Ah, Cricket. The gentleman’s game where respect is paramount.
That is what many people think of the sport, but as these five examples prove, Cricket can become a ‘gentleman’s game played by hooligans’.
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#1: Aussie’s fighting spirit
In 1912, Aussie cricket officials gathered to pick the team for the fourth Ashes Test with their team trailing 2-1 in the series.
Selector Peter McAlister had a long-running feud with Baggy Green captain Clem Hill and made several jibes at him during the meeting including insulting him – calling Hill ‘the worst captain in living memory.’
Clem Hill, one of South Australia’s finest cricketers, now stands tall in the Southern Plaza.
He’s the eighth and final statue to be unveiled at Adelaide Oval as part of Basil Sellers’ donation to the people of South Australia. pic.twitter.com/PXNkK7VtGy
— SACA News (@SACAnews) December 4, 2017
Hill took McAlister’s attacks personally, telling the selector: “You’ve been asking for a punch all night and I’ll give you one.”
Hill stood up and punched the selector before a mass brawl broke out, during which the skipper had to be forcibly stopped from throwing McAlister out of the third-floor window.
Stunningly, Hill kept his place in the team as captain. Aussies in disarray, eh? Nothing new there.
#2: Dennis Lillee vs the world
The incomparable Dennis Lillee almost got into a full-blown brawl when he barged into Javed Miandad while the latter was completing a run.
The two got into a verbal fight before Lillee (not known for being the most gentle figure) kicked Miandad.
Dennis Lillee spoiling for aggro.
Not to be left behind, Miandad lifted his bat to retaliate and only umpire intervention prevented a skull fracture.
Lillee would get into similar spats with English players and notably even his own team-mates.
#3: India get physical
The fight between India players Harbhajan Singh and Shanthakumaran Sreesanth is one of the most noted and widely known fights in the history of Cricket.
Harbhajan allegedly slapped Sreesanth when the said something to him which the off-spinner found offensive.
COLOMBO, SRI LANKA – SEPTEMBER 23: Indian bowler Harbhajan Singh thanking god after he took four wickets during the ICC T20 World Cup cricket match between India and England at R. Premadasa Stadium on September 23, 2012 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Photo by Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
The video was removed from the internet by the BCCI.
It was not the last controversy Sreesanth was involved in, as he was banned for life by the BCCI for spot-fixing in the 2013 IPL. He now works as an actor.
#4: Warner vs Root – Round 1
The incident, called ‘unprovoked’ by England in a statement at the time, was said to have been sparked by Warner taking offence at Root wearing a wig on his chin in the belief he was mocking the South African batsman Hashim Amla.
Then England vice-captain, Root labeled this explanation “ridiculous” before the pair went on to bury the hatchet during the 2015 Ashes series.
David Warner of Australia walks off the pitch after being caught by Joe Root off the bowling of Graeme Swann during Day Four of the 3rd Investec Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, UK. Photo: Visionhaus/Ben Radford
“People didn’t look too far or deep into it to see who was in the right or wrong – and that’s forgotten,” said Warner of the Walkabout Bar incident. “But that’s all gone, it’s in the past and we can tell a ‘happily ever after’ story at the end of my career.”
That ‘happily ever after’ story was going well until Warner found some sandpaper.
#5: Ben Stokes and Alex Hales
Well, this is a weird one
After Warner, you may have thought that cricketers worked out the simple fact that alcohol + tension = front page of The Sun the next morning.
Alas, Stokes’ late night antics after a win against the West Indies at an ODI in Bristol landed him in a heap of trouble as he was arrested and charged with affray after knocking another man down with a punch. Teammate Alex Hales was also implicated, as he appeared to kick a man while he was on the floor.
Eventually Stokes was cleared, but both him and Hales were charged by the ECB in September for their roles in the incident.
It’s a very different type of knockout match than the ones England will hope to be winning next summer at the Cricket World Cup.
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