England vs Australia
8-12 July 2009
England survived the final session with last pair James Anderson and Monty Panesar at the crease. Australia were convinced they had Anderson LBW but the appeal was turned down.
England vs Australia
8 July 2009
Michael Clarke nicked Andrew Flintoff to Matt Prior in a clear caught-behind but umpire Rudi Koertzen gave it not out. Clarke survived to help Australia save a famous draw, with the last pair lasting 69 balls.
England vs Australia
8 July 2009
Michael Clarke edged Flintoff to Prior in Australia's second innings but umpire Billy Doctrove gave it not out. Clarke's survival allowed Anderson and Panesar to famously bat out the final 69 balls for a draw.
Australia (internal incident)
7 January 2009
Simon Katich grabbed Michael Clarke by the throat in the Australian dressing room after Clarke wanted to leave before the team victory song.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
3 March 2009
Twelve armed gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team bus near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, injuring six players and killing eight people, ending international cricket in Pakistan for nearly a decade.
Pakistan vs Various
3 March 2009
After the 2009 Lahore attack, Pakistan was forced to play its home matches in the UAE for nearly a decade, at enormous financial and emotional cost to the country's cricket.
ICC vs Players and Fans
2009-11-01
The 'Umpire's Call' component of DRS — which upholds on-field decisions when the ball is clipping the stumps — was introduced to protect umpire authority but has been consistently criticised for producing outcomes that seem to contradict the purpose of technological review.
BCCI vs ICC and Rest of Cricket
2009-11-01
The BCCI's refusal to use the Decision Review System in India home Tests from 2009 to 2016 — citing technology reliability concerns but widely attributed to opposition to any challenge to umpiring decisions — created a two-tier international cricket system where the sport's most commercially powerful nation played by different rules.
South Africa vs Australia
2009-01-04
South Africa needed 72 more runs to save the first Test when Graeme Smith — their captain — came to the crease with a broken left hand, batting one-handed to guide South Africa to a draw over the final 56 balls.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
2009-02-28
Younis Khan made 313 against Sri Lanka at the National Stadium, Karachi — Pakistan's second-highest individual Test score — in what proved to be one of the last Tests played in Pakistan before security concerns moved international cricket away from the country.
Australia vs India
2-6 January 2008
One of the most controversial Tests ever — terrible umpiring decisions, racial abuse allegations, and India threatening to abandon the tour.
England vs New Zealand
June 2008
Kevin Pietersen's revolutionary switch hit raised questions about LBW law, wide calls, and field placement when a batsman changes from right to left-handed mid-delivery.
Australia vs South Africa
16 December 2008
Graeme Smith was given not out LBW by umpire Steve Davis in Perth when the ball was clearly hitting middle stump. Smith scored 108 and South Africa won the match and the series 2-1 — Australia's first home series defeat in 16 years.
Australia vs South Africa
16 December 2008
Graeme Smith was given not out LBW by umpire Steve Davis when replays showed all three stumps being hit. Smith scored 108 and South Africa won the series 2-1 — Australia's first home series defeat in 16 years.
Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab
25 April 2008
Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after an IPL match, leaving Sreesanth in tears on the field. Harbhajan was banned for the remainder of the IPL season.
Australia vs India
17 January 2008
A young Ishant Sharma bowled a magical spell to Ricky Ponting at Perth, laughing at the Australian captain after beating him repeatedly.
Australia vs India
6 January 2008
Andrew Symonds accused Harbhajan Singh of calling him a 'monkey' during the infamous Sydney Test, triggering one of cricket's biggest racial controversies.
West Indies
15 May 2008
West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels was banned for two years by the ICC for providing information to a bookmaker during a series against India in 2007.
New Zealand / ICL
1 October 2008
New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum reported that teammate Chris Cairns had approached him about match fixing during the Indian Cricket League in 2008.
Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab
25 April 2008
Harbhajan Singh was caught on camera slapping Sreesanth after an IPL match, leading to Harbhajan's suspension and a tearful Sreesanth becoming a viral image.
England vs New Zealand
2008-06-15
Kevin Pietersen stunned cricket by switching from right-handed to left-handed mid-delivery to smash Scott Styris for six, effectively inventing the 'switch hit.'
Australia vs India
2008-03-27
Andrew Symonds flattened a streaker who ran onto the field during an ODI, shoulder-charging him with the force of a rugby player and sending him sprawling.
Australia vs India
2008-01-06
Steve Bucknor's string of poor decisions in the infamous 2008 Sydney Test became so comically one-sided that even neutral fans were laughing in disbelief.
Multiple IPL Franchises
18 April 2008
The Indian Premier League, launched in 2008 by Lalit Modi, revolutionized cricket's commercial model with city-based franchise T20 cricket, creating enormous wealth but also concerns about corruption, player prioritization, and the future of international cricket.
India vs Various / ICC Governance
24 November 2008
India refused to use the Decision Review System for nearly eight years after its introduction, citing concerns about the technology's reliability, while critics accused the BCCI of blocking progress.
Australia vs India
6 January 2008
Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test, leading to India threatening to abandon the tour and one of the ugliest diplomatic incidents in cricket history.
Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians
25 April 2008
Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after an IPL match in 2008, with Sreesanth photographed crying on the field, in one of the most infamous player-on-player incidents in cricket history.
ICC vs Players and Franchises
2008-01-01
The ICC's No-Objection Certificate system — requiring players to obtain their national board's permission before playing franchise cricket — created a power structure where boards could block commercial opportunities, generating persistent conflict as T20 leagues proliferated globally.
Pakistan U19
1 March 2008
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Rashid Latif publicly alleged that age fraud was rampant in Pakistan U19 cricket, claiming some players in the system were five or more years overage.
India vs South Africa
2008-03-29
Virender Sehwag made 319 off 304 balls at a strike rate of 104 in a Test match — the second-highest score ever made by an Indian, remarkable not just for its size but for the extraordinary speed at which it was accumulated.
South Africa vs various
2008-12-27
Dale Steyn finished his Test career with 439 wickets at 22.95 — the best average by any bowler with over 200 wickets in the 21st century — and became the fastest South African to 300 wickets, consistently ranked world's number one Test bowler for five years.
Australia vs South Africa
25 April 2007
South Africa's World Cup semi-final against Australia was affected by rain and bad light, with DLS calculations and umpiring decisions combining to produce a controversial result.
Pakistan (internal incident)
15 June 2007
Shoaib Akhtar allegedly struck teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat in the dressing room during the 2007 World T20, leading to his expulsion from the squad.
South Africa vs Pakistan
11 January 2007
Andre Nel sledged Shoaib Akhtar aggressively, only for Shoaib to smash him for a massive six off the next ball, then mimic Nel's aggressive celebrations.
India vs England
2007-09-19
Yuvraj Singh hit Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in a single over during the 2007 T20 World Cup, the fastest fifty in T20I history.
Bermuda vs India
2007-03-19
Bermuda's 20-stone Dwayne Leverock defied physics to take a spectacular one-handed diving catch at slip, then celebrated like he'd won the World Cup.
Sri Lanka vs Various
2007-03-23
Lasith Malinga's unique round-arm slinging action, combined with his wild curly hair, made him one of cricket's most visually entertaining bowlers.
England vs India
2007-09-05
Just days after Yuvraj Singh's six sixes, Dimitri Mascarenhas hit five sixes off one Yuvraj Singh over in an ODI, in a delicious irony that cricket fans loved.
Pakistan (coaching staff)
18 March 2007
Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room in Kingston, Jamaica, the day after Pakistan's shock elimination from the 2007 World Cup, sparking a murder investigation and wild conspiracy theories.
