96 incidents documented
Australia vs Pakistan
11 June 2024
Mohammad Rizwan and Australian captain Mitchell Marsh exchanged heated words during the T20 World Cup 2024, adding spice to the Australia-Pakistan rivalry.
Afghanistan vs Pakistan
23 October 2023
A controversial short run call during the 2023 World Cup match between Afghanistan and Pakistan led to Afghan fans accusing the umpires of costing their team the match.
Pakistan Women
1 March 2022
Pakistan women's cricketers have faced systemic barriers including inadequate facilities, cultural restrictions, and poor support structures, with incidents highlighting the challenges periodically making headlines.
England vs Pakistan
5-9 August 2020
Play was stopped for bad light despite the availability of floodlights, frustrating fans and players as Pakistan pushed for a result.
Pakistan
27 April 2020
Pakistani batsman Umar Akmal was banned for three years (later reduced to 18 months) by the PCB for failing to report match-fixing approaches on multiple occasions.
Pakistan
1 November 2019
Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah's selection for Test cricket at a claimed age of 16 raised widespread questions about the accuracy of his birth records and age verification in Pakistani cricket.
South Africa vs Pakistan
22 January 2019
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed was caught on stump mic making a racist comment about South Africa's Andile Phehlukwayo, leading to a four-match ban.
Pakistan / PSL franchises
17 August 2018
Former Pakistan opener Nasir Jamshed was found to be a key orchestrator in the PSL 2017 spot-fixing scandal and was sentenced to 17 months in prison by a UK court.
Pakistan U19 vs Australia U19
31 January 2018
Pakistan U19 were controversially eliminated from the 2018 U19 World Cup when rain and the DLS method conspired to give Australia a win in the quarter-final under circumstances many felt were deeply unfair.
Pakistan / PSL franchises
15 February 2017
Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Irfan was suspended during PSL 2017 for failing to report approaches from fixers during the tournament.
Australia vs Pakistan
2017-01-03
Azhar Ali was run out in the most bizarre fashion after assuming the ball was dead and wandering out of his crease for a chat, only for Australia to whip off the bails.
Pakistan
15 January 2016
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir's return to international cricket in 2016 after serving a five-year ban for spot-fixing divided opinion on whether redemption should be offered to match-fixers.
Australia vs Pakistan
25 March 2016
Mitchell Starc engaged in an intense staring contest with Mohammad Amir during the World T20 match, creating one of the tournament's most dramatic moments.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
29 January 2016
Mohammad Amir's return to international cricket after serving a five-year spot-fixing ban divided the cricket world, with some praising rehabilitation and others arguing convicted fixers should never return.
Pakistan
2 September 2015
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt's return to domestic cricket after his spot-fixing ban attracted fierce criticism, with many arguing a captain who fixed matches should never play again.
Pakistan vs Australia
20 March 2015
Wahab Riaz bowled a fearsome spell of fast bowling to Shane Watson in the World Cup quarter-final, hitting him multiple times and sledging aggressively.
Pakistan vs Australia
2015-03-20
Wahab Riaz bowled a ferocious spell at Shane Watson in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final, complete with death stares, near-misses, and theatrical confrontations that became compulsive viewing.
South Africa vs Pakistan
November 2013
Faf du Plessis was caught on camera applying saliva to the ball while sucking a mint, which constitutes ball tampering. He was fined but not banned.
South Africa vs Pakistan
15 October 2013
Faf du Plessis was caught on camera rubbing the ball against the zipper of his trouser pocket during a Test against Pakistan, constituting ball tampering.
India vs Pakistan
30 March 2011
Sachin Tendulkar survived multiple contentious decisions in the World Cup semi-final against Pakistan, including a caught-behind appeal that Pakistan chose not to review.
England vs Pakistan
26 August 2010
A News of the World sting exposed Pakistan captain Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir, and Mohammad Asif for deliberately bowling no-balls at pre-arranged moments during the Lord's Test, leading to criminal convictions and bans.
India vs Pakistan
2 March 2010
Gambhir and Afridi had multiple heated confrontations across several matches, including a famous shoulder bump during the Asia Cup 2010.
Australia vs Pakistan
1 February 2010
Shahid Afridi was caught on camera biting the cricket ball in an apparent attempt at ball tampering during an ODI against Australia.
England vs Pakistan
26 August 2010
Pakistani captain Salman Butt, bowler Mohammad Amir, and bowler Mohammad Asif were caught in a News of the World sting arranging deliberate no-balls at precise moments during the Lord's Test.
