Various Controversies in Cricket

Cricket like football, formula one and other popular sports too had a number of controversies related to players and the game. In particular there have been controversies which have changed the history of cricket, destroyed the fortunes of players and have also put questions on the authenticity of the game. From bribes to throwing of balls, to ball tempering to matching fixing and doping had been few controversies that rocked the game at times.

Leaking of Information: There had been some great scandals in cricket and the leaking of information of weather and pitch to bookmaker or bookies was one of them. In this scandal, Shane Warne and Mark Waugh were fined by the Australian Cricket Board because of leaking information to "John the bookmaker". This controversy led to new rule that if players in future are found to engage in such leaking of vital information, they will not only be punished but also suspended from a number of games.

Match Fixing Controversy: Match fixing still continues and the lobby of this particular crime in cricket is growing day by day with enormous networks. This controversy had ruined the career of popular sportsmen like Hansie Cronje and Md. Azaharuddin, the former captains of South Africa and India respectively. The fixing is came to limelight in the mid 90s and since cricket has been a discussion of such intellectual level of crimes being carried by syndicates operating illegally. The death of Pakistan’s Coach Bob Wolmer at 2007 world cup is also a controversial episode of cricket which is closely being linked to match fixing.

The police of nations that play cricket and international police are trying to collect more evidences of player-punter relationships and nexuses. Such fixing of matches is really shocking and makes the game a bizarre to watch. The game has lost its charm and the teams never play that natural game with the nexus operating so deep.

Doping: Though cricket has not controversies like football and other sports in case of doping, but there have been many instances when few international cricketers were under the scanner of doping test agencies. Ian Botham, Asim Butt, Mohammad Asif, Sohaib Akhtar, David Murray, Phil Tufnell and Shane Warne were accused players for doping in various circumstances.

Ball Tempering: This has been another bigger controversy of cricket. The ball tempering refers to an action in which fielders or bowlers alter the condition of the ball illegally using nails so that it becomes difficult for the batsmen to play shots. It also helps the bowlers to swing the ball in different directions. There are strict regulations under Law 42 and subsection 3 about the use of cricket ball in the field.

Thus, like this there has been many such other controversies in cricket like – throw ball controversy, heavy bat controversy, LBW out controversy, breaking code of conduct controversy, racial abuse controversy and to name a few.

Summary: There have been controversies which have changed the history of cricket, destroyed the fortunes of players and have also put questions on the authenticity of the game. From bribes to throwing of balls, to ball tempering to matching fixing and doping had been few controversies that rocked the game at times.