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Underarm bowling incident of 1981
- retsibsi 3mo agoThe Aussies were simply adhering to the TLC-Sirlin credo.
- CamouflagedKiwi 3mo agoThis was pretty bad. Will never be forgotten in NZ. Has probably been forgotten by Australia and everywhere else though.
- wolfi1 3mo agoreminds me of the episode in HIMYM with the Minnesota sports bar
- Forgeties79 3mo agoDammit!
- as1mov 3mo agoThis along with the Aussie sandpaper-gate is probably one of the most infamous incidents in cricket history. I doubt anyone who follows cricket doesn't about it. Also the 2019 world cup finals! ;)
- AussieWog93 3mo agoI am an antisocial nerd and even I know about these incidents! Although to be fair, my wife is a saffa so I'm not allowed to forget sandpapergate.
- CamouflagedKiwi 3mo agoI wouldn't describe the 2019 final as infamous? Other than us all sitting around shouting "What on earth is a super over?" I don't remember it being very controversial. It was certainly a pretty exciting finish.
- as1mov 3mo agoiirc the real point of contention was the "boundary count" rule. The super over ended in a tie, then instead of having a another super over the winner was decided based on who had hit more boundaries. I'm pretty sure this did lead to the rule being removed[1] [1]: https://www.cricinfo.com/story/no-more-boundary-countback-as-icc-changes-super-over-regulations-1203757 https://www.cricinfo.com/story/no-more-boundary-countback-as...
- cjs_ac 3mo agoA more serious case of unsportsmanlike conduct that was (and still is) within the Laws of Cricket: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodyline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodyline
- tomlong 3mo agoNo it is not still within the laws of cricket since the late 1930s. You might notice the law changes section in that article, that amongst other things you can't have loads of fielders behind square on leg side now. I would also suggest it is not considered unsportsmanlike to bowl short and aim for the head any more, but rather something people look foster's forward to seeing.
- hliyan 3mo agoI was about to post the same thing when I noticed this comment. For those who might not want to go through the article: > ...designed to combat the extraordinary batting skill of Australia's leading batsman, Don Bradman... aimed at the body of the batsman in the expectation that when he defended himself with his bat, a resulting deflection could be caught by one of several fielders deliberately placed nearby on the leg side. At the time, no helmets or other upper-body protective gear was worn, and critics of the tactic considered it intimidating, and physically threatening in a game traditionally supposed to uphold conventions of sportsmanship.
- Brendinooo 3mo agoTo someone who is coming in cold, this kinda feels like people saying it’s unsportsmanlike to kneel at the end of a gridiron game, or pass the ball around the backfield in stoppage time at a soccer game?
- kibwen 3mo agoPlenty of sports do have rules to prevent stalling tactics (either for sportsmanlike reasons or to make the viewing experience more engaging): the two-minute warning in American football, the shot clock in basketball, icing rules in hockey, etc.
- notahacker 3mo agoYeah. Passing the ball around the backfield is a risky tactic in association football (which similarly banned the goalkeeper just picking up backpasses because it was too easy to waste time). 'Taking the ball to the corner' is a much lower risk option, but it is possible to win the ball back and quickly go up the other end and score with good play. Deliberate time wasting between plays is a yellow card offence (even though the referee could simply add the time on, it's disliked) Plus cricket nominally has more of a sportmanship culture than most sports. "Mankading" (the practice of a bowler deciding to strike the wicket near to him instead of bowling because the runner from the other end has strayed too far[1]) is technically legal and would be considered smart play in many sports - especially since it's an action performed to stop opponents gaining a small advantage over you - but is regarded as shameful in cricket, at least not unless you've been gentlemanly enough to warn the runner at your end to stop straying forward each time the ball is bowled. Indeed it's so controversial Wikipedia maintains a 'list of incidents' page, starting with poor Vinoo Mankad who probably thought he was just being smart and didn't realise his surname would become synonymous with cheating https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mankading_incidents_in_cricket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mankading_incidents_in... [1]baseball fans: roughly the equivalent of a pitcher deciding in mid-pitch to throw the ball to a base to stop someone stealing bases, except the base in question is right next to him.
