LAHORE: Pakistani cricket captain Salman Ali Agha’s weird run-out against Bangladesh the other day was in line with the game’s laws, but it has sparked a debate if it was against the essence of the sport and in violation of the unwritten codes of traditional sportsmanship and fairness.
Cricket has always prided itself on being the gentleman’s game, built on integrity and respect, but there have been quite a few incidents during the course of this game’s history, which led to flaring of tempers on the field.
In other words, the ‘spirit of cricket’ has often been called into question.
Here follow a few instances where the sport’s values of fair play and integrity were tested:
The infamous 1932-33 “Bodyline Series” between England and Australia first brought cricket’s remarkable spirit under scrutiny when English captain, Douglas Jardine, had deployed fast bowlers who deliberately targeted the bodies of Aussie batsmen to intimidate them. This tactic, widely criticized for its unsportsmanlike nature and dangerous implications, strained relations between the two teams.
In 1979, Australia’s Rodney Hogg lost his cool and flattened stumps in anger after being run-out by Javed Miandad off a no-ball against Pakistan at Melbourne. Hogg had defended a ball off Pakistan bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz.
As the ball rolled on the grass, Hogg walked down the wicket to tap his bat on the pitch. Miandad quickly hopped across the pitch, collected the ball, flicked off the bails and appealed to the umpires. Hogg was given out.
Pakistan skipper Mushtaq had recalled the batter to his crease, who walked back and stood by the stumps.
Umpires decided that the correct call had been taken and gave Hogg out again.
Another flashpoint that led to ill-feelings was the Lillee versus Miandad incident.
Newspaper flashed headlines as these two abrasive cricketers came up against each other when Pakistan toured Australia in 1981-82.
As Lillee deliberately moved into the batsman’s path and visibly kicked Miandad, the latter lifted his bat above his head like a deranged javelin thrower as if to strike the Aussie fast bowler. Intervention prevented a far more ugly physical confrontation though.
The “Underarm Bowling Incident” of 1981 occurred during a One-Day International match between Australia and New Zealand.
Australian captain, Greg Chappell, instructed his brother, Trevor Chappell, to deliver the final ball of the match underarm. New Zealand needed six runs to win of the last delivery, but Trevor prevented the batsman from hitting a six by rolling the ball along the ground. This act was widely condemned for its violation of the spirit of cricket, drawing severe backlash from the cricketing community.
The world also saw Australian umpire, Darrel Hair, no-balling Sri Lanka’s Muralitharan some seven times in 1995 for allegedly extending the arm beyond the permissible limits.
Later on, Murali’s action was cleared as tests proved he had congenital deformities in his elbow.
Umpire Darrel was found guilty for bringing the game to disrepute.
Same umpire was later involved in another controversy in 2006 when he awarded five runs against Pakistan for ball tampering without any evidence whatsoever.
