We tend to think that the ugly fighting on and off the cricket field are signs of deterioration of sportsmanship in this millennium.
Think clashes involving David Warner and Quinton de Kock this month in the Durban Test, followed by the fistful farewells given by South Africa’s matchwinning quickie Kasigo Rabada in the next Test in Port Elizabeth and then Friday’s on-field fury and fisticuffs between Sri Lankan and Bangladesh cricketers at Colombo in the Nidahas T20 tri-series.
Wrong! What’s new about players losing their cool on or near the pitch in cricket?
Nothing can compare with the on-field brawl between two all-time greats – Australia’s legendary fast bowler Dennis Lillee and Pakistan’s iconic stroke-player Javed Miandad – in the November 1981 Perth Test. They got physical.
The great Lillee was fined and suspended for two one-day internationals after aiming a kick at the Pakistan captain Javed Miandad on the fourth day of that notorious Test.
According to Lillee, the Pakistani had used swear words at him.
Observed Ken Piesse in Cricket’s Greatest Scandals (2001), Miandad menacingly brandished his bat in retaliation.
Not to be outdone, Lillee clenched his fists and shaped up like an old-time bare-knuckle boxer as the commentators and spectators held their breath.
From slip skipper Greg Chappell yelled “Dennis!” and rushed down the pitch to intervene. Umpire Tony Crafter had to separate combatants Miandad and Lillee.
Miandad later explained, “I lifted my bat to ward him off and to tell him that if he hit me, I’d hit him for saying dirty words to me”.
Somehow it seemed unfair that although Lillee received the punishment he deserved, the equally guilty Miandad walked free.
Lillee wrote in his 1984 book Over and Out! that this was the only on-field controversy he truly regretted.
“Javed jabbed me in the rib cage with his bat, but nobody wanted to know about it. I’m not saying I was right in what I did, even though I gave him only a slight tap on the field. I’m sorry thousands of kids saw it, but I’m also sorry the incident wasn’t fully shown in television replays.”
We tend to think that gambling, illegal betting, bribery, match-fixing, spot-fixing and other corruptions are modern phenomena. Far from it! They have been with us for two centuries and are as old as cricket itself.
Among the first people to be kicked out of cricket for match-fixing was William Lambert in June 1817. That was 201 years ago and about 180 years before Salim Malik, Hansie Cronje, Mohammad Azharuddin, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer put cricketing vices on front pages of newspapers in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Dave Liverman, a professor of history at Yale University, wrote in Cricinfo, “A great cricketer in the early days of the organised game, William Lambert was a fine exponent of the forward style of batting and was regarded at one time as the best batsman in England.”
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Lambert was the first batsman in cricket history to score centuries in both innings of a match, for Sussex at Epsom in 1817, a feat not repeated for 76 years. A few months later he was banned from playing any matches at Lord’s for not trying his best in a match for England against Nottinghamshire. Perhaps it was an early form of match-fixing.
An efficient bowler and an agile fielder, he made his living from cricket, playing for the highest bidder, mostly in single and double-wicket matches.
In the 1820s the cricket authorities drove the bookies out of Lord’s, and matches thrown for large amounts of money became only an unpleasant memory.
However, betting continued on small scale and posed no threat to the integrity of the game, according to David Underdown in Cricinfo.
As I had written in my 2012 book Cricket Conflicts and Controversies, “True, the more things change, the more they remain the same”.
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
"The continued posing by many here positioning Australia as the good guys and SA the bad ones is just crazy." The Aussies are no saints but the repositioning here is all being undertaken by the South African Cricket Team and their supporters. Simply Crazy!
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
Yep. The Australian Cricket Team is also responsible for starting a couple of world wars I believe.
Perry Bridge
Guest
I reckon it was the last day of the 3rd test 83/84 in Adelaide - we'd already seen Australia knock up 465 with Wessels 179 and Border 117*. Pakistan responded with a lazy 624 (Mohsin 149, Umar 113 and Javed himself 131) And Australia finished up on 7/310 (Hughes 106), safely ahead as time closed in. And Javed bowled 3 overs for 10 runs in the 2nd innings. I wonder if he got a wrap over the knuckles for not taking it absolutely seriously?
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Where are you hiding, Sheek? Your comments make sense.
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Dave J, My bio on the Roar requires revision. It was I think written in 2011 before my Conflict book was published in 2012. The book was sold out soon making giving it a plug meaningless!
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
Thanks Perry Bridge to let us know that MeAndDad could imitate others so well.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Gavaskar copped more abuse from crowds in those days than players. You should read his comments about the West Indian crowds sometime.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Yes, but remember this was the same year that same Colin Croft form the Windies put the shoulder into an umpire and Michael Holding kick down the stumps. It was also the era where Sunny Gavaskar took his team off to protest an umpire's decision. And that's just the ones I know about.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Spot on. at the time it was considering amazing that he didn't miss any test cricket.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Well said. i hated the little guy at the time, but that's because he was so good and so competitive. Pakistan was never beaten while he was around.