ICL (Zee) vs IPL (BCCI)
30 November 2007
The Indian Cricket League, backed by Zee TV's Subhash Chandra, was crushed by the BCCI's retaliatory creation of the IPL, with ICL players banned from all official cricket in a brutal display of institutional power.
ICC vs Limited-Overs Cricket
2007-01-01
The free hit rule — awarding the batting side a ball from which the batsman cannot be dismissed (except run-out) following a foot-fault no-ball — was introduced to penalise bowlers more heavily for overstepping and has been widely adopted in limited-overs cricket, though controversial proposals to extend it to Tests were rejected.
India vs England
2007-09-19
Yuvraj Singh hit Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in a single over at the 2007 T20 World Cup — the fastest T20 fifty ever at the time (12 balls), one of only a handful of times six sixes in an over have been hit in international cricket.
Australia vs Sri Lanka
2007-04-28
Adam Gilchrist made 149 off 104 balls in the World Cup final — with a squash ball hidden in his glove — as Australia completed a comprehensive victory that confirmed their status as the greatest ODI side ever assembled.
Ireland vs Pakistan
2007-03-17
Ireland chased 266 to beat Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup — the most significant upset in World Cup history, causing Pakistan's elimination and the subsequent resignation and tragic death of coach Bob Woolmer.
Australia vs South Africa
2007-04-03
Australia needed 19 off the last over to reach the 2007 World Cup final. Michael Hussey hit 18 off the first five balls — then a bye completed the single needed as Australia tied the match and qualified for the final on Duckworth-Lewis calculations.
Australia vs England
2007-01-05
Australia whitewashed England 5-0 in the 2006-07 Ashes — revenge for England's 2005 series win — with every Test won by a margin of over 200 runs, confirming Ponting's side as the dominant Test team of the decade.
India vs Pakistan
2007-09-24
Pakistan needed 13 off the last over with 3 wickets remaining. MS Dhoni gave the ball to Joginder Sharma — a bowler with no T20 experience — who dismissed Misbah-ul-Haq attempting a scoop shot, giving India the inaugural T20 World Cup in the most dramatic possible finish.
Pakistan vs India
2007-09-24
With Pakistan needing 6 off 4 balls, Misbah-ul-Haq attempted a ramp/scoop shot off Joginder Sharma — the ball lobbed up to Sreesanth at fine leg. Pakistan lost the inaugural T20 World Cup final by 5 runs in a moment of individual tragedy.
Australia vs England
2007-01-05
Shane Warne played his final Test at the SCG in January 2007 — retiring with 708 wickets, the world record at the time (later broken by Muralitharan), after completing the 5-0 Ashes whitewash. His final wicket: Andrew Flintoff, caught at slip.
England vs Pakistan
17-20 August 2006
Umpire Darrell Hair accused Pakistan of ball tampering. Pakistan refused to take the field after tea, and the match was forfeited — the first forfeiture in Test history.
England vs Pakistan
2006
Inzamam-ul-Haq was given out 'handled the ball' in a Test match after instinctively swatting the ball away from his stumps, one of cricket's rarest dismissals.
Pakistan vs India
13 January 2006
Inzamam-ul-Haq was given not out LBW during the 2006 India-Pakistan series when replays showed all three stumps were being hit. He went on to score a vital innings that helped Pakistan win the Test.
Pakistan vs India
21 January 2006
Shoaib Malik was given not out on a caught-behind during India's tour of Pakistan in 2006, with replays showing a clear inside edge to wicketkeeper MS Dhoni. Pakistan won the match and the series became a watershed moment in sub-continental cricket diplomacy.
Pakistan vs India
13 January 2006
Inzamam-ul-Haq was given not out LBW by home umpire Asad Rauf on a ball replays showed hitting middle stump. Inzamam scored 119 and Pakistan won the Test in the first bilateral series between the nations in years.
Pakistan vs England
20 January 2006
Shoaib Akhtar targeted Andrew Flintoff with express pace throughout Pakistan's 2006 home series against England — the first between the countries on Pakistani soil in 13 years. Their duel — cricket's fastest bowler against England's most physically imposing batsman — was one of the great individual battles of the mid-2000s era.
