5 most controversial Test series that were played with poor sportsmanship

Cricket, like every other sport, had had its fair share of controversies right from its inception. While a majority of them have been relatively minor and potentially harmless, others have had far-reaching consequences that went on to challenge the integrity of the game on more occasions than one.Sledging and mind games, for instance, has always been a part and parcel of cricket, but the enormity of the offences have often been found to disrupt fair competition, giving rise to simmering tensions and mutual disrespect among teams. The copious use of the four-lettered word and the casual threats of smashing down teeth have ended up being provocative on quite a few occasions with the ultimate result of cricket being sidetracked.The allegations of bad sportsmanship have plagued the game for years with hardly any of them being resolved in good terms. Here are the top five controversies that have fuelled tension between the teams throughout the series.

#5 The Vaseline fiasco (India vs England, 1977)

A disquieting home series for India that witnessed some subservient batting and equally timid bowling against a perked up English squad led by Tony Greig ended up in an on-field controversy that graduated to off-field proportions, fuelled somewhat by the media and chiefly by the then Indian skipper Bishan Singh Bedi’s blatant wordplay.

John Lever, the Essex swing bowler, shot to fame in his debut Test in the series opener at Delhi by claiming 7/46 and 3/24 while steering his team to an innings victory. Unleashing “a rogue ball that swung extravagantly”, he went on to capture the attention of the entire cricketing world as he effortlessly exposed the weaknesses of Bedi’s men in an almost merciless fashion.

After yet another comprehensive defeat, at Calcutta, the Indians emerged at Madras in order to keep the series alive. England piled up 262 runs against a three-man spin attack and soon reduced India to 17/3. Lever completed his five-wicket haul as India folded up for 164 before umpire Judah Reuben reported the Essex youngster for ball tampering.

The greasy affair

England team physio Bernard Thomas had stuck Vaseline-impregnated gauze strips just above the eyebrows of Lever and Bob Willis, apparently to divert the sweat percolating into their eyes. According to Mike Selvey, Lever was forced to throw the strips away on the field since they happened to slip down over the eyes restricting his vision.

As Reuben picked up one of those strips and brought the matter to the attention of both the captains, Bedi unleashed a furious attack on England’s sportsmanship, claiming he had noticed grease on the ball during Lever’s 10-wicket match haul at Delhi.

An elaborate episode of justifications and counter-justifications ensued with Bedi and Lever jibing at each other through various newspapers. The laboratory tests revealed traces of Vaseline on the ball that was in accordance to Lever’s account of failing to grip the ball because of the grease, which ultimately led him to throw the strips away. As the MCC cleared the England team, the Indian skipper continued to weave conspiracy theories en route to a 3-1 defeat in the series.