Cricket, like any other sport filled with passion, has its fair share of controversies. Here are a few that rocked the cricketing world:
Match-Fixing Scandals: These perhaps cast the darkest shadow on the sport. The biggest one involved South African captain Hansie Cronje who was banned for life after admitting to taking money from bookmakers to influence matches in 2000. This led to a major crackdown on match-fixing and spot-fixing, where bowlers deliberately bowl no-balls or wides for bets.
Ball-Tampering: This involves altering the condition of the cricket ball to gain an advantage in swing or seam bowling. A very famous incident was the 2018 Sandpaper Gate where Australian players were caught tampering with the ball during a Test match against South Africa. Steve Smith, the captain, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft were all banned for a year.
Underarm Bowling: This happened in a 1987 one-day international between Australia and New Zealand. With New Zealand needing one run to win from the last ball, the Australian captain, Trevor Chappell, instructed his younger brother Trevor to bowl underarm instead of a regular delivery. This was widely condemned as being against the spirit of the game.
Umpiring Decisions: With cricket being a game of millimeters, umpiring decisions can be very contentious. These days technology like DRS (Decision Review System) helps, but there have been many instances where wrong calls have changed the course of matches. The 1992 World Cup Rain Rule Debacle: This involved a controversial calculation used to set a target for South Africa in a rain-affected semi-final match against England. South Africa felt they were hard done by the Duckworth-Lewis method and eventually lost the match, leading to a major revamp of the rain rule.
These are just a few of the many controversies that have plagued cricket. The sport has come a long way in dealing with these issues, but controversies will likely remain a part of the game.