India vs Sri Lanka
13 March 1996
The 1996 World Cup semi-final at Eden Gardens was effectively decided by the match referee after the crowd rioted when India collapsed in the chase.
India vs Sri Lanka
13 March 1996
The 1996 World Cup semi-final at Eden Gardens was abandoned after Indian fans rioted, hurling bottles and setting fires when India's batting collapsed against Sri Lanka's spinners.
West Indies vs England
1954-02-26
On 26 February 1954 at the Bourda ground in Georgetown, the run-out of local hero Clifford McWatt — going for the single that would have brought his stand with John Holt to 100 — set off a barrage of bottles flung from the popular stands. Police fired tear gas. Captain Len Hutton refused to leave the middle, telling fielders he wanted a couple more wickets before the close.
New South Wales v England
1879-02-08
On 8 February 1879 — strictly outside the 1880s but the curtain-raiser to the decade — about 2,000 Sydney spectators invaded the pitch after Australian batsman Billy Murdoch was given run out by the English-engaged Victorian umpire George Coulthard. Lord Harris, the English captain, was struck with a stick; AN Hornby's shirt was torn off; play was suspended. The riot poisoned Anglo-Australian cricket relations for years and explains why no Test was scheduled in England before September 1880.