Australia vs South Africa
2006-11-05
Brett Lee's pace and Warne's spin working in tandem against Graeme Smith during the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy produced one of the great bowling partnerships targeting a specific batsman — Lee softening Smith with pace before Warne introduced himself with attacking left-arm variations.
England vs Pakistan
20 August 2006
Pakistan forfeited a Test match at The Oval after umpire Darrell Hair penalized them five runs for ball tampering, leading to Pakistan refusing to take the field.
England vs Various
2006-03-01
England spinner Monty Panesar became famous for his spectacularly poor fielding, with his attempts to stop the ball providing more entertainment than many batsmen.
Australia vs Various
2006-01-01
Matthew Hayden's increasingly large bats prompted rival teams to joke about their size and eventually led to ICC regulations on bat dimensions.
Australia vs England
2006-12-16
Adam Gilchrist revealed after his match-winning 57-ball century in the Adelaide Ashes Test that he'd been batting with a squash ball in his glove to improve his grip.
South Africa vs Australia
2006-03-12
Australia scored a world-record 434/4 in an ODI and thought they'd won — then South Africa chased it down with 438/9, producing the greatest and most absurd ODI ever.
Bangladesh vs Australia
2006-04-10
Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie, sent in as nightwatchman, refused to get out and scored 201* — the only double century by a nightwatchman in Test history.
England vs Pakistan
20 August 2006
Umpire Darrell Hair penalized Pakistan five runs for ball tampering and changed the ball during the fourth Test at The Oval, leading Pakistan to refuse to take the field and becoming the first team to forfeit a Test match.
Pakistan
1 November 2006
Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, the first man to bowl at 100 mph, was banned for two years after testing positive for the banned substance nandrolone, though the ban was later overturned on appeal.
Pakistan vs England
2006-09-20
Inzamam-ul-Haq's 'Obstructing the Field' dismissal at The Oval in 2006 — the first such dismissal in Test cricket in 56 years — highlighted Law 37's ambiguity about what constitutes deliberate obstruction versus instinctive self-protection.
Sri Lanka vs South Africa
2006-07-27
Mahela Jayawardene (374) and Kumar Sangakkara (287) added 624 runs for the 3rd wicket — the highest partnership in Test cricket history — as Sri Lanka piled up 756/5 declared and skipped to an innings victory.
Sri Lanka vs South Africa
2006-07-31
Mahela Jayawardene batted for 752 minutes to score 374 against South Africa — the second-highest individual score in Test history, one run short of Brian Lara's record, as part of the 624-run partnership that broke the Test partnership record with Sangakkara.
England vs Australia
4-7 August 2005
Michael Kasprowicz was given out caught behind in one of the closest Ashes matches ever, but replays suggested his glove was off the bat handle when the ball hit it.
New Zealand vs Australia
13 February 2005
The first-ever T20 International featured debates about the width of the wide line in the shorter format, setting the stage for years of inconsistency in T20 umpiring.
New Zealand vs Sri Lanka
March 2005
Billy Bowden gave a controversial LBW decision that was criticized for being rushed, with the ball appearing to be missing the stumps by some margin.
England vs Australia
4 August 2005
During his famous 68 in England's second innings at Edgbaston in 2005, Andrew Flintoff survived LBW appeals that replays suggested were out. England won by just 2 runs — the narrowest possible margin — making every reprieve Flintoff received potentially match-deciding.
England vs Australia
4 August 2005
Andrew Flintoff survived at least one LBW appeal during his crucial second-innings 68 at Edgbaston — ball-tracking later suggested the ball was hitting the stumps, but the pre-DRS umpire gave it not out. Flintoff's innings powered England's total and set up a historic two-run victory that turned the 2005 Ashes.
