Darrell Hair No-Balls Muttiah Muralitharan — 1995

On Boxing Day 1995 at the MCG, umpire Darrell Hair called Muralitharan for throwing seven times from the bowler's end. It was the first time a bowler had been called for chucking in a Test match since 1963.

Sri Lanka were outraged. They argued that Muralitharan's unusual action — caused by a congenital condition that prevented him from fully straightening his arm — gave the optical illusion of throwing. Bio-mechanical tests later confirmed that his arm did not straighten beyond the 15-degree tolerance that the ICC would eventually adopt.

The incident was deeply controversial. Hair was accused of overstepping his authority and of having a bias against subcontinental players. Sri Lanka threatened to abandon the tour. The ICC subsequently introduced bio-mechanical testing for bowling actions rather than relying on umpires' visual judgments.

Muralitharan went on to become the highest wicket-taker in Test history with 800 wickets, vindicating those who defended his action. Hair, meanwhile, became a polarizing figure and was later involved in the 2006 Oval forfeiture controversy with Pakistan.