On This Day: February 1, 1981 - Trevor Chappell bowls underarm

[ali_i2i]

New Zealand required a six to tie the match from the final ball, with eight wickets down. The Australian captain (Greg Chappell) ordered the bowler (his brother, Trevor Chappell) to bowl underarm to avoid the possibility that the No. 10 ( ) ) ) ) New Zealand batsman (Brian McKechnie) would score a six from the last ball to tie the match.

 

[Oxy]

..here is a sign of age! I saw this on the news the day it happened!!!

 

[cricket_fan194]

This is what cricinfo has to say about it.
February 1 down the years

Underhand underarm
1981
A one-day final, and the opponents need six off the last ball just to tie. If you were an Australian, you'd back yourself to win, wouldn't you? Greg Chappell didn't. He was so scared of New Zealand's Brian McKechnie (one-day career: 54 runs in 14 matches) that he ordered his bowler - who just happened to be his brother, Trevor - to bowl the last ball underarm. It did the trick and Australia won the match. But they lost a lot of friends at the same time - the tactic caused much consternation and was quickly banned. Ian Chappell, brother of Trevor and Greg, was commentating at the time and said: "No Greg, you can't do that."


Talk about sportsmanship.

 

[HAFRIDI]

*** i cant believe that, poor stuff. Thanks for he clip, only heard about it, never seen.

I thought by under arm it meant a few bounces at least, thats a frickin roll!! as i would call it-a pee roller!

 

[Amir_rulez]

Alwayz wanted to see that. That was a joke of cricket. Glad its not allowed anymore.
Thanks for sharing Pace.

 

[azcali78]

Now we all know the ethics of this current Indian Cricket Team. Great Stuff Greg....

 

[hatch101]

i had never heard of this! anyone care to tell the story behind it? plz!

 

[Pace]

i had never heard of this! anyone care to tell the story behind it? plz!

Here you go:

"1981 Incident
An infamous incident involving an underarm delivery occurred on February 1, 1981 when Australia were playing New Zealand in a One-day International, the third of five matches in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup.

New Zealand required a six to tie the match from the final ball, with eight wickets down. The Australian captain (Greg Chappell) ordered the bowler (his brother, Trevor Chappell) to bowl underarm to avoid the possibility that the No. 10 New Zealand batsman (Brian McKechnie) would score a six from the last ball to tie the match.

Australia won the game but the New Zealand batsmen marched off in disgust and since that day the underarm bowling incident has been a source of discussion, both heated and jocular, between Australians and New Zealanders.

It was described as "the most disgusting incident I can recall in the history of cricket" by the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Rob Muldoon, who also observed that "yellow was an appropriate colour for the Australian team to wear". Even the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, called the act "contrary to the traditions of the game".

Brian McKechnie bears no ill-will over the incident but both Chappell brothers have publicly stated their embarrassment over the incident and, over 20 years later, are still reluctant to discuss it.

As a direct result of the incident, underarm bowling was banned in limited overs cricket by the International Cricket Council as not within the spirit of the game.

New Zealand cricketer Warren Lees recounted the underarm incident on New Zealand's 20/20 current affairs show, on Thursday 17 February 2005. He said for long after the affair there was silence in the dressing room, which was broken suddenly and unexpectedly by fellow player Mark Burgess smashing a tea cup."

 

[hatch101]

wow, i cant believe that used to be allowed, and what a cowardly way to end a match!

 

[DesiMD]

*** i cant believe that, poor stuff. Thanks for he clip, only heard about it, never seen.

I thought by under arm it meant a few bounces at least, thats a frickin roll!! as i would call it-a pee roller!

thats wat i thought too....i didn't know that it meant u could roll the ball lol....this reminds me of the way inzi got out the other day....spirit of the game wasn't there...

 

[khilari]

how ironic...
chappal with both teams when they hit their rock bottom

that underarm ball made this team india look so much better.. that ball from an australian was pathetic to say the least

 

[AssassinatedDevil]

Today in 1981 at the MCG: Aussie Trevor Chappell bowls the infamous "underarm ball" as instructed by his brother & captain Greg - to Kiwi Brian McKechnie.

 

[MenInG]

Former New Zealand opener Bruce Edgar has put forth an interesting theory regarding Australian great Dennis Lillee‘s attempt at neutralising the infamous underarm incident during an ODI between the two teams in 1981.

With New Zealand needing six runs off the final delivery to tie the above-mentioned fixture at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the then Aussie captain Greg Chappellasked his bowler Trevor Chappell to bowl underarm, a move that drew widespread condemnation.

Brian McKechnie, the on-strike batsman, threw his bat in frustration with Edgar, who hit an unbeaten century, shaking his head in disbelief.

38 years after that, Edgar has said Lillee, in an apparent act of defiance to what his captain was about to do, might have deliberately moved out of the circle meaning the delivery would have been deemed a no ball.

For the uninitiated, a per the rule, there should be at least four fielders inside the circle when the ball is being delivered. Failing to do so renders the delivery illegal.

“The only question I have is did Dennis Lillee step outside the circle on last ball to make it a no ball?,” Edgar, who played 39 Tests and 64 ODIs, told Newstalk ZB. “I know he [Lillee] was at short fine leg, I do remember him standing down there. There is no evidence of it, and I don’t know if he was interviewed or not. Rod Marsh was saying no way mate, no way mate (to the Chappells) you can’t do this. He was pretty clear on that.”

He continued, “Dennis was maybe doing something we don’t know. I think there were four inside the circle, he may have stepped out to make it three…something to that effect. I know he was down there, and he was fuming and whether that happened or not I don’t know. I don’t know if he has ever been asked. I’ve never seen him. It would be interesting to know.”

Edgar, 62, didn’t imagine the incident will have such far and wide ramifications. The underarm delivery has since been outlawed by the ICC under the Laws of Cricket.

“I was angry at the end then reality struck — I didn’t quite know what the ramifications would be,” Edgar said.

https://www.cricketcountry.com/news...llees-involvement-in-underarm-incident-798735

 

[MenInG]

How shameful was this?

 

[BouncerGuy]

Definitely, one of the most shameful incidents to happen in World Cricket.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1752834561896075423

 

[FearlessRoar]

I don't understand how that delivery was legal. It doesn't make sense

 

[greatest]

I don't understand how that delivery was legal. It doesn't make sense

Bowling has evolved over the years. When cricket first started bowlers used to bowl underarm, then came roundarm and only in the beginning of the 20th century did bowlers started experimenting with over the shoulder. It was only after 1981 that underarm bowling was abolished.

 

[greatest]

I think some ridiculous bowling rules still exist, like bowling with the ball bouncing on the pitch twice.