On February 1, 1981, Australia were playing New Zealand in the third final of the World Series Cup at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The Kiwis needed six runs off the last ball to tie the match. Chappell, the then Australian captain, ordered his brother Trevor to bowl the final ball under-arm to prevent New Zealand’s Brian McKechnie from hitting a six. When Trevor delivered it, the shocked batsman just tapped the ball and threw his bat in disgust.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K65_spUU05s&feature=player_embedded#t=11
Kiwi captain Geoff Howarth ran out onto the field to argue with the umpires, but since under-arm bowling was not specifically banned at that time, his protest went in vain. The episode raised a trans-Tasman storm, with New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon saying that it was appropriate the Aussies should have been dressed in yellow (slang for cowardly) and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Fraser exclaiming that the incident was contrary to the traditions of cricket. The ICC quickly stepped in to officially prohibit under-arm bowling.
Chappell was severely reprimanded by the Australian Cricket Board, but he still had the last laugh, walking away with the man of the series award.
Click on the link to watch the archive video. The most disgraceful moment of the history of Cricket.
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