10 Biggest Controversies in Cricket History

9. €œYou€™re Nothing But Cheats€ €“ New Zealand vs. West Indies, 1979-80

When Imran Khan delivered the Spirit of Cricket Lecture back in 2010, he remarked how the idea of neutral umpires has become completely taken for granted. But when Khan was playing in the 1970s and 1980s, it was customary for the home side to provide the umpires, leading to a number of obviously biased decisions. Khan was ridiculed for campaigning for neutral umpires, with his contemporaries at test and domestic level believing that €œit all evens out in the end€. Perhaps no test series illuminates this problem than the 1979-80 series between New Zealand and the West Indies. The West Indies had not lost a test series since 1975 and were growing in stature having thrashed England in England in 1976 (more on that later). But the 1979-80 series was marred by terrible umpiring in favour of the home side, resulting in the only series defeat ever inflicted on what is widely regarded as the greatest cricket team of all time €“ a team that didn€™t lose another series until 1994. Two incidents from the tour made international headlines, both involving New Zealand-born umpire Fred Goodall. In the first test fast bowler Michael Holding lost his cool and kicked the stumps out of the ground after an appeal for caught behind was turned down. As Goodall remade the wicket and asked the WI skipper Clive Lloyd to have a word with his bowler, one of the slips shouted back at him: €œYou€™re nothing but cheats.€ In the second test, fast bowler Colin Croft elbowed Goodall in the back during his run-up, after two clear shouts for caught behind were turned down. What Happened Next: New Zealand won the three-test series 1-0, Goodall tarnished his reputation further by making racist comments in a post-series after-dinner speech, and discussions about neutral umpiring began at the higher levels of cricket€™s governing body.
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