← Players
GC

Greg Chappell

Australia·Batsman

Former Australian captain infamous for ordering the underarm delivery in 1981. Later became India's coach in a tumultuous tenure clashing with Ganguly.

18 incidents documented

Controversies & Incidents

🏏Explosive

Bairstow Stumping Controversy — Ashes 2023

England vs Australia

28 June - 2 July 2023

Alex Carey stumped Jonny Bairstow after he wandered out of his crease assuming the ball was dead. The dismissal at Lord's caused a furious reaction from the MCC members.

#bairstow#stumping#carey
🔥Serious

Greg Chappell Drops Sourav Ganguly as India Captain

India (internal)

6 October 2005

India coach Greg Chappell's leaked email to the BCCI recommending Ganguly's removal as captain created a massive controversy that split Indian cricket and eventually led to Ganguly being dropped entirely.

#greg chappell#sourav ganguly#dropped
😂Mild

Greg Chappell's Four Ducks in a Row — Australian Summer 1981-82

Australia

1981-12-12

Australian captain Greg Chappell, the most prolific batsman in the country, made four ducks in a row across Tests and ODIs during the 1981-82 home summer — and seven ducks across the season — earning the temporary nickname 'Chappello'.

#greg-chappell#australia#ducks
🏏Explosive

The Underarm Bowling Incident

Australia vs New Zealand

1 February 1981

Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball underarm along the ground to prevent New Zealand from hitting a six to tie the match.

#underarm#greg chappell#trevor chappell
😂Moderate

The Underarm Bowl — Cricket's Most Infamous Moment

Australia vs New Zealand

1981-02-01

Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball underarm along the ground to prevent New Zealand from hitting a six to tie, sparking outrage and eternal mockery.

#underarm#chappell#new-zealand
🥊Moderate

Dennis Lillee's Aluminium Bat Controversy

Australia vs England

15 December 1979

Dennis Lillee used an aluminium bat that damaged the ball. England captain Mike Brearley complained, leading to a 10-minute standoff as Lillee refused to change bats.

#lillee#aluminium bat#brearley
😂Mild

Dennis Lillee's Aluminium Bat Standoff

Australia vs England

1979-12-15

Dennis Lillee walked out to bat with an aluminium 'Combat' bat, sparking a 10-minute standoff when England captain Mike Brearley complained it was damaging the ball.

#dennis-lillee#aluminium-bat#perth
Mild

The Centenary Test — Australia vs England, MCG, March 1977

Australia vs England

12-17 March 1977

The Centenary Test at the MCG in March 1977 commemorated 100 years since the first Test match at the same venue. Australia won by 45 runs — exactly the same margin as the 1877 result. Dennis Lillee took 6/26 and 5/139 across the two innings; Derek Randall made 174 in England's second-innings chase of 463; over 200 surviving Australian and English Test cricketers attended a celebration that became part of cricket's institutional memory.

#Centenary Test#1977#MCG
🔥Explosive

Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket Revolution

Multiple (WSC vs Establishment Cricket)

24 November 1977

Media mogul Kerry Packer signed 51 of the world's best cricketers to a rival competition after being denied TV broadcast rights, fundamentally transforming professional cricket.

#kerry packer#world series cricket#wsc
Mild

The First Cricket World Cup — Lord's, 1975 Final, West Indies vs Australia

West Indies vs Australia

21 June 1975

The first Cricket World Cup — the Prudential World Cup of 1975 — culminated in a 60-overs-a-side final at Lord's on 21 June, in which West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs. Clive Lloyd's 102 from 85 balls anchored West Indies' 291/8; Vivian Richards ran out three Australian batters, including the Chappell brothers; Australia were dismissed for 274 in 58.4 overs. The match finished after 8.43 pm under summer twilight and crowned West Indies as the inaugural one-day champions.

#1975 World Cup#World Cup#Clive Lloyd
😂Mild

Michael Angelow — First Lord's Streaker, 1975 Ashes

England vs Australia

4 August 1975

On 4 August 1975, during the second Ashes Test at Lord's, a 24-year-old merchant seaman from Liverpool named Michael Angelow leapt the boundary fence wearing only socks and trainers, hurdled both sets of stumps to the amusement of the players, and was wrestled to the ground by police. He had taken a £20 bet from his shipmates. He was fined £20 in court the next morning, and the BBC commentary by John Arlott — "we have got a freaker, not very shapely, and it is masculine — and I would think it has seen the last of its cricket for the day" — became one of the most replayed pieces of cricket commentary of the decade.

