Monkey-gate
2008: Australia v India, January
Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds found himself at the centre of the most volatile of controversies when he accused Indian spin bowler Harbhajan Singh of racial vilification, sparking a furious war of words in both countries that resulted in effigies of umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson being burned in India. Singh was banned for three Test matches (later downgraded) when he was found to have called Symonds a ‘‘monkey’’ during the third day of the second Test after Symonds confronted him following Singh’s on-pitch body clash with batting partner Brett Lee. India threatened a walk-out of the series as a result, accusing the umpires of cheating for allowing Symonds to remain at the crease and score 162 not-out despite looking to have been out twice before he even reached 20 runs.Bleak forecast. No rain, more Snow
1971: Australia v England, February
Years before plastic-cup ‘‘beer snakes’’ were labelled a nuisance by the SCG trust, patrons enjoyed their full-strength beer in cans. And in the seventh and final Ashes Test in 1971, those ‘‘tinnies’’ were used as missiles by Australian fans and sent careering onto the field, aimed at the English, after paceman John Snow hit Australian tail-ender Terry Jenner in the head with one of countless bouncers. One infuriated punter went as far as to physically attack Snow, prompting England captain Ray Illingworth to lead his team from the field in the first walk-off in Test history. England returned and won the match by 62 runs to reclaim the Ashes.Oranges and Apples for Tony Greig
1975: Australia v England
Four years after the infamous John Snow incident, England returned to the SCG for the fourth Test and it didn’t take long for hostilities to resume between those on The Hill and the English fielders. This time, it was directed at batting all-rounder – and now Channel Nine commentator – Tony Greig. As the English were hammered by the pace of Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, The Hill roared in delight. And when Greig threw an orange into the crowd that had originally been thrown at him while fielding, it whipped the Sydney crowd into a frenzy. Greig was pelted with beer cans and rubbish as a result, causing play to stop until order was restored.Bodyline
1932-33: Australia v England
It was the Ashes series that changed cricket forever. Once known as the sport of gentlemen, cricket broke into a brave new world of win-at-all-costs competition during England’s tour of Australia when, for the first time in history, the English devised a plan for their bowlers to consistently pitch the ball short in an effort to intimidate the great Don Bradman. The Don didn’t play in the first Test at the SCG but nonetheless the English stacked the legside with fielders and captain Douglas Jardine ordered his bowlers to pitch short, aim for the body and direct the ball at leg stump. While the bouncer has become common practice nowadays, in 1932 the previously rare bowling tactic combined with myriad fielders stacked behind square leg was considered physically threatening and not in the spirit of the game. It sparked a bitter rivalry between the sides, with laws changed over the next two decades to prevent Bodyline from being employed again. Clarke and Katich in the sheds
2009: Australia v South Africa, January
This was a controversy with a difference. Traditionally, bad blood was only shared between opponents.But following Australia’s 103-run win over South Africa, opening batsman Simon Katich and future captain Michael Clarke came together in an altercation that effectively would end Katich’s international career.With Clarke in a rush to finish the team song so he could leave to be with girlfriend Lara Bingle he requested the team song be sung early. Needless to say, the veteran Katich didn’t take the suggestion kindly, grabbing ‘‘Pup’’ by the throat and pinning him against the dressing room wall. Both parties denied any lingering hostilities at the time but that has proven to be false – Katich was charged by Cricket Australia last month with detrimental public comment after proclaiming Clarke was responsible for him being dropped and continually overlooked for the national side. Match-fixing
2010: Australia v Pakistan, January
