June 27, 2026
One roll, endless rage
Underarm Bowling Incident of 1981
The ball that won the game — and made fans furious for decades
TLDR: In 1981, Australia won a cricket match by bowling the final ball underarm so New Zealand couldn’t hit the tying score, sparking outrage so huge the rules were changed. The comments are split between calling it an eternal disgrace, comparing it to other cynical sports tactics, and cracking jokes about the misery of watching it unfold.
Cricket’s most infamous mic-drop moment is still making people rage, laugh, and argue decades later. In 1981, with New Zealand needing one huge hit off the final ball to tie, Australian captain Greg Chappell told his brother Trevor to roll the ball underarm along the ground — a move that was legal then, but instantly branded a betrayal of fair play. Australia got the win, but the crowd, commentators, and now the comment section all seem to agree: this was the kind of victory that comes with a permanent side-eye. It was such a scandal that the rules were later changed so no one could try it again.
And oh, the reactions. One New Zealand commenter basically says the country is still not over it, calling it unforgettable national sports trauma, while joking that Australia has probably moved on like nothing happened. Others turned the whole thing into a morality fight: was this a shocking low blow, or just ruthless game management? One person compared the outrage to teams kneeling out the clock in American football or wasting time in soccer, while another fired back with a reminder that cricket has a long, messy history of legal-but-nasty tactics, even dropping a Bodyline comparison for extra drama.
The funniest comment, though, may be the one about poor Bruce Edgar being stranded at the non-striker’s end on 102 not out all over, which one user joked was a perfect way for Americans to understand the slow agony Europeans feel watching baseball. Brutal, petty, hilarious — just like the underarm itself
Key Points
- •The underarm bowling incident occurred on 1 February 1981 during the third match of the 1980–81 World Series Cup final between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- •With New Zealand needing six runs from the final ball to tie, Australia captain Greg Chappell told Trevor Chappell to bowl underarm along the ground to Brian McKechnie.
- •The delivery was legal under the rules at the time, but the article states it was widely regarded as against the spirit of cricket.
- •Earlier in the same match, Martin Snedden claimed a catch off Greg Chappell that was ruled not out, despite Richie Benaud saying television replays showed it had been fairly taken.
- •The reaction to the underarm incident later contributed to an official change to the international laws of cricket to stop the tactic being used again.