A Day in Infamy in Trans-Tasman Cricket

The low point in trans-Tasman cricketing relations was the infamous underarm bowling incident in the World Series Cup final on 1 February 1981 between Australia and New Zealand.

Australia, dominant in world cricket in modern times, does not always simply allow its superior skill to determine the outcome of a game.

The unsporting final act of underarm bowling the final delivery in the game, though not illegal, was widely regarded as underhanded, even by many Australians including commentator Richie Benaud, a former Australian test player, who makes clear what he thought of the underarm bowling at the end of the video clip below.

New Zealand could only tie the game by hitting a six on that last delivery, so there was no prospect of an Australian loss.

It certainly took a long time for the poor sportsmanship demonstrated by the Chappell brothers on this occasion to be forgotten or forgiven.