England vs Australia
4 August 2005
Andrew Flintoff engaged in relentless verbal and physical intimidation of Ricky Ponting throughout the iconic 2005 Ashes series.
England vs Australia
25 August 2005
Brett Lee and Andrew Flintoff engaged in an intense physical battle throughout the 2005 Ashes, with both players targeting each other with short-pitched bowling.
England vs Australia
4 August 2005
Steve Harmison's bouncer struck Ricky Ponting on the cheekguard of his helmet at Edgbaston in 2005, drawing blood that ran visibly down Ponting's face. The image of the Australian captain batting on with blood dripping from his cheek became one of the 2005 Ashes' most iconic moments — symbolising England's refusal to be intimidated.
England vs Australia
2005-08-04
Shane Warne and Kevin Pietersen's personal duel during the 2005 Ashes — culminating in Pietersen's extraordinary 158 at The Oval against Warne and Australia's best bowling — defined both the series and a remarkable personal rivalry that lasted for years.
England vs Australia
2005-08-25
Unknown substitute fielder Gary Pratt ran out Ricky Ponting with a direct hit, triggering an epic tantrum from Ponting who ranted at the England dressing room as he walked off.
Australia vs Various
2005-09-12
Ricky Ponting's volcanic temper produced some of cricket's most entertaining meltdowns, from umpire confrontations to dressing room blow-ups.
Pakistan vs Various
2005-01-01
Inzamam-ul-Haq's legendary lack of pace between the wickets produced some of cricket's most comically slow run-outs.
England vs Australia
2005-08-04
Glenn McGrath missed the pivotal Edgbaston Ashes Test after stepping on a cricket ball during the warm-up, changing the course of the 2005 Ashes.
India (internal)
6 October 2005
India coach Greg Chappell's leaked email to the BCCI recommending Ganguly's removal as captain created a massive controversy that split Indian cricket and eventually led to Ganguly being dropped entirely.
England vs Australia
4 August 2005
Ricky Ponting was furious after being run out by England substitute fielder Gary Pratt during the 2005 Ashes, accusing England of abusing the substitute fielder rule to gain an unfair tactical advantage.
ICC vs Cricket World
2005-07-07
The Super Sub rule, introduced in 2005, allowed ODI teams to replace one player mid-match — creating a massive tactical imbalance that rewarded the toss winner and was abandoned within 18 months as one of cricket's most embarrassing regulatory failures.
ICC vs Strategic Consistency
2005-06-01
ODI cricket's powerplay system has been revised more times than any other cricket regulation — moving from fixed overs to optional batting and bowling powerplays, then back toward fixed overs, reflecting cricket's inability to find a consistent framework that satisfies everyone.
ICC vs Tactical Loopholes
2005-01-01
Cricket's substitute fielder rules were tightened significantly in 2007 after teams began using 'injury' substitutes as tactical fielding upgrades — replacing batsmen with athletic fielders during the opposition's batting innings — exposing a loophole that fundamentally undermined the principle that 11 players compete against 11 players.
England vs Australia
2005-08-07
After England won the second Ashes Test by 2 runs — the narrowest Ashes victory in history — Andrew Flintoff walked to Brett Lee, who sat dejected on the pitch, knelt beside him and consoled him. The photograph became cricket's most iconic image of sportsmanship.
England vs Australia
2005-09-12
Kevin Pietersen made 158 in his first Ashes Test appearance at The Oval — including sixes off Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath — to help England draw the final Test and win their first Ashes since 1987.
India vs various
2005-10-19
MS Dhoni's helicopter shot — a full swing of the bat through a full or yorker-length delivery, generating enormous loft and power to leg — became one of cricket's most copied innovations, a shot that cricket coaches had no name for until Dhoni invented it.
England vs Australia
2005-08-07
England beat Australia by 2 runs at Edgbaston in 2005 — the narrowest Ashes victory in history, a match that swung multiple times across four days, and is widely voted the greatest Test match ever played.
