Cricket is not always a gentleman’s sport, with players, coaches, and others being involved in distasteful occurrences that reflect poorly on the sport and themselves.
Cricket has been the subject of several scandals, and as a sport that attracts a lot of attention and money, it is bound to have its fair share. In the world of cricket, the last decade has been one of the most infamous. Controversies began springing up one after the other.
Cricket has seen everything throughout the decades, from match rigging to fights, from ball-tampering to misunderstandings, and everything in between.
The Australian cricket squad has had its fair share of controversy throughout the years. Despite a year of carefully orchestrated PR efforts to represent themselves as a squad that plays with the spirit of the game, they engaged in some unpleasant language and acts with players from other countries.
Let’s take a look at the ten biggest controversies involving Australian cricketers:
1. When Sourav Ganguly edged one to third slip in the second innings of the infamous Sydney Test.
Even though the ball had reached the ground first, Michael Clarke claimed the catch. After Australian captain Ricky Ponting protested, Ganguly was pronounced out, and India lost the Test match.
2. When Steve Smith was declared LBW during the second test in Bengaluru.
However, the Australian batsman remained with the group, scanning the dressing room for information on whether or not to request DRS. Virat Kohli reacted angrily to this, accusing the Australians of repeatedly reverting to similar techniques.
3. When Shane Warne, the star spinner for Australia, was found guilty of taking a prohibited substance just days before the squad was to go to South Africa for the 2003 World Cup.
He was banned for nearly a year by the ICC for using this diuretic pill.
4. Australian opener David Warner got into a heated argument with English batsman Joe Root at a pub only hours after losing to England in the 2013 Champions Trophy.
He was not only suspended for the rest of the competition but he was also fined AU $11,500.
5. When in 1981 Australia required six runs off the final ball, Greg Chappell requested his younger brother Trevor to bowl an underarm delivery at the MCG.
Brian McKenchie, a New Zealand batsman, defended the ball before tossing his bat away in protest at the flagrant contempt of the spirit of the game.
6. During the 2013 Ashes, when Australian captain Michael Clarke intervened to avert a scuffle between James Anderson and George Baily but instead told the English pacer to “get ready for a broken fucking arm.”
7. When Mitchell Starc delivered a bouncer to Kieron Pollard and sledged him during an IPL 2014 league game.
Mitchell Starc did not halt his run up the following ball as Pollard moved back from the stance. Instead, he pursued Pollard and launched a beamer at him.
8. During a Test match between Australia and South Africa in 2018, When Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft was caught on video attempting to tamper with an old ball using sandpaper he hid under his trousers.
Further inquiry revealed that Steve Smith and David Warner, captain and vice-captain, were both involved in the event.
9. When the umpires had handed so many rulings in Australia’s favour during the 2008 Sydney Test that when Michael Clarke edged one to first slip, he remained there for a few seconds as if expected to be given not out.
10. Because of South Africa’s apartheid policies, the ICC prohibited its members from touring the nation in the 1980s.
Despite the world community’s disapproval of the racist regime, an Australian rebel team was dispatched to South Africa from November 1985 to February 1986.