Pakistan vs Australia
1 February 2010
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was caught on camera biting the ball during an ODI against Australia, one of the most bizarre ball-tampering incidents in cricket history.
Australia vs Pakistan
2010-02-01
Shahid Afridi was caught on camera biting the cricket ball in an apparent ball-tampering attempt, leading to a ban and worldwide ridicule.
Pakistan vs Various
2010-07-01
Pakistan cricket's tradition of dropping catches at crucial moments became so legendary that it was practically a running joke in world cricket.
Pakistan vs Various
2010-04-15
Shoaib Malik's form dipped dramatically after his high-profile wedding to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, leading to endless jokes about married life affecting performance.
Pakistan vs Various
3 March 2009
After the 2009 Lahore attack, Pakistan was forced to play its home matches in the UAE for nearly a decade, at enormous financial and emotional cost to the country's cricket.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
3 March 2009
Twelve armed gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team bus near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, injuring six players and killing eight people, ending international cricket in Pakistan for nearly a decade.
Pakistan U19
1 March 2008
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif publicly alleged that age fraud was rampant in Pakistan U19 cricket, claiming some players in the system were five or more years overage.
Pakistan (coaching staff)
18 March 2007
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica, the day after Pakistan's shock elimination from the 2007 World Cup, sparking a murder investigation and wild conspiracy theories.
Pakistan (internal incident)
15 June 2007
Shoaib Akhtar allegedly struck teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat in the dressing room during the 2007 World T20, leading to his expulsion from the squad.
South Africa vs Pakistan
11 January 2007
Andre Nel sledged Shoaib Akhtar aggressively, only for Shoaib to smash him for a massive six off the next ball, then mimic Nel's aggressive celebrations.
Pakistan
1 November 2006
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, the first man to bowl at 100 mph, was banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone, though the ban was later overturned on appeal.
England vs Pakistan
20 August 2006
Umpire Darrell Hair penalized Pakistan five runs for ball tampering and changed the ball during the fourth Test at The Oval, leading Pakistan to refuse to take the field and becoming the first team to forfeit a Test match.
England vs Pakistan
17-20 August 2006
Umpire Darrell Hair accused Pakistan of ball tampering. Pakistan refused to take the field after tea, and the match was forfeited — the first forfeiture in Test history.
England vs Pakistan
2006
Inzamam-ul-Haq was given out 'handled the ball' in a Test match after instinctively swatting the ball away from his stumps, one of cricket's rarest dismissals.
England vs Pakistan
20 August 2006
Pakistan forfeited a Test match at The Oval after umpire Darrell Hair penalized them five runs for ball tampering, leading to Pakistan refusing to take the field.
Pakistan vs Various
2005-01-01
Inzamam-ul-Haq's legendary lack of pace between the wickets produced some of cricket's most comically slow run-outs.
India vs Pakistan
28 March - 1 April 2004
Sachin Tendulkar was controversially declared caught behind for 194 when replays suggested the ball may not have hit his bat, denying him a double century in Pakistan.
India vs Pakistan
16 March 2004
Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag had epic confrontations across multiple India-Pakistan matches, with Shoaib's raw pace against Sehwag's fearless counter-attack.
India vs Pakistan
1 March 2003
In the 2003 World Cup India-Pakistan match, Sachin Tendulkar was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar early in his innings, but Pakistan failed to appeal for an LBW earlier, and there were claims Akhtar was overstepping throughout.
Pakistan vs Various
1 March 2003
Pakistan captain Waqar Younis came under scrutiny during the 2003 World Cup for bowling an unusually high number of no-balls, raising suspicions of spot-fixing.
Pakistan vs England
2003-02-22
Shoaib Akhtar broke the 100mph barrier in the 2003 World Cup and celebrated with his trademark chain-ripping, arms-spread theatrics that were as entertaining as the delivery itself.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
8 May 2002
New Zealand abandoned their tour of Pakistan in 2002 after a bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi killed 14 people, marking one of the earliest security-related disruptions to international cricket.
Pakistan
2000-05-23
Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum, a Lahore High Court judge, was appointed in September 1998 to investigate match-fixing allegations against the Pakistan team. Over 13 months he heard nearly 70 witnesses including Mark Taylor, Shane Warne, Tim May, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Salim Malik. The report was completed in October 1999 but only published on May 23, 2000 — banning Salim Malik and Ata-ur-Rehman for life and fining Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed, Inzamam, Akram Raza and Saeed Anwar.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
15 June 2000
Waqar Younis was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI against Sri Lanka after he was caught scratching the ball to generate reverse swing.