England vs Australia
2005-09-12
Andrew Flintoff made 402 runs and took 24 wickets in the 2005 Ashes — joint Man of the Series with Shane Warne — in a sustained all-round performance that defined the series and England's first Ashes win in 18 years.
India vs Pakistan
28 March - 1 April 2004
Sachin Tendulkar was controversially declared caught behind for 194 when replays suggested the ball may not have hit his bat, denying him a double century in Pakistan.
India vs Pakistan
16 March 2004
Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag had epic confrontations across multiple India-Pakistan matches, with Shoaib's raw pace against Sehwag's fearless counter-attack.
India vs Australia
2004-10-06
Brett Lee's relentless short-ball barrage at Sourav Ganguly during India-Australia series produced one of cricket's most debated technical battles — Lee exposing Ganguly's vulnerability outside off stump and against the rising ball, Ganguly battling back with characteristic defiance.
Sri Lanka vs Australia
2004-03-09
Muttiah Muralitharan's extraordinary spinning arsenal — off-break, doosra, top-spinner, and variations — created the most complex spin-bowling challenge that Ricky Ponting, Australia's best batsman, encountered across his career, with Murali dismissing him repeatedly through deliveries Ponting couldn't consistently read.
India vs Pakistan
2004-03-13
Shoaib Akhtar's personal targeting of Yuvraj Singh with bouncers and hostile pace during the 2004 India-Pakistan ODI series — including multiple deliveries at 150km/h+ aimed at the young left-hander's chest — created a confrontation that established Yuvraj's reputation for fearlessness against fast bowling.
India vs Australia
20 January 2004
Indian batsman Rahul Dravid was caught on camera applying what appeared to be a lozenge or cough sweet to the ball during the Adelaide Test against Australia.
Kenya
1 September 2004
Kenyan all-rounder Maurice Odumbe was banned for five years by the ICC for having an unexplained relationship with a bookmaker.
England vs South Africa
26 July 2004
South Africa were accused of ball tampering during the third Test against England at The Oval in 2004, with the ball being replaced by umpires.
New Zealand vs South Africa
2004-03-12
New Zealand opener Mark Richardson celebrated his Test centuries with a pre-planned robotic dance routine that became one of cricket's most endearing traditions.
West Indies vs England
2004-04-12
Brian Lara batted for 778 minutes to score 400 not out against England in Antigua — reclaiming the world record he had lost to Matthew Hayden and setting a mark that has never been approached since.
India vs Pakistan and Sri Lanka
2004-03-29
Virender Sehwag scored 309 against Pakistan at Multan in 2004 and 319 against South Africa at Chennai in 2008 — the only batsman in history to score two Test triple centuries, each innings remarkable for the extraordinary strike rate at which they were scored.
Australia vs various
2004-07-22
Ricky Ponting captained Australia in 77 Test wins — the most by any Test captain in history — across 7 years and 77 matches, leading them to two World Cup titles, four consecutive Ashes series wins, and the world's top Test ranking.
India vs England
1 March 2003
Sachin Tendulkar was given out LBW off a ball that appeared to be going well over the stumps, sparking outrage among Indian fans.
Australia vs India
23 March 2003
Ricky Ponting survived a caught-behind appeal early in his innings during the 2003 World Cup Final. He went on to score 140 as Australia demolished India.
India vs Kenya
18 March 2003
Steve Bucknor's umpiring during the 2003 World Cup reinforced his reputation as an umpire who frequently made errors in high-profile matches involving India.
India vs Pakistan
1 March 2003
In the 2003 World Cup India-Pakistan match, Sachin Tendulkar was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar early in his innings, but Pakistan failed to appeal for an LBW earlier, and there were claims Akhtar was overstepping throughout.
Australia vs India
23 March 2003
Ricky Ponting edged Zaheer Khan to Rahul Dravid early in the 2003 World Cup Final but umpire Rudi Koertzen gave it not out. Ponting went on to score 140* as Australia posted 359/2 and won by 125 runs.
