bhajji was slapped with an eleven-match ban for this incident.
4) England players urinate on the Oval pitch – 2013
In 2013, England had gone on to win their third successive Ashes series. In that particular tournament, the Englishmen won the series 3-0. However, their celebration had a distasteful end to it.
It was reported that at 11:30 pm on the last day of the series, English players like Stuart Broad, Kevin Pietersen and Jimmy Anderson took turns to urinate on The Oval pitch. This move was subject to heavy criticism across the globe. The players later had to issue an apology for the same.
5) Shakib Al Hasan’s outrage against the umpires – 2021
In one of the recent incidents, Shakib Al Hasan was the instigator behind one of the most disgraceful moments in cricketing history. Umpires need to be respected in the game of cricket. However, in the Dhaka Premier League, Shakib reacted in a disgusting way against the umpires.
After they did not rule a decision in his favour, the all-rounder charged towards them and broke the stumps in anger, not once but twice. He was given a three-match ban for the same. This was not the first time that he was riddled with controversy. Be it getting an ICC ban for failing to report a bookie’s approach or pointing to his crotch after getting out, Shakib has always been riddled with disputes.