Pakistan vs Various
23 May 2000
Pakistani batsman Saleem Malik became the first international cricketer to be banned for life for match fixing, after Justice Qayyum's inquiry found him guilty of offering bribes to Australian players.
Pakistan vs Various
1 May 2000
Pakistan legend Wasim Akram was named in the Justice Qayyum report as being unable to be exonerated from match-fixing allegations, though he escaped a ban.
Pakistan vs Various
23 May 2000
Pakistani fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman received a life ban following the Qayyum Commission findings, becoming the second Pakistani cricketer banned for life along with Saleem Malik.
India vs Pakistan
1999-02-07
On February 7, 1999, Anil Kumble took all ten Pakistani second-innings wickets — 10 for 74 in 26.3 overs — to become only the second bowler in Test history to claim a 'Perfect Ten' after Jim Laker (1956). India won by 212 runs.
Bangladesh vs Pakistan
1999-05-31
On May 31, 1999, Bangladesh — playing in their debut World Cup — beat tournament favourites Pakistan by 62 runs at Northampton. Khaled Mahmud (3/31 and 27 with the bat) was Player of the Match. The result remains shrouded in match-fixing suspicion that Pakistan's later Justice Qayyum report partially supported.
Australia vs Pakistan
1999-11-22
On November 22, 1999 in only his second Test, Adam Gilchrist made an unbeaten 149 to chase down 369 against Pakistan at Bellerive Oval. He and Justin Langer added an unbroken 238 for the sixth wicket — Australia won by 4 wickets and Gilchrist's wicketkeeper-batter revolution was launched.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
1999-06-16
On June 16, 1999, Saeed Anwar carried his bat through Pakistan's innings, scoring 113 not out off 148 balls to set up a nine-wicket win over New Zealand at Old Trafford and put Pakistan into the World Cup final. It was his second hundred in successive World Cup matches, after 103 against Zimbabwe four days earlier — a feat previously achieved only by Mark Waugh in 1996.
India vs Pakistan
8 June 1999
Sachin Tendulkar was given out caught behind in the high-stakes India-Pakistan World Cup match despite replays suggesting the ball brushed his pad, not bat.
Pakistan vs Various
1 June 1999
Leaked audio cassettes containing conversations between Pakistani players and bookmakers provided crucial evidence for the Qayyum Commission and proved fixing in Pakistani cricket.
Pakistan vs Australia
1998-10-16
On October 16, 1998, Australian captain Mark Taylor finished day two of the Peshawar Test on 334 not out — equalling Don Bradman's highest Australian Test score. The next morning he declared without batting on, choosing the team's chances of victory over the chance to break Bradman's record alone.
India vs Pakistan
1997-05-21
On May 21, 1997, Saeed Anwar slammed 194 off 146 balls against India in Chennai, breaking Viv Richards' 13-year-old record (189 not out vs England 1984) for the highest individual score in an ODI. He hit 22 fours and 5 sixes and used a runner for half of his innings.
India vs Pakistan
15 October 1997
Inzamam-ul-Haq charged into the crowd with a bat after being persistently taunted by an Indian spectator with a megaphone during a Sahara Cup match in Toronto.
India vs Pakistan
15 September 1997
Inzamam-ul-Haq climbed into the crowd with a bat to confront a spectator who had been abusing him during the Sahara Cup match in Toronto.
India vs Pakistan
1997-09-14
Inzamam-ul-Haq stormed into the crowd with his bat after being heckled by a spectator in Toronto.
India vs Pakistan
1996-03-09
On March 9, 1996, Pakistan's Aamer Sohail cut Venkatesh Prasad for four, then pointed his bat at the boundary as if to say 'I'll do it again'. Next ball Prasad bowled him, then animatedly waved him off the field. The send-off became the defining image of the India-Pakistan 1996 World Cup quarter-final, won by India by 39 runs.
Pakistan
1996-09-15
In the mid-1990s, Pakistan off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq developed the doosra — a delivery that turned away from a right-hand batter while looking like a stock off-break. Pakistan keeper Moin Khan named it 'doosra' (the other one); the delivery transformed off-spin and triggered a decade of chucking debates.
Pakistan vs Australia
1994-10-11
On the eve of the Karachi Test in October 1994, Pakistan captain Salim Malik allegedly approached Shane Warne, Mark Waugh and Tim May with bribes of around US$200,000 each to underperform. Australia lost the Test by one wicket. Malik denied everything for years; Justice Qayyum's 2000 report found him guilty and banned him for life.
