Test Match Special asked BBC Sport readers to rank ten of the most notorious scandals in Test cricket history. The results were revealed on a TMS podcast by Jonathan Agnew, Steven Finn, and Andy Zaltzman. Among the top-ranked incidents is the 2006 sandpapergate scandal involving Australia, where Pakistan refused to continue playing after an umpire accused them of ball-tampering during a Test match at The Oval in England. This led to the abandonment of the game and later awarding it to England, resulting in their winning the series 3-0.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
On Friday, Australia will play their first Test in South Africa since the sandpapergate scandal rocked the cricketing world eight years ago.
asserted
scandal → publish → world
To mark one of the biggest controversies the game has ever seen, Test Match Special asked you which is Test cricket's biggest scandal.
asserted
which → mark → you
Ten of the most notorious scandals in Test cricket were picked out by a TMS panel and readers of the BBC Sport website then ranked them.
asserted
readers → pick → them
The results have been revealed on the TMS podcast by BBC chief cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew, former England fast bowler Steven Finn and TMS scorer Andy Zaltzman.
asserted
results → reveal → Agnew
The full results are below and you can listen to the podcast here.
asserted
you → listen → podcast
The forfeited Test
Pakistan had already lost the series in England in 2006, yet were cruising to victory in the final Test at The Oval.
asserted
Pakistan → forfeit → Oval
However, Australian umpire Darrel Hair asked for the ball to be changed midway through the afternoon session on the fourth day.
asserted
ball → ask → day
Ball-tampering was suggested and Pakistan refused to play after tea.
uncertain
Pakistan → suggest → tea
The match was abandoned and years later awarded to England, after some back and forth.
asserted
match → abandon → back
Agnew: "Pakistan weren't accused of ball-tampering, they were found guilty of ball-tampering, on the field, without any opportunity to defend themselves.
asserted
they → accuse → themselves
The rule at the time was if the umpire on the field suspected ball-tampering, the ball was changed and penalty runs were awarded.
asserted
runs → suspect → tampering
It didn't feel fair."
asserted
It → feel → ?
Zaltzman: "It ended up with England awarded the Test so therefore they won the series 3-0.
asserted
they → end → series
It means that whenever we look at the biggest first-innings deficit overturned to win a Test, this game comes out on top - 331 runs.
asserted
game → mean → top
It irritates me slightly."
asserted
It → irritate → me
Mike Gatting and Shakoor Rana
England's Test match against Pakistan in 1987 was stopped mid-game for more than 24 hours when the tourists' skipper Mike Gatting became embroiled in a row with home umpire Shakoor Rana.
asserted
skipper → stop → Rana
The knock-on was England didn't tour Pakistan for many years.
asserted
England → tour → years
England felt they were being stitched up by Pakistani umpires.
asserted
they → feel → umpires
Zaltzman: "This was before neutral umpires and there was a sense umpiring wasn't quite as fair as it could have been, which all exploded in that moment."
uncertain
which → be → moment
Finn: "It blows my mind that there weren't neutral umpires.
asserted
It → blow → mind
My first summer of Test cricket had DRS and neutral umpires."
asserted
summer → have → DRS
8. George Davis is innocent
The third Test in the 1975 Ashes was abandoned when the pitch was vandalised overnight by supporters of George Davis, who had been jailed for armed robbery the previous year.
asserted
who → abandon → robbery
"George Davis is innocent" was written on the wall around Headingley.
asserted
Davis → write → Headingley
Finn: "I can't fathom turning up to a Test match and the pitch - the most sacred, untouchable of places - it's staggering that people managed to do that."
asserted
people → fathom → that
Zaltzman: "It highlights how vulnerable cricket is to this sort of thing.
asserted
cricket → highlight → thing
A small bit of the field is damaged and the whole game has to be abandoned."
asserted
game → damage → field
These days, the grounds are locked down.
asserted
grounds → lock → ?
It was set up for an England win, but could have been a really good game of cricket.
uncertain
It → set → cricket
When Australia's richest man, Kerry Packer, failed to boost the ratings of his Channel Nine TV network with live cricket, he created his own product: World Series Cricket.
asserted
he → fail → product
The plan was simple - Packer recruited the best players in the world to stage his own matches.
asserted
Packer → recruit → matches
Agnew: "Virtually everything you see about modern cricket can be traced back to World Series.
asserted
you → see → Series
I was 18 years old, playing club cricket in Melbourne and captivated by the coverage."
asserted
I → play → coverage
Finn: "There's a similar revolution going on at the moment with T20 leagues allowing players to drift away from Test cricket.
asserted
players → be → cricket
The temptation to be involved in something new and exciting would have been very interesting."
asserted
temptation → involve → something
Zaltzman: "It was extremely high-calibre cricket, but not even counted in first-class statistics, let alone Test stats.
asserted
It → count → statistics
I don't really see it as a scandal at all, it was more cricket growing up.
asserted
it → see → scandal
This really modernised the sport."
asserted
This → modernise → sport
6. Dirt in the pocket
In the 1994 Lord's Test against South Africa, Michael Atherton was caught by TV cameras rubbing dirt on the ball.
asserted
Atherton → catch → ball
Atherton's explanation was that he was trying to maintain the condition of the ball, rather than alter it.
asserted
he → try → it
Trouble was, he told the match referee he was using the dirt to keep his hands dry.
asserted
he → tell → hands
…and 39 more, not listed.
The Aporia
