Five Instances In Cricket When Players Of Two Opposition Teams Clashed On Field
Published - 14 Feb 2020, 07:23 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:03 AM
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Cricket is called the gentleman’s game lovingly. However, throughout the history of this sport, there have been many instances where the gentlemen playing cricket, fought with each other on the field.
Arguments happen in all sports and cricket is no different. From sledging to unsportsmanlike behaviour, various things lead to fights in cricket and sometimes, the situation got so worse than the two opposing players who fought with each other had to be separated by on-field umpires too.
Having said that, today, we will be listing down five such instances where players from two opposition teams fought with each other on the field:
Yuvraj Singh and Andrew Flintoff:
Indian fans can hardly ever forget the 2007 T20 World Cup when Yuvraj Singh single-handedly destroyed the English bowling attack. He scored a quickfire fifty in just 12 balls, courtesy of seven sixes and three boundaries.
Later, helped by Yuvraj’s stunning knock, India defeated England by 18 runs, but there was a lot of drama in that match.
Firstly, the left-handed all-rounder clashed with Andrew Flintoff, and after that, he would go on to take out all his anger on Stuart Broad, by hitting six sixes in his over.
Broad came to bowl in the 19th over, but Yuvraj was already pumped up and smashed six consecutive sixes to create a world record.
Javed Miandad and Kiran More:
India’s rivalry with Pakistan throughout history has been an iconic one and often when these two teams clash, things are bound to get heated.
In the 1992 World Cup game between the two neighbouring countries, Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More was intimidating Pakistani batsman Javed Miandad by repeatedly appealing for his wicket.
Soon, the batsman got frustrated by this and the two of them clashed with each other.
Things didn’t stop here, Miandad went to complain to the umpire but when Kiran didn’t stop commenting on him, the Pakistan batsman started imitating More’s appeals by jumping on the field.
Later, both the players were let-off without any fines and India won the game by 43 runs.
Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi:
Another India Pakistan encounter, another heated argument, this one happened in 2007, in Kanpur. The two countries played each other in an ODI, and this fight took place while the home side was batting.
Gautam Gambhir hit a shot and just as he was running he was hit by the elbow of Shahid Afridi. With high on temper, Gambhir confronted Afridi and the pair started hurling abuses at each other. Naturally, both their teammates rushed to separate the pair who were threatening each other.
Both Gambhir and Afridi were asked to calm down by the on-field umpires, and while play resumed after that, they both do not see an eye-to-eye since then and are regularly seen criticising each other on social media.
Ben Stokes and Sabbir Rahman
England were touring Bangladesh and the two countries were engaged in a Test match when Ben Stokes and Sabbir Rahman caused a controversy. On day three of the Test, Stokes allegedly sledged Rahman and the duo clashed with each other.
Later, the International Cricket Council (ICC) deemed the English all-rounder guilty of violating its code of conduct by abusing Rahman, and the former was fined 15 per cent of his match fees.
This incident took place in Mirpur, where on-field umpires had earlier asked Stokes to not cross the line while also asking England captain Alastair Cook to talk to his compatriot. But the Englishman didn’t listen and was subsequently punished.
Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds:
Arguably one of the infamous incidents from cricket history, Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh’s fight was a much-talked-about issue, of that time.
India were touring Australia in 2008, and during a match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Harbhajan and Symonds argued, after which the Australian team said that Harbhajan had called Symonds a ‘monkey’, which was a racial slur.
After further investigating this matter, the Indian bowler was let go with just one-match ban because of lack of evidence regarding the Australian team’s claims.