Pakistan vs South Africa
1994-10-13
In October 1994, at age 25, Hansie Cronje took over as full-time South African Test captain after Kepler Wessels stepped down. He was the youngest South African captain in 96 years. Over the next six years he would lead South Africa to 27 Test wins, 99 ODI victories — and eventually the match-fixing scandal that destroyed his career.
England vs Pakistan
1992-08-22
During Pakistan's 1992 tour of England, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis took 41 wickets between them with reverse-swing bowling that English batters and tabloid press could not understand. Pakistan won the series 2-1; English newspapers accused them of ball-tampering and the row poisoned England-Pakistan relations for a decade.
Pakistan vs England
1992-03-25
On March 25, 1992, Pakistan beat England by 22 runs at the MCG to lift their first cricket World Cup. Imran Khan's 72 and Wasim Akram's match-defining all-round performance (33 with the bat, 3/49 with the ball, including the wickets of Lamb and Lewis with consecutive deliveries) sealed it. Imran retired immediately afterwards.
New Zealand vs Pakistan
1992-03-21
On March 21, 1992 in Auckland, a 22-year-old Inzamam-ul-Haq came in at 140 for 4 chasing 263 against tournament leaders New Zealand and smashed 60 off 37 balls to power Pakistan to a four-wicket win and into the final. Inzamam had nearly been left out of the playing XI.
South Africa vs Pakistan
1992-03-08
On March 8, 1992, Jonty Rhodes — gathering the ball at backward point — sprinted four metres and dived horizontally into the stumps with the ball still in his hand to run out Inzamam-ul-Haq for 48. The image redefined cricket fielding for a generation.
Pakistan vs England
1992-03-25
Immediately after lifting the World Cup at the MCG on March 25, 1992, Imran Khan announced his retirement from international cricket. At 39, the cornered tigers' captain walked away on the highest possible note: world champion, in his last match, with a personal score of 72.
Pakistan
1992-03-25
Pakistan won just one of their first five matches at the 1992 World Cup and were one rained-out point from elimination. Captain Imran Khan, wearing a t-shirt with a tiger printed on it, told his players to 'fight like cornered tigers' — and the team won every match thereafter, lifting the trophy on March 25 at the MCG.
Pakistan vs India
1992-03-04
Javed Miandad mocked Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More's jumping celebrations by doing exaggerated frog-like jumps at the crease, creating one of cricket's most iconic comedy moments.
India, Pakistan
1989-11-15
Aged 16 years and 205 days, Sachin Tendulkar walked out at Karachi to face Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir on Test debut — the youngest Indian Test cricketer and the start of a 24-year career.
India, Pakistan
1987-03-07
Sunil Gavaskar reached 10,000 Test runs against Pakistan at Ahmedabad in March 1987, becoming the first batsman in history to cross the mark and recalibrating cricket's notion of longevity.
Pakistan, England
1987-12-09
Days before the Mike Gatting-Shakoor Rana finger-pointing row, Chris Broad refused to leave the crease for over a minute after being given out caught behind, an incident that helped poison the 1987 Faisalabad Test.
Pakistan vs England
8 December 1987
England captain Mike Gatting and umpire Shakoor Rana had a furious finger-pointing row that caused an entire day's play to be lost.
West Indies vs Pakistan
1987-11-01
Courtney Walsh refused to run out Pakistan's non-striker Saleem Jaffar who was backing up too far, costing West Indies a World Cup spot in one of cricket's greatest acts of sportsmanship.
New Zealand, Pakistan
1985-01-25
An 18-year-old Wasim Akram, plucked from the BCCP nets by Javed Miandad, took 10 for 128 in his second Test against New Zealand at Auckland — the start of one of the great fast-bowling careers.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
1984-04-06
Emirati businessman Abdul Rahman Bukhatir built a cricket stadium in Sharjah and, between 1981 and 1984, turned it into the first major neutral venue for international cricket — culminating in the inaugural 1984 Asia Cup.
Pakistan, India
1983-01-14
Javed Miandad made his career-best 280 not out at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad, against India in January 1983 — the innings ended only when captain Imran Khan declared with Miandad 20 short of a triple century.
Pakistan, India
1982-12-30
Imran Khan's 8 for 60 in the second innings at Karachi headlined a 40-wicket series in which he averaged 13.95 — one of the most dominant individual fast-bowling performances in Test history.
Pakistan
1982-04-01
Imran Khan's first captaincy stint between 1982 and 1989 transformed Pakistan from a talented but inconsistent side into the team that would win the 1992 World Cup and dominate the 1990s.
Australia vs Pakistan
27 March 1982
Beyond the famous kicking incident, Miandad and Lillee had a vicious running feud spanning years, filled with verbal abuse and mutual loathing.