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- dvh 3mo ago> Bruce Edgar, who was on 102 not out, was stuck at the non-striker's end the entire over. Now Americans can finally know how Europeans feel when watching baseball
- alt219 3mo agoAs an American it has taken me nearly half a century of occasionally watching cricket to barely comprehend what that sentence means. I love it.
- stavros 3mo agoAs a European, what the hell is going on.
- dchest 3mo agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6d3JBBo4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6d3JBBo4s
- gib444 3mo agoClassic display of hoop-shorting and running wide and low, all while ignoring the reds on the board The chums are going to rib him rotten over the cucumber sandwiches and tea in the wains room at half-over time
- esperent 3mo ago> Americans Everyone not from one Uk, India... maybe Australia you mean?
- gib444 3mo ago...South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, West Indies...
- roryirvine 3mo agoNot even the whole of the UK - really only England and Wales (as a singular entity, rather than individually). The rest of us know it only for its impenetrable jargon ("They've risked a woggle on the silly midden!"), the grating public school chumminess of the commentators, and a rumour about a puerile "joke" which may or may not have been told on the radio coverage in the early 1980s. Honestly, it's a sport I suspect I ought to like - full of stats and strategy - but it really does seem impossible to follow unless you've been inculcated since birth.
- sevenseacat 3mo agoI have no idea why this article is here on HN but this was so hugely controversial in cricket (as an Aussie, sorry)
- nubinetwork 3mo agoJust another case of people posting Wikipedia articles, with no context, for free points...
- kiddico 3mo agoCricket will never make sense to me. That just seems like playing the game.
- retsibsi 3mo agoIn context, it was a bit like taking advantage of a videogame exploit that others variously hadn't discovered, thought was forbidden, or assumed would not be used by tacit agreement.
- CamouflagedKiwi 3mo agoIt's pretty much completely not like playing the game, because the batting team can't meaningfully hit the ball.
- kiddico 3mo agoI know they're different, but in baseball the pitch is part of the game. Not being able to make good use of a pitch is a problem for the hitter, not the pitcher. Now that I think of it telling a baseball pitcher that he could throw a pitch, but not too difficult of one at certain times is hilarious.
- retsibsi 3mo agoThere's definitely an argument for just exploiting edge cases in the rules as hard as you can, seeing how the game evolves from there, and relying on the governing body to fix it if needed. (A la https://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/introducingthe-scrub https://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/introducingthe-scrub .) Cricket saw itself unironically as "the gentlemen's game", though, so this didn't really fit the culture.
- RobotToaster 3mo agoThe "hand of god" of Cricket?
- alt219 3mo agoNot to take anything away from Maridona's overall excellence, but his goal was 100% illegal, just none of the referees saw his handball. Underarm bowling was still allowed when this incident occurred and was therefore legal, just considered very unsportsmanlike and outside the spirit of the game.
- retsibsi 3mo agoI think that's too strong. The underarm ball was a case of playing within the rules, but against most people's notion of fair play. The hand of god would fit most people's definition of actual cheating.
- scott_w 3mo agoIt was actual cheating by even the rules of the game, just the referee didn’t see it.
- retsibsi 3mo agoI think I agree, but I hedged because I thought one could argue that it's not 'cheating' in the same way as, say, sneaking into the scorer's shed and writing in an extra goal would be. A deliberate handball is 'just' an in-game action that should have been penalised but wasn't (due to referee error), and deliberately breaking the rules isn't always considered cheating. For example, basketball and soccer both have their own version of the 'professional foul', and even in soccer where this earns the player a card, it seems to be considered an accepted tactical trade rather than cheating. I don't think this argument really holds up, though, because the hand of god goal depended entirely on getting away with the rule breach, whereas professional fouls involve getting caught and accepting the consequences.
- wolfi1 3mo agodon't know anything about cricket, know only about the beginnings of the writings by learned scholar Douglas Adams
- helsinkiandrew 3mo agoTo those not familiar with cricket and why this is so scandalous the English/Australian/New Zealand phrase “it’s not cricket” is used to describe an action or behaviour that is “unfair, dishonest, or goes against basic moral principles”
- awesomeusername 3mo agoWhy was this comment downvoted? Like seriously can someone who did please post? This is a factually correct and informative comment.
