Is Cricket really a Gentlemen's game now? The game has changed a lot since the first ever officially recognized Test match was played in 1877. In the modern game, when the stakes are very high and the rivalries fierce, these are the last things a spectator would want to see on a cricket field. iSporter Aswath focuses on some of the matches that saw these unpleasant events, both on the field and off it.
Over the years, there have been some riveting encounters between teams. While a lot of them stand testimony to the quality of the competing sides, there have been others where the excitement was "created". Instances of unsportsmanlike behavior from the players, outrageous umpiring and sometimes even a combination of the two have actually gone on to decide the result of some cricket matches.
Australia vs India : 2nd Test Match (January 2-6, 2008) , Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Mark and Steve win the game for Australia
Australia won this match courtesy two people named Mark and Steve. No, they aren't Mark Waugh and Steve Waugh but Mark Benson and Steve Bucknor. They were the two on field umpires and the number of poor decisions they made would later go on to have ramifications of extraordinary proportions. If only that test match had had UDRS, the Indian Cricket team would probably be among the strongest supporters of the system today.
The Umpiring blunders started from the Australian first innings. Ricky Ponting was clearly out caught behind down the leg side to Sourav Ganguly. A huge appeal by the Indians was turned down by Mark Benson that left even the batsman surprised. He was batting on 17 then. However, as fate would have it, Ricky Ponting was given out wrongly (LBW) by the same umpire after he had inside edged a Harbhajan Singh delivery on to his pads. He had already made 55 by then.
Andrew Symonds, batting on 29, nicked a Ishant Sharma delivery to MS Dhoni, who completed the catch. The noise was so loud that it would have been heard by the 30,000 spectators at the SCG, the entire Indian team and the entire television audience. Unfortunately, the man who mattered, Steve Bucknor, heard nothing. This left everyone watching the match, flabbergasted. Buckor had made his first blunder for the game. Symonds got another reprieve on 48, when the Australian third umpire, Bruce Oxenford gave him not out when he was actually out stumped by MS Dhoni off an Anil Kumble delivery.
He got lucky for the third time when a Harbhajan Singh delivery down the leg side was collected by MS Dhoni who whipped the bails off in a flash. Symonds was outside his crease. Dhoni's appeal was not even referred to the third umpire by Steve Bucknor who was standing at square leg. Why did he not use technology when it was available? Symonds, by then had already reached 148. Australia were finally bowled out for 463 and Symonds finished on 162*.
The Indian first innings saw no major umpiring blunders but a controversy of a different kind - the "Monkey Gate" scandal, the details of which are well known to one and all. India made 523 in their first innings thanks to tons from Tendulkar and Laxman.
In the Australian second innings, Mike Hussey was caught behind off RP Singh and even this time, the umpire heard nothing. Hussey was batting on 45 at that time and added a further 100 runs after the lucky break that he got. Michael Clarke stood his ground after being caught at first slip. Why did he do that? May be he hoped for another blunder but this was far too obvious and Clarke was given his marching orders by the umpire. This was a prime example of unsporting behavior at its peak.
The Indian second innings saw the umpiring errors continue to flow. Dravid was the victim this time, given out wrongly caught behind when the bat was nowhere near the ball. Steve Bucknor had struck again. Then a fiasco took place. Sourav Ganguly was given out "caught" by Michael Clarke off Brett Lee. Replays showed that Clarke had picked the ball up from the ground. Instead of asking the third umpire, Mark Benson went to Ricky Ponting (remember he had been dishonest and not walked when he had nicked the ball) to ask for his opinion and Ganguly was given out. Shameful were the scenes at the SCG. Ponting also later appealed for a catch that he clearly had grassed.
With so many moments, the test match was marred by poor umpiring and controversy. In the end, Australia won the match by 122 runs. Umpire Steve Bucknor was removed from the next test by the ICC and rightfully so.
England vs Pakistan : 4th Test Match (August 17-21, 2006), Kennington Oval, London
A Hair Raising Affair
Umpire Darrell Hair and Billy Doctrove awarded five penalty runs to England after ruling that the Pakistan Team had been involved in ball tampering. The Pakistan Team refused to take the field post tea. The umpires gave a warning to the Pakistan team, asking them to take the field. The Pakistan team did not budge. So, the match was awarded to England. The Pakistan team then took the field but the umpires had already taken the bails off after declaring that England had won and refused to continue. This incident snowballed into a big avalanche and sparks flew off the field. In July 2008, the ICC changed the result of the match to a Draw. After many more deliberations and interference from the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club), on 1st February 2009, the ICC reversed their earlier decision and changed the match result back to a win for England.
In the midst of all this, Darrel Hair was removed from the ICC's elite panel of umpires in November 2006. Later, Andrew Strauss, who was the English skipper for the game described the entire incident as a "train wreck". This match had left an indelible mark in the game's history books.