Australia vs Pakistan
22 November 1981
Dennis Lillee kicked Javed Miandad on the field, prompting Miandad to raise his bat as if to strike Lillee. Umpire Tony Crafter intervened to separate them.
Pakistan
1980-01-01
Through the 1980s, a generation of Pakistani fast bowlers — Sarfraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis — perfected and exported reverse swing, the technique that would dominate Test cricket for the next two decades.
West Indies vs Pakistan
11 June 1975
At Edgbaston on 11 June 1975, West Indies — chasing 267 to beat Pakistan in the first World Cup — fell to 203/9 with sixteen overs left and were within one wicket of an exit from a tournament they would, ten days later, win. Deryck Murray (61 not out) and Andy Roberts (24 not out) added 64 for the unbroken last wicket; West Indies won by one wicket with two balls remaining. The match is the first acknowledged thriller in World Cup history and is the moment without which the 1975 tournament has no Caribbean ending.
Pakistan vs England
3-8 June 1971
Zaheer Abbas made 274 against England at Edgbaston in June 1971 in only the second Test of his career — and his first in England — batting for nine hours and ten minutes, hitting 38 fours, and taking Pakistan to 608/7 declared. The innings, second only to Hanif Mohammad's 337 in Pakistani Test history at the time, announced Zaheer as the most prolific accumulator of his generation and earned him selection as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year for 1972.
Pakistan vs England
1968-12-06
Colin Cowdrey of Kent became the first man in cricket history to play 100 Test matches when he appeared in England's first Test against Pakistan at Lahore in December 1968. Cowdrey was 35; his career had spanned 16 years, two continents and five different captains. His 100th cap was marked with a guard of honour from both teams and a telegram from the Queen.
England vs Pakistan
1967-08-10
Alan Knott of Kent made his Test debut at The Oval against Pakistan in August 1967 and was immediately the best wicketkeeper England had seen since Godfrey Evans — a lower-order batsman of real quality and a keeper of outrageous agility. He would go on to take 269 dismissals and score 4,389 runs in 95 Tests, and is rated by many as the finest wicketkeeper-batsman England has produced.
England vs India and England vs Pakistan
1967-08-25
England enjoyed their most successful home season of the decade in 1967, winning both their series — 3-0 against India and 2-0 against Pakistan. Brian Close captained with aggression and tactical clarity; Geoff Boycott scored heavily; and England's bowling — Trueman in his last Test season, Higgs, Snow and Underwood — overwhelmed two sides that lacked experience of English conditions.
West Indies vs Pakistan
1958-03-01
On 1 March 1958 at Sabina Park, the 21-year-old Garry Sobers turned his maiden Test century into 365 not out against Pakistan, beating Len Hutton's 364 from the 1938 Oval Test by a single run. Sobers batted for 10 hours and 14 minutes and added 446 for the second wicket with Conrad Hunte (260). The record stood for 36 years until Brian Lara's 375 in 1994.
West Indies vs Pakistan
1958-01-23
Asked to follow on 473 runs behind in the first Test at Bridgetown in January 1958, Hanif Mohammad batted for 970 minutes — 16 hours 10 minutes across nine consecutive sessions — to score 337 and save the match. It remains the longest innings in Test history and the highest score by a Pakistan batsman away from home.
Pakistan vs MCC
1956-02-12
During an MCC under-25 tour match at Peshawar in February 1956, captain Donald Carr and several team-mates donned masks, abducted Pakistani umpire Idris Baig from his hotel and dragged him to Billy Sutcliffe's room where they doused him with buckets of water. The incident, born of frustration with Baig's umpiring, almost ended the tour and triggered demonstrations on the streets of Peshawar.
England vs Pakistan
1954-08-17
On 17 August 1954 at The Oval, Pakistan beat England by 24 runs in only their inaugural Test tour to England. Fazal Mahmood took 6 for 53 and 6 for 46 — match figures of 12 for 99 — to bowl Pakistan to a victory that no Test nation had achieved on first visit before or since. Captain A. H. Kardar held aloft the smaller of cricket's two Caribbean replicas as Pakistan squared the series 1-1.
India vs Pakistan
1952-10-26
Just weeks after their Test debut in Delhi, Pakistan beat India by an innings and 43 runs at Lucknow on 26 October 1952 to record their first Test victory. Fazal Mahmood took 12 for 94 in the match — 5 for 52 and 7 for 42 — on a matting wicket that he treated as a private playground. Captain A. H. Kardar, who had played for India before partition, became the first Pakistan captain to lift a Test win.