It was one of Australia’s greatest Test victories, coming from 206 runs down in the first innings to win the unwinnable match thanks to a remarkable 123-run ninth wicket parternship between Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle. The partnership was just four runs short of Australia’s entire first innings score, becoming just the sixth team in history to come back after trailing more than 200 runs.Amid the celebrations, eyebrows were raised at Kamran Akmal’s four dropped catches and missed run-out of Hussey, who went on to score 134 not-out.And when Pakistan players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were alleged to have been involved in match fixing in the fourth Test against England later that year in August by a secret News of the World investigation, the spotlight was again thrown onto the second Test at the SCG. One of the alleged match-riggers boasting to the undercover journalist about the outcome of the Sydney Test.Butt, Asif and Amir were eventually found guilty of spot-fixing but the ICC couldn’t find enough evidence to confirm suggestions of foul play at the SCG. Atherton declares on Hick
1995: Australia v England
It was the third of five Ashes Tests and another series that England would go on to lose. But this particular Test at the SCG is also remembered for the curious actions of England captain Mike Atherton.With the series in the balance and England in control, batsman Graeme Hick was at the crease unbeaten on 98 when Atherton declared before his teammate had an opportunity to claim his first ever Ashes century.Turns out, despite needing only two runs for Hick to reach his milestone, Atherton decided he was scoring too slowly and as a result his team was ‘‘dawdling’’. At the time, Atherton justified his decision by explaining it was made purely on cricket terms. However, in his autobiography Atherton revealed if presented with the same decision again, he’d make the more popular choice given its much publicised negative effect on team morale for the remainder of the series. Bottles to the ground
1903: Australia v England
After umpire Bob Crockett controversially judged Clem Hill run-out in the first Test of the 1903-04 series at the SCG when Australia were chasing a 292-run deficit, chaos erupted when the teams returned to the ground for the fourth Test – with Crockett again at the helm. Still fuming from the Crock’s ‘‘crook’’ decision, 35,000 Sydney fans grew quickly impatient with the man in the middle when he delayed play for some 80 minutes due to light rain. Fans believed the decision was to England’s advantage. In a show of frustration and anger, the screaming fans pelted the pitch with watermelons and smashed bottles on the concrete cycling track inside the boundary fence, leaving the ground looking more garbage tip than cricket ground. English papers reported that the ‘‘larrikins’’ of Sydney should resort to a sport more suited to their tastes, such as cock-fighting. And that the SCG had the atmosphere of a ‘‘boxing stadium’’. Bodyline with a Caribbean twist
1952: Australia v West Indies
Twice the SCG played host in the five-Test series – the first time the West Indies had travelled to Australia in two decades. It had also been two decades since England employed their ‘‘dangerous and intimidating’’ bouncer tactics against Australia. This time, Australian fast bowler Keith Miller channelled the spirit of 1932 and was heavily criticised for his ‘‘relentless bumper tactics’’ by Wisden in the second Test of the series with bowling partner Ray Lindwall. Come the fifth Test, in Sydney, Miller persisted with the short-pitch bowling and sent respected West Indian batsman Everton Weekes diving for cover as balls targeted his body in the first innings. Miller earned the ire of international fans and journalists alike but finished the innings with figures of 5/26. Australia, however, lost the match. It sparked a sour relationship between the countries and players, which saw the West Indies return serve in their homeland two years later. The Demon Spofforth
1883: Australia v England, January 26-30
On evening of the second-last day of play between Australia and England came a moment more controversial than England’s win on a rain-affected SCG pitch the day after. England’s leading batsman, Dick Barlow, accused Australian paceman Fred ‘‘The Demon’’ Spofforth of wearing illegal spikes that damaged the pitch and Spofforth didn’t take kindly to the remark.Barlow himself had been accused by the Australians on day one for wearing illegal spikes in order to scuff the pitch and, when Barlow insulted Spofforth, the Australian quick was said to let punches fly.Only Tasmania’s The Mercury and Launceston Examiner made light mention of the ‘‘unpleasant incident’’, the English laughing off the matter. The Examiner report suggested that Spofforth raised his hand to Maurice Read when he stepped in to intervene. But Richard Cashman’s book The ‘‘Demon ‘‘ Spofforth, published in 1990, makes further mention of the incident, suggesting Spofforth in fact punched Barlow and sent him backwards over a pavilion bench.