Australia vs India
23 March 2003
Ricky Ponting edged Zaheer Khan to Rahul Dravid early in his innings but umpire Rudi Koertzen gave it not out. Ponting went on to score 140* as Australia posted 359/2 and won by 125 runs.
West Indies vs Australia
25 April 2003
McGrath sledged Sarwan about his personal life. Sarwan reportedly responded with a comment about McGrath's wife Jane, who was battling cancer at the time.
Australia vs Various
2 January 2003
Ricky Ponting was frequently involved in heated arguments with umpires throughout his career, often pointing his finger and showing visible dissent.
Australia vs India
12 December 2003
Brett Lee peppered Rahul Dravid with a sustained short-pitched assault in Adelaide 2003, targeting the Indian number three's technique against the short ball. Dravid absorbed blow after blow — including a painful hit to the body — before anchoring India's innings. Their battle epitomised the great paceman-technician duel of the era.
India vs Pakistan
1 March 2003
Shoaib Akhtar bowled what was then the world's fastest delivery — 100.2mph — to Sachin Tendulkar in the 2003 World Cup India-Pakistan match at Centurion. Tendulkar hit it for six over fine leg. One of cricket's most memorable individual ball-batsman duels: the fastest bowler on earth versus the greatest batsman of the generation.
Pakistan vs Various
1 March 2003
Pakistan captain Waqar Younis came under scrutiny during the 2003 World Cup for bowling an unusually high number of no-balls, raising suspicions of spot-fixing.
Australia
11 February 2003
Shane Warne was sent home from the 2003 World Cup after testing positive for a banned diuretic, receiving a one-year ban from cricket.
Various
2003-02-01
New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden became famous for his flamboyant, theatrical umpiring style including his signature 'crooked finger of doom' dismissal.
Pakistan vs England
2003-02-22
Shoaib Akhtar broke the 100mph barrier in the 2003 World Cup and celebrated with his trademark chain-ripping, arms-spread theatrics that were as entertaining as the delivery itself.
Zimbabwe
10 February 2003
Zimbabwe players Andy Flower and Henry Olonga wore black armbands during the 2003 World Cup to mourn 'the death of democracy' in Zimbabwe, in a courageous protest against Robert Mugabe's regime.
Kenya
20 March 2003
Kenya's fairy-tale run to the 2003 World Cup semi-final was followed by decades of mismanagement, corruption, and ICC neglect that reduced them from genuine contenders to cricketing irrelevance.
England vs Zimbabwe (forfeited)
13 February 2003
England refused to play their 2003 World Cup group match in Harare, Zimbabwe, citing security and political concerns related to the Mugabe regime, forfeiting crucial points that contributed to their early elimination.
Australia vs India
2003-03-23
Ricky Ponting made 140 not out off 121 balls as Australia made 359/2 in the World Cup final — the highest team total in a World Cup final — before bowling India out for 234 to win by 125 runs and complete a second consecutive World Cup triumph.
Pakistan vs England
2003-02-22
Shoaib Akhtar bowled a delivery clocked at 100.2mph against Nick Knight at the 2003 World Cup — the fastest delivery in the history of cricket according to official speed gun measurements.
Australia vs England
2003-01-02
Steve Waugh made 102 in his final Ashes Test at the SCG — reaching his century off the last ball before tea with a boundary, having been dropped from Tests only to be recalled for this series finale, in what became one of cricket's most celebrated farewell innings.
India vs Pakistan
2003-03-01
Sachin Tendulkar hit Shoaib Akhtar — the world's fastest bowler — for a six over third man off a 93mph delivery in the most politically charged ODI in history, setting up a 6-wicket Indian win watched by 300 million viewers.
India vs England
13 July 2002
Sourav Ganguly removed his shirt and waved it from the Lord's balcony after India's dramatic NatWest Trophy victory, in response to Andrew Flintoff's similar act in Mumbai.
