25 Most Scandalous Moments in Cricket History

1999-2000 India-South Africa Match-Fixing Scandal

The 1999-2000 India-South Africa scandal remains one of the darkest moment's in cricket history, with several legends of the game, including the captains of the two teams, Hansie Cronje of South Africa, and Mohammad Azharuddin of India, being banned for life later on. Cronje and others had taken money to influence the result of the ODI series.

2018 Sri Lanka Pitch-Fixing Scandal

An Al-Jazeera documentary in 2018 accused several officials of the Sri Lankan cricket board and groundsmen at match venues in the country of preparing pitches, that manipulated the outcome of the matches. Incidents mentioned were from home Test series' for the Lions in 2016-17, against India and Australia.

2018 Australia 'Sandpapergate'

The incident occurred during a Test match between Australia and South Africa at Cape Town in 2018, where Aussie skipper Steve Smith, and his deputy David Warner made a plan to tamper the ball to generate swing. As planner, Cameron Bancroft was caught on camera using sandpaper on the ball, later leading to a year-long ban for the players.

1981 Trevor Chappell Underarm Bowling Incident

In February 1981, Australia and New Zealand faced each other in an ODI in Melbourne, where six runs were needed off the last ball. To prevent the batter from doing so, Aussie captain Greg Chappell instructed his brother, Trevor Chappell to bowl an underarm delivery, as a result of which batter Brian McKechnie threw his bat in anger.

2017 Steve Smith 'Brain-Fade'

During the 2017-18 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Steve Smith, after getting LBW out of Umesh Yadav's delivery, looked towards the Australian dressing room for signals on whether to take a DRS or not. Indian captain Virat Kohli objected to it, as DRS decisions could only be made by players on the field, with Smith later clarifying that he had a 'Brain-Fade' moment.

1976-77 John Lever 'Vaseline' Ball Tampering Incident

The 1976-77 'Vaseline' controversy was one of the earliest ball-tampering incidents reported in the media. English fast-bowler John Lever, during a Test tour to India, used Vaseline strips on the ball to generate more reverse swing. Lever had carried the Vaseline strip above his eyebrows, in order to stop sweat from dripping into his eyes during the match.

2013 IPL Spot-Fixing and Betting Scandal

One of the darkest moments in IPL history, the 2013 spot-fixing and betting scandal resulted in two franchises being banned from the competition for two long years, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Three RR players, including Sreesanth, Ankeet Chavan and Ajit Chandila were arrested, alongside actor Vindu Dara Singh and CSK official G. Meiyappan.

2010 Pakistan Cricket Spot-Fixing Scandal

Three Pakistani players were banned after the infamous 2010 spot-fixing scandal, including 18-year-old Mohammad Aamir, captain Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. An agent named Mazhar Majeed had acted as a link between the players and the bookies, offering money to influence the result of the game.

1994-95 John 'The Bookmaker' Controversy

Back in 1994-95, an unnamed bookie, who was referred to as John 'The Bookmaker' had reportedly given money to Australian legends Mark Waugh and Shane Warner, in exchange for pitch and weather information. Interestingly, John 'The Bookmaker' also emerged among numerous other scandals, in international cricket history.

2017 PSL Spot-Fixing Scandal

The Pakistan Super League T20 was only a year old, when several franchises and players were accused of taking money in order to bowl or bat in a pre-determined way, as the bookmakers' wanted. Players like Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif and Mohammad Irfan faced up to ban of two years, while the PCB strengthened its anti-corruption regulations.

2009-10 Danish Kaneria-Mervyn Westfield Spot-Fixing Controversy

Pakistani leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and English fast bowler Mervyn Westfield, both of whom were playing for Essex in the County Cricket Championship at the time, had been accused of taking money from bookies to under-perform. While Westfield was banned for five years, Kaneria was banned from playing cricket professionally.

1994-2000 Saleem Malik Match-Fixing Scandal

Former Pakistani captain and one of the country's leading batters Saleem Malik was banned for life by the PCB, after being found guilty of match-fixing by the Justice Qayyum Inquiry Commission in 2000. Throughout the 1990s, Malik had taken money from bookmakers to influence the results of Test and ODI matches.

