This has manifested itself in the forms of poor sportsmanship, match-fixing and even accusations of racism. This article looks at the slightly darker side of cricket, exploring the dark underworld of scandalous cricket events.
#5 Shane Warne and Marlon Samuels
It is rare that cricketers actually come to blows, but things certainly got physical between Australian legend Shane Warne and West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels. During a Big Bash League match in 2013, Warne, captain of the Melbourne Stars, was unhappy with the way Samuels, playing for the Melbourne Renegades, appeared to restrain David Hussey from running the second run.
Then, when Samuels was batting and Warne was bowling, things got heated. Warne went up to him at the end of his over and asked him if he wanted to “grab anyone else”, before swearing at him.
The hostilities culminated in Warne openly grabbing Samuels’ shirt aggressively and throwing the ball at his back when fielding. Samuels responded by throwing his bat in Warne’s direction. That was unprecedented; it is hard to think of any other time when a batsman has actively thrown his bat at someone. The tensions between the two of them still continue, and Warne has used his commentary position to criticise Samuels on numerous occasions.
#4 Monkey Gate
Fox Sports called the 2007-2008 India tour of Australia one of the “most spiteful series in cricket history”. There were some very heated moments throughout that tour and it was close to being called off at times. One particular moment stands out though, when Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh reportedly called Australian Andrew Symonds a monkey.
Harbhajan received a three-match ban for this, but it was challenged and appealed by the whole Indian team who claimed he had said nothing of the sort. However, it was Sachin Tendulkar who saved the day, saying that Harbhajan had actually said “maa ki” which is part of a rude Hindi phrase and just happens to sound like monkey.
It is apparent that Tendulkar repeatedly changed his story to support Harbhajan and received heavy criticism from Australian skipper Ricky Ponting for the same. Even Adam Gilchrist described Bhaji’s successful appeal as a ‘‘joke’’. This led to the series being one of the most hostile in the history of the game.
#3 Underarm ball in 1981
Underarm bowling used to be legal in cricket and it was at the time of the 1981 series between Australia and New Zealand that this incident took place. Heading into the third ODI, the series was delicately poised at 1-1 and the third match was a thriller. It culminated in New Zealand needing six to win off the final ball.
However, Australian captain Greg Chappell told the bowler, his younger brother Trevor, to bowl this crucial delivery underarm. Indeed, Trevor Chappell proceeded to bowl it in such a way, meaning that there was no way in which Brian McKechnie could get under the ball and hit it for six. It was one of the most unsportsmanlike actions in cricket history and both Greg and Trevor felt immensely embarrassed afterwards.
#2 Smith and Bancroft ball-tampering
The current, on-going ball-tampering scandal ranks as probably the second-most disgraceful moment in cricket history. Cameron Bancroft was seen rubbing the ball with some sort of yellow object, later revealed to be rough tape, which he then shoved down his whites when he saw himself on the big screen. He had a chat with the umpires in which he claimed it was just the soft sunglasses holder he had in his pocket, but the footage was clear.
After the day’s play, captain Steve Smith and Bancroft sat down and admitted to the press all that they had done. Smith had come up with this plan at lunch and it was clearly pre-meditated. It was a clear plan to change the condition of the ball. Smith has rightly been stripped of his captaincy and awarded a 1-game ban. What makes the incident so shameful is that Smith was a role model to youngsters all around the world, being the prolific batsman that he is. He has let the whole sport down.
#1 Spot-fixing at Lord’s
It is hard to think of a more shameful cricketing act than the spot-fixing undertaken by Pakistan in their 2010 tour of England. A sports agent (uncovered by a sting operation) had told Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif to bowl no-balls at certain times of the Lord’s Test. In order for them to do that, he bribed them with huge amounts of money.
They ended up bowling huge no balls, almost half a meter over the line, to ensure that they fulfilled this requirement. It was clear what had happened and the sting operation revealed all the finer details. Punishments were then dispensed to the two players and Pakistan captain Salman Butt (who had helped organise it), with all of them receiving bans of different lengths. It was disgraceful behaviour and made even worse by the fact that it was at Lord’s Cricket Ground, which is the home of cricket.
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