Rank the biggest scandals in Test cricket history — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Bodyline (1932-33): England captain Douglas Jardine instructed Harold Larwood and Bill Voce to bowl hostile short-pitched deliveries at Australia's batters, who wore no upper-body protection; the tactic drew accusations of unsporting play, escalated to a diplomatic incident between governments, and England still won the series 4-1.
- D'Oliveira Affair (1968): Mixed-race South African-born all-rounder Basil D'Oliveira was initially left out of the England squad then reinstated as a replacement; his selection prompted South Africa to cancel the tour, after which the country played only one more Test series before being banned from the sport for two decades.
- George Davis protest (1975): Headingley's pitch was vandalised with holes and oil by supporters of convicted armed-robber George Davis, with "George Davis is innocent" painted on the surrounding walls; the Test was abandoned as a draw, Australia retained the Ashes, and Davis's conviction was eventually overturned on appeal in 2011.
- Hansie Cronje (2000): Revered South Africa captain confessed to match-fixing with Indian bookmakers, including engineering a result in a dead-rubber fifth Test against England at Centurion by negotiating an innings forfeit; he was banned for life and killed in a 2002 plane crash.
- Pakistan spot-fixing (2010): A News of the World sting exposed cricket agent Mazhar Majeed arranging deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test; captain Salman Butt received 30 months in prison, Mohammad Asif one year, and 17-year-old Mohammad Amir six months, after the newspaper broke the story while the match was still ongoing.
- Sandpapergate (2018): TV cameras caught Cameron Bancroft rubbing the ball with a small yellow object in the third Test against South Africa, later revealed to be sandpaper; captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were sacked and served lengthy bans, coach Darren Lehmann resigned despite being cleared of prior knowledge, and Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull said he was "bitterly disappointed".
Why it matters: The ranking spans 86 years of cricket controversy, from Bodyline's diplomatic fallout to Cronje's match-fixing empire to sandpapergate's national reckoning — with Australia now returning to South Africa where the latest scandal unfolded. TMS's exercise lets fans weigh ethical violations — ball-tampering, racism, match-fixing, political interference — against each other across eras.
Ask SkimNews