Perry Bridge
Guest
I loved watching Javed Miandad - as a batter he was super competitive and wouldn't back down from a fight no matter how much out of his weight division. Far from an 'aggravater' - he was able to adapt his game, and become a grafter, and find ways of accumulating runs, of controlling the situation as best he could. 3 years ago 'Cricket Monthly' suggested that Javed was the first 'great finisher' of ODI cricket. I do recall some superb efforts that redefined the processes. His efforts in the '92 WC in Aust were super critical to the win and then in match 1 of the '92 tri-series v WI in Perth, he produced a 59* with 45 singles and no boundaries and paced the innings to win on the 2nd ball of the 50th over. But - far and away his greatest moments in Australia were in test that were meandering to a definite conclusion - his mimicry of other players/bowlers - his Bob Willis and Abdul Qadir impressions were super.
Nick
Roar Guru
Miandad was a "chirpy little aggravater"? Maybe a comment on his talents too for a bit of editorial balance? Miandad and Lillee came to blows because they were identical cricketers: peerless in their eras, a winner takes all attitude and fiercely aggressive. To single Miandad out like you did is an insult. This is man who's average never once dipped below 50 in an era of Lillee, Thomson, Holding, Marshall, Garner, Botham, Willis et al.
DavSA
Guest
yes
sheek
Guest
Hi Kersi, I'm going to bat for my generation here. Both Lillee & Javed were products of their time, both quick-tempered, both great cricketers & as far as I'm aware, especially with Lillee, as I know about him more, great people. There was no play acting. They were genuine in their anger at the time. I can't help but feel some of the stuff we see today is contrived, it's for the cameras. Warner's anger at his wife being shamed was real enough, genuine enough. It also shows today's players don't have much class & have lost the ability of the clever repartee. Since they are unable to be witty & funny, they get personal. Rabada's shoulder charge was half-hearted & clumsy. If he was serious, he should have put Smith on the ground. in any case, he deserves his punishment for carrying on like a prima donna. i'm afraid today's cricketers bore me to tears. No, they bore me so I don't watch much.
Simoc
Guest
I guess you guys don't understand the rules which are written in simple English. Crowe was doing his job which it would seem is beyond your understanding. The incident and the rules are clear and many of the cricket world have seen it. And here we have two suggesting we pretend no-one noticed. Rabada knows perfectly well but is obviously egged on by his team mates. Both Rabada and Warner would be improved people by saying less.
DaveJ
Guest
Kersi, sure there was gambling and shonky financial dealings in the 19th century ( see WG Grace) but I’m not sure what that’s got to do with onfield aggro. Not a problem if you were plugging a book. I was referring to the short bio above which says “ he has recently finished his new book on Cricket's Conflicts and Controversies”. I’m sure it’s a good read, new or not.
DavSA
Guest
The article gives balance to the anti-Rabada /SA frenzy of late . Rousing over the top send offs was not invented by Rabada or by SA . I well recall Shane Warne giving Andrew Hudson a shocking goodbye in a test match. Warnie was fined $400.00 by the ICC but continued in the series with no lasting damage to either his reputation or his friendships with the SA players off the field. The continued posing by many here positioning Australia as the good guys and SA the bad ones is just crazy. In pre helmet/protection days quick bowlers deliberately intended at times to injure a batsman and sometimes did so. In that context a bit of screaming and shouting is pretty mild. The great Windies teams of the past did very little on field talking but opposition batsmen went out into the middle in genuine and justified fear. I had a conversation many years ago in a pub with Wayne Larkins an England batsman who in later years played for Eastern Province in SA. He faced the Windies team in the Caribbean . I asked Wayne if it was a bad as people made out . His answer was .." It was worse".
Kersi Meher-Homji
Guest
I thank all you commenters for your interesting inputs.
MattyB
Guest
There certainly was some contravercy regarding the lenient sentence which was magnified due to the fact it was his teammates that handed it down,due to them running with Lillees story that Miandad was to blame,despite the fact the video replay clearly showing Lillee going out of his way to shoulder a walking Miandad who seemed to be looking at the fieldsman. Then Lillee proceeded to kick Miandad,which also happened before Miandad raised his bat. I remember the commentators at the time saying Lillee clearly started the whole thing on multiple levels.
Sam
Guest
Two things: 1.Both DK Lillee And Javed MeAndDad were two of the many great characters of cricket,which today is sadly lacking with the ‘robotic’ cricketers of today. 2.No internet,no social media in 1981,and you didn’t have all the different camera angles that you have today.And the cricketers in those days were REAL men.