#Michael Angelow#streaker#Lord's
Serious

Lillee and Thomson Destroy England — 1974-75 Ashes

Australia vs England

November 1974 - February 1975

Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson together took 58 wickets in the 1974-75 Ashes, intimidating Mike Denness's England side into a 4-1 series defeat. Thomson's slingshot action — peaked at speeds estimated above 95 mph in primitive on-field measurements — and Lillee's mature pace and cut produced one of the most one-sided fast-bowling assaults in Ashes history. Five England batters were forced to retire hurt across the series; Denness dropped himself for the fourth Test.

#Dennis Lillee#Jeff Thomson#1974-75 Ashes
Mild

Chappell Brothers — Twin Centuries Each at Wellington, 1974

Australia vs New Zealand

1-6 March 1974

At the Basin Reserve in March 1974, Greg Chappell made 247 not out and 133, and his elder brother Ian Chappell made 145 and 121 — the only instance in Test history of two brothers each scoring a hundred in both innings of the same match. Greg's 380 runs in the Test stood as the world record for runs by a player in one Test until Graham Gooch's 333 and 123 against India at Lord's in July 1990.

#Greg Chappell#Ian Chappell#twin centuries
Mild

Bob Massie's 16/137 on Test Debut — Lord's, 1972 Ashes

England vs Australia

22-26 June 1972

Western Australian seam bowler Bob Massie took 16 wickets for 137 runs on Test debut at Lord's in June 1972 — 8/84 in the first innings and 8/53 in the second — bowling Australia to an eight-wicket win in the second Ashes Test. The figures are the second-best match haul in Test history (Jim Laker's 19/90 remains the standard) and remain unsurpassed for a debutant.

#Bob Massie#Australia#1972 Ashes
Mild

The First-Ever ODI — Australia vs England, MCG, 5 January 1971

Australia vs England

5 January 1971

The first one-day international in cricket history was played at the MCG on 5 January 1971 as a hastily arranged consolation after the third Ashes Test was washed out for the first three days. Played over 40 eight-ball overs a side, Australia won by five wickets, John Edrich top-scored with 82 for England, and an estimated crowd of more than 46,000 watched a fixture neither board had originally planned to stage.

#ODI#first ODI#1970-71 Ashes
Mild

Greg Chappell — Century on Test Debut, Perth 1970

Australia vs England

11-16 December 1970

Greg Chappell scored 108 on Test debut at the WACA in December 1970, in the first Test ever played at the Perth ground, becoming the sixth Australian to make a hundred in his first Test innings. Coming in at 5/107 against John Snow and Peter Lever, he added 219 with Ian Redpath for the sixth wicket and converted what had been an under-pressure innings into a position of safety on a debut day later judged the foundation of his Test career.

#Greg Chappell#Test debut#century on debut
Mild

Bill Lawry Becomes Australia's Captain — The Most Dour Leader in the Country's History, 1968

Australia cricket

1968-01-12

Bill Lawry of Victoria succeeded Bob Simpson as Australia's captain for the 1967-68 series against India, beginning a three-year leadership that produced consistent results but was criticised for excessive caution. His personal batting was as effective as ever — he scored 7,614 Test runs at 47.15 — but his captaincy was eventually ended by the Australian board in controversial circumstances during the 1970-71 Ashes.

#bill-lawry#australia#captain
Mild

The First Tied Test — Brisbane, December 1960

Australia vs West Indies

1960-12-14

On 14 December 1960 at the Gabba, Australia and West Indies produced the first tied Test in the 83-year history of the format, with West Indies' Joe Solomon running out Ian Meckiff from side-on with the scores level and one ball remaining. Wes Hall bowled the final eight-ball over with Australia needing six and three wickets in hand; the over produced two run-outs, a single, a missed catch and a tie. The result revived a flagging Test format and gave the world a template for how the game could be played.

#tied test#brisbane#1960