2004 Rahul Dravid 'Logenze' Ball Tampering Incident

While it might not be as big as a controversy as the others on this list, it did involve Indian batting great Rahul Dravid, as a result of which the incident was widely reported in the media. David, on an ODI tour to Zimbabwe, was caught rubbing a cough logenze to shine the ball in order to generate more swing.

2019 Shakib Al-Hasan Corruption and Match-Fixing Controversy

Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan was banned from playing cricket for two long years, after being found guilty by the ICC"s anti-corruption unit. Shakib had alleged links to spot-fixing in matches, and was also approached by bookie, despite no on-field fixing being found on the player's part.

2012-14 Brendon McCullum and Lou Vincent Match-Fixing Controversy

Having played for the New Zealand cricket team between 2001 to 2008, batter Lou Vincent was accused of spot-fixing and taking money from bookmakers to influence matches, as a result of which he was later banned for eighth years and never returned to international cricket. Brendon McCullum, close to Vincent at the time, was cleared of any involvement.

1996-97 Shoaib Akhtar-Waqar Younis Ball Tampering Controversy

Two of Pakistan's greatest fast bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar and Waqar Younis, during the later 1990s, included in ball tampering in order to gain excessive reverse swing, on the tours to England and India. Akhtar and Younis had reportedly used substances like Vaseline and mints to polish the ball, but no formal punishments were imposed on the duo.

1990s England Jelly Bean Incident

English media dubbed the incident as the 'Jelly Bean' controversy, after several players in the domestic championship during the mid-1990s, had been found using jelly beans or sweets to shine the ball, and alter its condition for improved reverse swing. No player or official was sanctioned by the ICC, despite it being an illegal act.

2010s Faf du Plessis Ball Tampering Incident

Former South African skipper Faf du Plessis was caught on two occasions, trying to tamper with the ball to influence the match's outcome. The first one was during the 2013 Champions Trophy, where rubbed Mint on the ball in a match against India, with a similar incident taking place in a Test match against Australia, in 2016.

1994 Michael Atherton 'Dirt in the Pocket' Ball Tampering Controversy

Infamously known as Michael Atherton's 'Dirt in the Pocket' controversy, the former England captain, had in 1996, been accused of tampering with the ball by putting dirt into his pocket, which he used to roughen one side of the ball. Similar to the smaller incidents, Atherton was left off with a warning, without being penalized.

2006 Lord's Ball Tampering Controversy

During the 2nd Test match of Pakistan's 2006 tour to England at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London, Inzamam-ul-Haq refused to continue playing, after the umpire accused the Pakistani team to tampering with the ball. Cameras and English players noticed that the Pakistani players were attempting to use foreign substances to shine the ball.

1932-33 Bodyline Controversy

Officially referred to as the 'first-leg theory' bowling, the infamous Bodyline controversy occurred during the 1932-33 Ashes between England and Australia. The Three Lions won the Test series 4-1, effectively bowling short-pitched deliveries aimed at the batters' chest and head, in order to contain Don Bradman.

1990s-2000s Muttiah Muralitharan 'Chucking' Controversy

During the 1990s and early 2000s, Sri Lankan spin bowling legend Muttiah Muralitharan was accused of chucking, or bending his elbow beyond the allowed limit, while bowling. As a result, Australian umpire Darrell Hair, in a match between Sri Lanka and Australia, called no-balls whenever Muttiah came to bowling.

2010 Shahid Afridi Ball-Biting Controversy

During the 2010 Asia Cup, as well as during Pakistan's domestic matches, all-rounder Shahid Afridi was caught biting or nibbling the ball, in order to alter its conditions. At the time, biting the ball was considered a foreign substance, but Afridi did not face punishment, as the ICC cleared is incident as a minor one.

2004-05 Heath Streak Match-Fixing Controversy

Former Zimbabwean fast bowler and captain Heath Streak faced accusations of match-fixing and corruption in both domestic and international cricket matches for financial benefits. It occurred during a period when the Zimbabwean cricket board was struggling financially, and Streak had reportedly accepting money from bookies.

2003 Shane Warne Doping Scandal

Australia legend Shane Warne received a 12-month ban from playing cricket in 2003, after testing positive for a banned substance. Warne had publicly admitted to having accidentally consumed a diuretic, which acts as a masking agent for other performance enhancing drugs.