Controversies in 1971

7 incidents documented

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

Sunil Gavaskar's Debut Series — 774 Runs in West Indies, 1971

India vs West Indies

March-April 1971

Sunil Gavaskar made his Test debut for India in the West Indies in March 1971 and scored 774 runs in four Tests at an average of 154.80, a debut series aggregate that has not been beaten in the more than five decades since. He made centuries in three successive Tests and a double-century-plus-century pair at Port of Spain in the final match. India won the series 1-0 — their first ever rubber win in the Caribbean.

#Sunil Gavaskar#India#West Indies

⭐Mild

Chandrasekhar's 6/38 at The Oval — India's First Series Win in England, 1971

England vs India

19-24 August 1971

Bhagwath Chandrasekhar took 6 for 38 in 18.1 overs as India bowled England out for 101 on the third day of the Oval Test in August 1971, setting up a four-wicket Indian victory that delivered the country's first ever Test series win in England. The 1971 calendar year, including the earlier Caribbean series win, marked the moment Indian cricket became a touring power.

#BS Chandrasekhar#India#England

⭐Moderate

John Snow 7/40 — England Regain the Ashes, Sydney 1971

Australia vs England

12-17 February 1971

England regained the Ashes after twelve years on 17 February 1971 at Sydney, winning the seventh Test by 62 runs to take the series 2-0. John Snow's 7/40 in the second innings was the defining performance, but the Test was equally remembered for the bouncer that felled Terry Jenner, the bottle-throwing crowd disturbance, and Ray Illingworth leading his team off the field — and for the Test debut, in the previous Adelaide match, of a 21-year-old Dennis Lillee who took 5/84.

#1970-71 Ashes#John Snow#Ray Illingworth

⭐Mild

India's First Test Series Win in West Indies — 1971

India vs West Indies

February-April 1971

India won a Test series in the West Indies for the first time in their history in 1971, taking the five-Test series 1-0 with the second Test at Port of Spain decided by seven wickets. Dilip Sardesai's 642 runs and Sunil Gavaskar's 774 in four matches set up the win; Eknath Solkar held the lower order together; and the spin of Erapalli Prasanna and Salim Durani, with Durani dismissing Sobers and Lloyd in successive overs at Port of Spain, completed Ajit Wadekar's defining triumph as captain.

#India#West Indies#1971 series

⭐Mild

Zaheer Abbas — 274 on First Test in England, Edgbaston 1971

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.

#Zaheer Abbas#double century#Edgbaston

🔥Explosive

Political Boycotts of Cricket Tours — India and South Africa

South Africa vs Various (Cancelled Tours)

1 January 1971

India was among the first nations to sever cricketing ties with South Africa over apartheid, and the broader international boycott eventually led to South Africa's complete isolation from world cricket for 21 years.

#boycott#apartheid#south africa