Cricket is referred to as the gentleman’s game. The sport cricket, which were invented by English nobles, are played between two teams of 11 players, each of which is expected to conduct itself honorably and honestly. Cricket fans are privileged to enjoy some of the rich and brilliant memories of the game because of its honesty and sportsmanship. Despite the long and illustrious history of international cricket, the sport’s honor and integrity have frequently been put to the test. Of course, we’d prefer to recall the sport’s best moments, but over its history, a variety of repulsive and disturbing incidents have frequently threatened to undermine the game’s foundation. World cricket has seen nearly everything, from match-fixing to drug scandals to political rallies. Here, we bring to you some of the darkest days in the history of cricket. Scroll down to read more details about the Darkest Days Of Cricket World.
Darkest Days Of Cricket World
In recent years, the sport has experienced various controversies that have put its honesty and ethics toward honorable sportsmanship to the test. As a result of numerous controversies that have made headlines, the sport, and its athletes have lowered the reputation of this gentleman’s game to a new low.
To shed some light on these darkest days of cricket world controversies, let us start with the 1980s. Yes, you read that right! Scandals did happen in the 1980s as well.
1. The Underarm Ball (1981)
A World Cup Series was going on. New Zealand and Australia were competing with one another. Unfortunately, despite employing several peculiar techniques, the Black Caps team’s goal of scoring six runs in the final ball was not achieved.
The Australian cricket team’s captain, Greg Chappell, instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the final ball underarm. Up until that point, the ICC did not forbid underarm bowling. Following this, the rules were altered, which was seen as against the spirit of the game. After this occurrence, underarm bowling was outlawed in cricket games.
2. Hansie Cronje Match-Fixing (2000)
One of the biggest match-fixing scandals in cricket history occurred in 2000 when the Delhi Police disclosed that they had captured shady conversations between Sanjay Chawla and Hansie Cronje. Fans idolized Cronje, a popular and successful South African cricket player. However, he was divisive because of his association with Sanjay Chawla.
Sanjay was identified as a well-known participant in the Indian betting ring. In his initial denial of all allegations of match-fixing, Cronje sobbed, but this was followed by his response under cross-examination. At the end, Hansie Cronje was given a cricket ban for life.
In addition, there were rumors that Cronje had been murdered before he died in a plane crash in 2002.
3. Ball-Tampering Allegations on Pakistan (2006)
It was England and Pakistan’s fourth test match. Additionally, ball-tampering was attributed to Pakistani fielders. Five penalty runs were awarded to the England side. The officials warned the group while checking and replacing the ball right away. The Pakistani team declined to play right after the tea break, and as a result, the match was ultimately given to the England team because Pakistan had not shown up to play.
Members of the Pakistani national cricket team were exposed in 2010 by a News of the World undercover investigation for collecting bribes from bookmaker Mazhar Majeed in exchange for playing no-balls. The International Cricket Council (ICC) found Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif, and Mohammad Amir guilty and suspended them for five to ten years.
In 2011, they were also accused of conspiring to intentionally play no-ball in Test matches, for which they received prison terms ranging from 6 to 32 months.
4. Bob Woolmer’s Death (2007)
Bob Woolmer, the coach of Pakistan, was sadly found dead at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica, during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean. When pathologist Ere Seshaiah concluded that Woolmer had died of asphyxia due to hand strangulation, what was initially thought to be a heart attack swiftly turned into a murder probe.
The biggest limited-overs match in cricket was instantly marred by Woolmer’s passing and the investigation that followed. An open verdict was issued after the inquest into Woolmer’s death because the 11-member jury was unable to determine the actual reason for the coach’s demise.
5. The Sydney Test Match (2008)
Australia defeated India in one of the most competitive Test matches in history under the waning light of the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2008. A spectacular Australian victory was tarnished by shocking umpiring calls that worsened the already tense relationship between the sides. As a result, foul celebrations and racial accusations marred the match’s final moments.
The ongoing beef between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh led to Ricky Ponting flagging the off-spinner to the match official for what he deemed to be an exceedingly racist remark. Both Australia’s insistence on a controversial low catch to remove Sourav Ganguly. The home team’s excessive celebrations after winning infuriated the visitors.
6. IPL Fixing (2013)
Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, and Ankeet Chavan of the Rajasthan Royals were detained by the Delhi Police in 2013 on suspicion of spot-fixing games in the Indian Premier League season six. The accused was suspected of being a part of a sizable betting and organized crime ring that was in charge of tampering with many IPL matches.
Sreesanth and Chavan received life bans from the game. While Amit Singh, the Gujarat cricketer-turned-bookie, received a five-year ban, following an extensive report from Ravi Sawani, who oversaw the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s investigation into the scandal.
The lack of supporting evidence and cooperation between the police departments led to the release of several individuals, including Sreesanth and Chavan.
7. Paine’s sexting scandal (2017)
Tim Paine, the captain of Australia, resigned on the eve of the first Test of the previous Ashes series. It was due to a historic sexting scandal. The wicketkeeper was the subject of a misconduct investigation. He had send sexually explicit messages to a female Cricket Tasmania employee in 2017. He claimed that the investigation “exonerated” him.
When Paine found out the story was going to be made public four years later, he decided to resign as Australia’s captain. Pat Cummins took Paine’s place as captain, and Paine never again represented Australia on the pitch. Instead, he observed as his teammates defeated England 4-0 to keep the urn. He took retirement from all forms of cricket earlier this year.
8. Sandpaper Gate (2018)
The Australian cricket team was embroiled in a scandal involving ball tampering. Cameron Bancroft was seen on camera trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper. He was doing so to make the ball swing in flight. The event took place during the third test match against South Africa in Cape Town in March.
So, these were some of the major scandals that affected the sport of cricket worldwide. We hope the game does not see any darkest days of cricket world in the coming events.
