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Top 5 most controversial moments in cricket
These moments went down in cricket history but for all the wrong reasons and some even led to the international laws being changed to prevent such events from happening again
Last Updated on - July 31, 2024 6:30 PM IST
From Mankad to underarm, all these moments turned out to be quite controversial and some even went on to change the official laws of the game
1. The Underarm (1981)
With New Zealand requiring six runs to tie the match, Australian captain at that time, Greg Chappell instructed his younger brother, Trevor Chappell to deliver the last ball to batsman Brian McKechnie as an underarm along the ground. Trevor did so and McKechnie had no choice but to defend as Australia went on to win the match. However, this action caused immeasurable outrage which eventually led to an official amendment to the international laws of cricket to prevent it from occurring again.
2. The rain-rule blunder (1992)
During the 1992 ODI World Cup semi-final clash that was contested between South Africa and England, the Proteas ended up on the wrong end of the newly introduced rain-rule. South Africa’s chase of 253 runs was going well and they required 47 runs to win in the last 5 overs. Then, due to several interruptions by the rain, the number of balls were reduced many times unlike the target. When the players got back on the pitch after the several delays, the scoreboard read that the Proteas required 22 runs off the final delivery. England went on to win the match, but at the end both teams weren’t only left furious but even embarrassed.
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3. The Sandpapergate scandal (2018)
During the third Test match of the series between South Africa and Australia at Cape Town, Australia’s Cameron Bancroft was caught trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing in flight. Later on, it was found that both captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were also involved and all three received bans from Cricket Australia. Following the event, Australian coach Darren Lehmann announced that he would step down from his position even though he wasn’t involved in the scandal.
4. Ashwin mankads Buttler (2019)
During a match between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, veteran Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin showed no hesitation in mankading Jos Buttler. The Punjab captain at that time didn’t even care to give a warning to the English batter who was dismissed after playing a great innings of 69 runs. Buttler’s wicket turned out to be the turning point of the match as Punjab restricted Rajasthan to 170/9 in 20 overs and defended the target of 185. Though, mankading is considered against the spirit of cricket, it is still legal in today’s game.
5. Carey’s controversial stumping (2023)
During the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, Australian wicket-keeper Alex Carey performed a very controversial stumping to dismiss Jonny Bairstow. In the 52nd over, pacer Cameron Green bowled a bouncer to which Bairstow ducked, scratched his crease with his back foot, and meandered up the pitch. However, Carey caught the ball and immediately threw it at the stumps to dislodge the bails. The umpire hadn’t called over before the bails were dislodged and as a result Bairstow was given out. Australia had the choice of taking back their appeal, however they chose not to. The incident resulted in massive outrage in England and even the England Prime Minister at that time, Rishi Sunak showed his support to the England team.