After a Tamil Tigers truck bomb killed 91 people at Colombo's Central Bank on January 31, 1996, both Australia and West Indies refused to travel to Sri Lanka for their 1996 World Cup group matches. The ICC awarded Sri Lanka both games on forfeit — a decision that propelled the eventual champions into the knockouts unbeaten on points.
Sri Lanka had been in civil war with the LTTE since 1983. The Central Bank bombing of January 31, 1996 was one of the deadliest single incidents of the war. Australia and West Indies based their refusal on player safety — players had voted in their own dressing rooms.
The 1996 World Cup was co-hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. On January 31, with the tournament three weeks away, a truck bomb at the Central Bank in Fort, Colombo killed 91 and injured roughly 1,400. The LTTE (Tamil Tigers) claimed responsibility. The Australian and West Indian boards immediately demanded that their group games (Sri Lanka vs Australia on February 17, Sri Lanka vs West Indies on February 25) be moved to a neutral venue. Pakistan and India captains Mohammad Azharuddin and Wasim Akram, in a striking show of subcontinental solidarity, took a combined India-Pakistan XI to Colombo on February 3 to play a goodwill exhibition match — proving conditions were safe. The ICC nevertheless gave Australia and West Indies the choice; both refused. Sri Lanka were awarded both games on forfeit and four points. They went on to win the tournament. Many in Sri Lanka still describe the forfeits as a betrayal.
January 31, 1996: Central Bank bombing kills 91
Australia and West Indies refuse to travel to Sri Lanka
February 3: Wasim Akram and Mohammad Azharuddin lead India-Pakistan XI to Colombo to play a friendly
ICC awards Sri Lanka both games — four points
Sri Lanka qualify for quarter-finals on the back of forfeits
March 17: Sri Lanka win the World Cup
January 31, 1996
Central Bank bombing in Colombo kills 91.
Early February
Australia and West Indies refuse to travel.
February 3, 1996
India-Pakistan XI exhibition in Colombo to demonstrate safety.
February 17 & 25
Sri Lanka awarded both group games on forfeit.
March 17, 1996
Sri Lanka beat Australia in the World Cup final.
“We were ready to play, our security people had cleared it. The Aussies and West Indians made a calculation that their players' safety came first.”
“Looking back, I think we should have gone. But the players voted and the players were scared.”
Sri Lanka entered the knockouts with maximum points and momentum. They beat England in Faisalabad, India in Calcutta (the Eden Gardens semi-final later abandoned for crowd unrest, won by SL on awarded result), and Australia in the Lahore final. The forfeits were never directly referenced in the trophy ceremony but Arjuna Ranatunga's victory speech included a pointed line about 'those who would not come to our country'.
A geopolitical scar still felt in Sri Lankan cricket — but with a delicious twist, since the forfeits arguably energised an underdog Sri Lanka and contributed to their eventual title.
Australia and Sri Lanka's relationship in cricket was strained for years afterwards. The 1996 World Cup is seen as the moment Sri Lankan cricket grew up — the Aravinda de Silva-Sanath Jayasuriya generation took their team from minnows to champions. Australian captain Mark Taylor later admitted that, with hindsight, his team should have played.
England
1932-08-12
In August 1932 the MCC selectors confirmed Douglas Jardine as England's captain for the 1932-33 tour of Australia, a decision contested at the highest levels of English cricket and one that — combined with Plum Warner's appointment as tour manager — would set the conditions for the Bodyline series.
England
1934-03-21
On 21 March 1934 Douglas Jardine wrote to The Cricketer that he had 'neither the desire nor the intention' of playing in the upcoming home Ashes series. The announcement, taken as a quiet resignation, removed the architect of Bodyline from the field before Australia returned to England — a precondition Australia's Board had implicitly demanded.
England / Gloucestershire
1937-11-15
In November 1937 Wally Hammond — the leading professional batsman of his era — was accepted by MCC as an amateur, opening the door to the England captaincy he received six months later for the 1938 Ashes. The change crystallised inter-war debates about the amateur-professional divide and the unwritten rule that England's captain be amateur.