Cricket Skams: Trevor Chappell underarm incident

In the history of the sport, a lot of infamous incidents have taken place which managed to find a permanent spot in the memories of many fans and pundits alike.

While many rivalries have often instigated the controversies over time, the lack of strict rules in the 20^th century meant that an incident took place in 1981 that tarnished the image of Australian fast-bowler Trevor Chappell for almost the rest of his career and beyond.

Moments leading to the incident

The episode took place on the 1^st of February 1981 during an international match featuring Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Both teams were contesting in the keenly fought Benson & Hedges World Series Cup and with the five-match series tied one each leading to the third game.

Although the ‘Underarm delivery’ sent waves across the globe, it overshadowed an incident that had already grabbed eyeballs in the first innings of the game. At a time when TV replays were not yet in fashion, Martin Snedden, one of New Zealand’s fielders claimed to have taken a catch of Greg Chappell, when the Australian batsman skied one into the air.

However, Chappell stood his ground and instead waited for the decisions of the umpires, both of whom after a rather long discussion ruled it in favour of the Australian captain which left the visitors fuming and had a major impact in the game.

Ultimately, Martin Snedden had the last laugh, getting rid of Chappell off his own bowling but not before the Australian skipper had made 90. Australia got to a competitive total of 235-4 off 50 overs.

The openers got New Zealand off to a fabulous start but Greg Chappell struck to pick his team’s first wicket, getting rid of JG Wright following which he took two more wickets in an economical spell of bowling, giving away just 43 runs from his 10 overs.

The controversial over – ‘The underarm ball’

15 runs were required off the last over and the bowl was thrown to Trevor Chappell, the younger brother of Greg Chappell. Trevor was immediately under the pump, being thwacked by Richard Hadlee for a four off the first ball.

However, he struck on the next ball, removing Hadlee and giving away just four runs from the next two balls. Chappell got rid of Smith in the penultimate ball and tailender Brian McKechnie walked to the middle with seven runs required.

An amateur-level error from Dennis Lillee meant that the final ball was called a no-ball and suddenly, the match came to life with six runs needed off the final ball. The crowd was egging the Australian team when Greg Chapell slowly walked toward Trevor, urging him to roll the ball along the ground, to not let McKechnie hit the ball over the ropes.

Spotting the plot that Greg was setting, Rodney Marsh shook his head in disbelief. McKechnie threw the bat down on the ground in disgust but soon got ready to face the final ball, shocked by the un-sportsmanship like attitude from the Australian captain.

Trevor walked up to the crease, bent down and rolled the ball at McKechnie, who just blocked the ball in front of the stumps. The stadium started echoing of boos against the hosts and McKechnie was seen flinging his bat onto the side of the pitch. However, there was nothing he could do other than picking up the bat and walking into the pavilion.

All through this time, BA Edgar was watching the drama unfold from the other end and was unbeaten on 102 when the game’s final ball sent the match into the history books - one of the most ‘disrepectful and disgusting’ moments of the game.

Although there were no rules laid forth terming under-arm deliveries illegal, it was against the spirit of cricket. Australia had won by unfair means and the episode left a severe scar on Greg and Trevor Chappell.

Reactions to the controversy

Right after the incident, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Robert Muldoon was quoted as saying, “it was one of the most disgusting incidents I can recall in cricket history” and added that “it was an act of true cowardice”.

Immediately, he received sympathy from the then PM of Australia, Malcolm Fraser who called the decision one that was “contrary to the traditions of the game”.

One of the biggest and most spoken about reaction was that of ex-Australian all-rounder Keith Miller, who rubbished the move by saying, “Yesterday, One-Day cricket died and Greg Chappell should be buried with it!”, emphasising on how enraged he was after the episode.

A furious Richie Benaud, one of the greatest cricket commentators of all time, who was working with Channel 9 went on to say that it was the most disgraceful moment he had witnessed in the sport.

Although the Chappell brothers refrain from talking about the incident, years after it happened, Greg Chappell admitted to being mentally worked out and physically tired on the day which led him to make the shocking decision.

However, the reasons have no bearing on what happened on the day and the incident will forever be etched in the history books as one of the most disrespectful episodes.