South Africa vs India : 2nd Test Match (November 16-20,2001), St George's Park, Port Elizabeth
Denness the Menace
The test match was cruising in a pleasant manner in smooth waters until a tidal wave in the form of the Match Referee, Mike Denness, attempted to topple it. South Africa had earned a 161 run first innings lead and declared their second innings at 233/5 on Day 4, setting India a target of 395 runs. At the end of the day's play Mike Denness let rip a barrage of accusations on six Indian players, causing widespread outrage to more than a billion people. He accused Sachin Tendulkar of ball tampering and handed him a one test match suspended ban and also fined him 75% of his match fees. Virender Sehwag was punished for using abusive language, showing dissent at the Umpire's decision and attempting to intimidate the Umpire by charging. He was handed a one test match ban (immediate)and fined 75% of his match fee. Deep Dasgupta, Shiv Sundar Das and Harbhajan Singh were also handed one test match suspended bans for excessive appealing and were made to surrender 75% of their match fees. Sourav Ganguly, the Indian Skipper for the test match was handed a one test, two ODI (suspended) ban for not appropriately controlling the actions of his players. The Indian players were justifiably aggrieved as the South Africans too were quite vociferous in their appeals during the Indian innings. Things got worse at the press conference where Mike Denness sat like a statue and refused to open his mouth. However, play resumed on Day 5 and the Test match was drawn.
After interference from the BCCI, and with the support of the South African Cricket board, Mike Denness was removed as Match referee from the third test match. The ICC however, deemed the match unofficial as they were not in favour of Denness' removal from the third test. Denness served in only two more Tests and three ODIs and was not reappointed by the ICC the following year. The ban on Tendulkar and Ganguly was overturned; however Virender Sehwag served a one test match ban as he was reported by the on field umpires during the game.
Australia vs Sri Lanka: 2nd Test Match (December 26-30, 1995) , Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Darrell Hair strikes again, Hand raising this time
On the first afternoon of the Boxing Day test of 1995, Muttiah Muralitharan was no-balled for throwing, seven times in three overs by umpire Darrell Hair. The instances, at which he was called too, were perplexing. Murali bowled two overs before lunch on Day 1, with Umpire Steve Dunne officiating from the bowler's end. No incident was reported either by Dunne (standing at the bowler's end) or Hair who was standing at square leg. Hair was umpiring at the bowler's end when Murali started bowling again. A maiden over was delivered. All six deliveries were considered fully legitimate by Hair . In Murali's next over, Hair called him for two no balls and in the next that the bowler delivered, he was no-balled on three occasions. The Sri Lankan captain for the test match, Arjuna Ranatunga left the field along with his players to have a word with his management. He was extremely upset. After a while, play resumed and Murali was called for throwing, again by Darrell Hair another couple of times. Murali's action was later cleared by the ICC. This test however, left a sour taste in the mouth of many cricket fans.
India vs Pakistan : 1st Test Match (January 28-31,1999), MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai
One Pitch catches are not allowed in International Cricket
This match is remembered for one of the finest test match innings of all time. Sachin Tendulkar made a brilliant 136, battling immense back pain, the fierce Pakistani bowling attack and the Chennai heat. Pakistan eventfully beat India by 12 runs in a nail biting encounter. They got a standing ovation from the wonderful Chennai crowd.
Now, for the blunder. The match result could have been different if common sense had prevailed between the Umpires for the game - Steve Dunne and V.K. Ramaswamy. Sourav Ganguly, batting in the Indian second innings, hit a ball into the legs of the silly point fielder. The ball then hit the ground, ricocheted off it and Moin Khan completed the catch. What was disheartening to see was the unsportsmanlike behavior from Moin Khan. There was no way that he did not know that the ball had not bounced. It happened right in front of his eyes. He appealed for a catch frantically. The umpires were unsure and instead of asking the third Umpire, they declared Ganguly out after deliberating for a while. God only knows what they discussed, but a wrong decision was made that turned out to be crucial in deciding the result of the match.
Australia vs New Zealand : Benson & Hedges third final (February 1, 1981), Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
This Underarm definitely stinks
New Zealand, chasing a target of 236 runs for a victory, needed 6 runs to tie the match off the last ball. What followed was a disgrace to the game of cricket. Trevor Chappell, was instructed by his brother and Captain of Australia for that game, Greg Chappell to deliver the final ball, underarm. Trevor rolled the ball down the pitch to Brian McKechnie who was on strike, in order to prevent him from hitting a six.
This was clearly not within the spirit of the game and the incident attracted criticism from all quarters and deservedly so. The incident rocked the cricketing world.
India vs Sri Lanka : ICC World Cup final (April 2, 2011), Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Sangakkara gets lucky - but only with the toss
The stage was set for the Grand Finale of the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2011 between India and Sri Lanka. Things got off to a confusing start. A bizarre incident happened at the toss when Kumar Sangakkara refused to tell what he had called after he saw the coin fall one way. No one including the match referee had heard it and Sangakkara got away with it. He stood poker faced and the coin went up into the air for the second time. It was shocking that this came from a man who claims to "Walk" when he knows he is out. May be the magnitude of the occasion made him act thus. Sri Lanka won the toss, but India won the match and with it the World Cup.
Play it hard, Play it right
As we have seen in the above matches, some unsavory incidents have marred an otherwise wonderful cricket match. If only the players play the game within the true Spirit of the sport, and other external factors do not hinder the game's progress, the Gentlemen's game would truly live up to its name.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
Show/hide comment form
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
