Top 10 cricket controversies that shook the world

New Delhi: Cricket is known as a gentleman's game but there are incidents that shook the cricket fraternity across the globe and, of course, marred the spirit of cricket.We have compiled a list of top 10 cricket controversies that shocked the cricketing world.1. The Sydney Riot of 1879The Sydney Riot of 1879 was a civil disorder that occurred during a cricket match between a touring English Team captained by Lord Harris and New South Wales led by Dave Gregory.The riot was initiated by a controversial decision by the umpire when a New South Wales batsman was declared out.The decision caused a furore among the spectators and an angry mob intruded into the ground and assaulted the fielding English players as well as the umpire.It is believed that the riot was sparked by some gamblers, who bet heavily on the home side, because the English team was in a strong position to win the match.2. Bodyline seriesBodyline probably is the biggest controversy in the history of cricket that will never fade away.Bodyline was a cricketing tactic devised by the English cricket team captain Douglas Jardine and executed by the fast bowler Harold Larwood for their 1932–33 Ashes tour of Australia, specifically to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's Don Bradman.This tactic was meant to scare the batsmen by bowling at the batsman's body. This was considered to be intimidatory and physically threatening, to the point of being unfair in a game once supposed to have gentlemanly traditions.Although no serious injuries arose from any short-pitched deliveries while a leg theory field was set, the tactic still led to considerable ill feeling between the two teams, with the controversy eventually spilling into the diplomatic arena.Over the next two decades, many laws of cricket were changed to prevent this tactic being repeated.3. Underarm bowling incidentThe underarm bowling incident of 1981 took place on 1 February 1981, when Australia was playing New Zealand in a One Day International cricket match, the third of five such matches in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.To prevent New Zealand from any chance of scoring the six they needed to tie, the Australian captain, Greg Chappell instructed his bowler Trevor Chappell to deliver the last ball underarm, along the ground.This action was legal at the time, but nevertheless seen as being against the spirit of cricketing fair play.4 No-balling Muralitharan for throwing In a 1995 match between Australia and Sri Lanka in Melbourne, umpire Darrell Hair no balled Muttiah Muralitharan seven times in three overs for throwing.It was the first time Muralitharan had been called in 22 Tests, although the ICC later said that umpires had expressed doubts about his legitimacy for more than two years.Biomechanical investigation of Muralitharan's action conducted at the behest of the ICC concluded that a congenital elbow deformity was partly responsible for his unusual action and his arm remained bent throughout delivery of the ball. After further review by an expert panel, the ICC decided to raise the elbow extension limit to 15 degrees for all bowlers.In 1999 Hair was found guilty by the ICC of bringing the game into disrepute after he described Muralitharan's action as "diabolical". Hair later received death threats that referenced the throwing incident and as a result the ICC decreed that he would not officiate any of Sri Lankas matches at the 1999 World Cup. Hair still believes Muralitharan's bowling action is suspect.5. Riot at Eden Garden: 1996 Cricket World CupChasing 252 runs for victory in the semifinal of world cup 1996, India slumped to 120 for 8 as India succumbed to pressure.India lost 7 wickets within 22 runs and was inching towards defeat. The pathetic performance by the Indian batsmen set the crowd wild.The angry spectators threw water bottles on to the ground and set fire to the stands. Match referee Clive Lloyd halted the match for 15 minutes and later tried to resume the match under tight security but his effort went in vain as the spectators were in no mood to clam down.The match was eventually awarded to Sri Lanka.6. The Oval TestOn 20th August 2006, on the 4th Day of the 4th Test between England and Pakistan, the controversy erupted when umpire Darrell Hair accused the Pakistani team of ball tampering and awarded England 5 runs as penalty.As a mark of protest, the Pakistani team refused to take the field after tea break. The umpires declared the match forfeited and awarded the match to England. This is the only forfeited Test in the history of cricket.7. The Monkey-Gate controversy: Harbhajan vs SymondsIndia's tour to Australia in 2008 was probably the most controversial Test Series the world has ever seen.The series was marred by controversies, one after the other as the Australian players displayed utter lack of sportsman spirit during that tour..During the 2nd Test match of that controversial series at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) an ugly altercation between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds raised the eyebrows of the entire cricket fraternity.Andrew Symonds alleged that Harbhajan made a racist remark against him by calling him monkey. Harbhajan was banned for 3 Tests as a consequence.8. Hansie CronjeSouth African skipper Hansie Cronje's image, regarded by fellow professionals as one of the finest ambassadors of the game, came crashing down on April 7 2000 when Delhi revealed they had a recording of a conversation between Cronje and Sanjay Chawla, a representative of an Indian betting syndicate, over match-fixing allegations.On April 11 Cronje was sacked as captain after confessing to Ali Bacher that he accepted between $10,000 and $15,000 from a London-based bookmaker for 'forecasting' results.Later, Cronje released a statement that revealed all his contact with bookmakers revealing the tens of thousands of dollars he had accepted to concede runs, lose wickets and throw matches. On October 11 Cronje was banned from playing or coaching cricket for life.He died in June 2002 his plane crashed into the Outeniqua mountains northeast of the airport. Cronje, was 32 years old.9. Spot fixing fiasco involving Pakistani playersThe spot fixing scandal of 2010 involving a few Pakistani cricketers raised quite a few eyebrows when Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were convicted of spot fixing in a Test match against England at Lords.An undercover reporter from the English newspaper News Of The World exposed the scandal by a video tape which filmed Amir, Asif and Butt accepting money from a bookie named Mazhar Majeed for bowling deliberate no balls at specific points in an over.10. IPL Spot fixingThree Rajasthan Royals players S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan allegedly took money from bookies and fixed matches.Sreesanth and Chandila were supposed to give 14 runs in an over and Chavan was supposed to give 13 runs.Before that particular over, the players signaled the bookies. The police were tracking them for the past one month and caught them red handed.One of the bookies was a former Royals player Amit Singh. After they aadmitted their crimes before the police, small-time actor Vindoo Dara Singh was detained for being a part of the network.After questioning him, Dara Singh Jr. mentioned BCCI chief N Srinivasan's son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan's name.Meiyappan was also Team Principal of Chennai Super Kings. He was accused of betting and he had lost Rs 1 crore on bets this year. After a inquiry session with CBI, Gurunath was arrested, and later released on bail.