Did you know about these controversial matches?

An entire year without a significant cricket controversy is quite uncommon. The image of the game has been severely tarnished by match-fixing, drug use, fights between players, incorrect judgements by the umpires and fights between players and officials. There have been numerous debates throughout the course of over 150 years. The following are some of the most controversial matches in cricket ever played:

England vs South Africa

A strong South African team led by Kepler Wessels was able to go to the semi-finals of the 1992 Cricket World Cup in just their first outing in the competition. In a match that was reduced to 45 overs due to heavy rain, the Proteas had to chase 253 in the allowed overs against England.

In response, South Africa scored 232/6, requiring 22 runs from 13 deliveries. After two overs were missed due to the rain gods’ persistent downpours, the South African squad was given the objective of chasing 22 runs off just one delivery using the D/L method. England won the match and went on to win it, and the result is still one of the most talked-about in sports today.

England vs Pakistan

In the fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan that year at The Oval, just after the lunch break, umpire Darrell Hair accused the Pakistani team of tampering with the ball and gave England five runs as a penalty to Pakistan.

When the teams entered the tea break, Pakistan, led by Inzamam-ul-Haq, opted not to return to the pitch in protest. The umpires eventually took out the bails and declared England the winner after some time had passed. Pakistan did return to the field about 55 minutes after play had resumed, but the officials ruled that the game was ended. The game was called even though England wanted to continue playing.

The match was deemed a draw by the ICC two years after the occurrence, but on the MCC’s advice, they later declared England the winner after another year.

Australia vs India

The umpires rendered up to 12 wrong calls throughout the second Test of the 2007–2008 Border–Gavaskar Trophy. One of the most experienced umpires, Steve Bucknor, came under fire for officiating one of the worst games of his career.

According to a source, India was wronged in an astounding 8 out of the 11 disputed umpiring decisions, which significantly altered the game’s outcome. Australia won the game by 122 runs, and following the game, BCCI demanded that Bucknor be benched for the third Test. A few days later, a New Zealand umpire, Billy Bowden was named as his replacement.

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