- vonzepp 3mo agoThe football (soccer) equivalent is someone kicking the ball out of play so that the game is stopped to allow medical attention to come on, and once the medical attention is over, the opposition taking the throw in doesn't throw the ball back to the other team. Occasionally teams have not done this, and scored a goal, shocked by this the goalkeeper will stand aside to allow the opposition to score an equaliser
- patwards 3mo agoAs an Australian, I feel like the Kiwis will always be able to hold this against us. A great shame
- deleted 3mo ago[deleted]
- shermantanktop 3mo agohttps://restoringhopebhm.com/blog/wilt-chamberlain-and-the-granny-shot https://restoringhopebhm.com/blog/wilt-chamberlain-and-the-g... By contrast, underhand free throw shooting is legal in the NBA and it is very effective. But it is seen as unmasculine rather than cheating. Players would apparently rather lose than be seen doing it.
- incognition 3mo agoNot just underhand, two hands between the legs
- stronglikedan 3mo agoI think you can still cheat without doing something that is explicitly against the rules, by going against the established social contract of whatever league you play in.
- IAmBroom 3mo agoPolicing "normalcy" is one of the most intrinsically evil tendencies of societies.
- Hugsbox 3mo agoThis article may as well be written in greek for how much of it I understand
- senthil_rajasek 3mo agoIn baseball, intentionally walking a batter to avoid a hit is considered "fair". This incident was an intentional pitch (bowl) to a avoid a "home run" and in cricket it is sacrilege.
- mellosouls 3mo agoAs an aside, underarm bowling is the original style im cricket. The overarm standard has (claimed) origins around 1800 in a lady cricketer raising her arm when bowling to avoid her skirt getting in the way.
- fallinditch 3mo agoThis ties in with something else on HN recently - the end of long wave radio in the UK. Test Match Special was broadcast on the BBC's long wave frequency and for many people in Britain it was a quintessential summer listening experience: all day for up to 5 days per test match. Such long time stretches of continuous broadcasting meant that the commentators were adept at talking, stories, banter and general chatter, occasional bollocks. For me the Test Match Special broadcasts became like a pleasant ambient background noise to long summer days, with occasional excitement and humor - like the time Brian Johnston and Jonathan Agnew fell into uncontrollable laughter at a double entendre, a priceless piece of cricket history: https://youtu.be/KsVTpX7LdZQ https://youtu.be/KsVTpX7LdZQ
- wjnc 3mo agoIncomprehensible! “Didn’t quite get his leg over” - that’s the joke? Found a Guardian article and even they do not explain the joke [1]. Further ethnological research [2] explains it all - “to get a leg over” is intercourse. The story about the test match broadcast is really nice. Just goes to show how deep cultures can be locally ingrained. One could learn perfect English and never get to the point of getting this joke, without serious integration efforts. In this case, worthwhile efforts. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/aug/20/sport.andrewculf https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/aug/20/sport.andrewculf [2] https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/get-leg-over https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/get-leg-...
- notahacker 3mo agoThere are probably people that speak English perfectly well who don't get "the bowler's Holding, the batsman's Willey" either...
- nickhodge 3mo agoI remember hearing this live while in a car on a hot summer’s days in the Adelaide hills. Not a cricket fan now, but was subjected to it as a kid. NZ are generationally enraged. Australians have wilfully forgotten.
- aunty_helen 3mo agoIt’s an expectation as a New Zealander that you hold this against the aussies. Honestly it should be on the citizenship test. If you answer favourably towards throwing underarm, your test is rescheduled the following week in Canberra.
- awesomeusername 3mo agoYou should have made that law when you were Prime Minister
- decimalenough 3mo agoObligatory link to Bill Bryson describing cricket: https://www.eetimes.com/bill-bryson-on-cricket/ https://www.eetimes.com/bill-bryson-on-cricket/ The book goes on to spoof radio commentary on cricket, which is even more hilarious: https://sidewaysstation.com/2017/07/10/stovepipe-with-a-quick-legover-bill-bryson-on-cricket/ https://sidewaysstation.com/2017/07/10/stovepipe-with-a-quic...