Pakistan vs Australia
2002-10-11
The contest between Shoaib Akhtar's 100mph+ pace and Matthew Hayden's muscular counter-attacking technique across the 2002 Pakistan-Australia series produced cricket's most violent battle between raw pace and deliberate power batting.
New Zealand vs England
2002-03-15
Nathan Astle scored the fastest double century in Test history in just 153 balls, turning an impossible chase into cricket's most entertaining assault on bowling.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
8 May 2002
New Zealand abandoned their tour of Pakistan in 2002 after a bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi killed 14 people, marking one of the earliest security-related disruptions to international cricket.
India vs England
2002-07-13
India needed 146 off 25 overs with 5 wickets down in the NatWest Trophy Final. Mohammed Kaif (87*) and Yuvraj Singh (69) guided India to victory, with Sourav Ganguly memorably removing his shirt on the Lord's balcony to celebrate.
Pakistan vs New Zealand
2002-09-02
Inzamam-ul-Haq scored 329 for Pakistan against New Zealand in Lahore — Pakistan's highest individual Test score — in an innings of controlled authority that lasted 571 minutes and placed him among the great Test batsmen of his era.
India vs Australia
11-15 March 2001
Several contentious LBW decisions went both ways during India's historic follow-on victory against Australia in Kolkata 2001, one of the greatest Tests ever played.
Zimbabwe vs Australia
5 June 2001
Shane Warne was left seething after Zimbabwe's Dougie Marillier repeatedly scooped him over the keeper's head for boundaries, winning the match for Zimbabwe.
South Africa vs India
18 November 2001
Makhaya Ntini bowled a ferocious short-pitched spell at Sachin Tendulkar during India's 2001 tour of South Africa. Ntini hit Tendulkar on the helmet and body multiple times, drawing blood in one delivery. Tendulkar's refusal to yield and subsequent boundary hitting off the back foot made the exchange one of the great individual confrontations of the tour.
Various
1 May 2001
Sir Paul Condon's landmark report for the ICC confirmed that match fixing was a global problem in cricket, leading to the establishment of the ICC Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
India vs South Africa
16 November 2001
Sachin Tendulkar was charged with ball tampering by match referee Mike Denness during a Test in South Africa, causing a diplomatic crisis between India and the ICC.
Somerset vs Leicestershire
2001-09-01
Leicestershire's Scott Boswell delivered one of cricket's worst bowling performances in a Lord's final, spraying the ball everywhere in a performance that became legendary for all the wrong reasons.
India vs South Africa
20 November 2001
Match referee Mike Denness charged Sachin Tendulkar with ball tampering and imposed bans on six Indian players after the Port Elizabeth Test, leading India to demand Denness' removal and nearly causing a diplomatic crisis.
ICC vs Fast Bowling Community
2001-01-01
The ICC's multiple revisions to how many bouncers are allowed per over in ODI cricket — initially one, then two, with specific conditions — reflect cricket's ongoing negotiation between protecting batsmen and preserving legitimate fast bowling tactics.
ICC vs Bilateral Cricket Freedom
2001-01-01
The ICC's Future Tours Programme — a binding schedule mandating which nations tour which — was introduced to guarantee cricket's commercial coverage but became a straitjacket that prevented bilateral series flexibility, forced unwanted tours, and contributed directly to the Big Three governance crisis.
India vs Australia
2001-03-14
Following on 274 runs behind, India were on the brink of a historic innings defeat. VVS Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) added 376 for the 5th wicket to set Australia 384 to win — and Anil Kumble bowled them out for 212, completing the most miraculous comeback in Test history.
India vs Australia
2001-03-11
Harbhajan Singh took India's first Test hat-trick in 67 years — dismissing Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, and Shane Warne in the first innings — sparking India's comeback from following on that ultimately won the Test and the series.
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka
15 June 2000
Waqar Younis was found guilty of ball tampering during an ODI against Sri Lanka after he was caught scratching the ball to generate reverse swing.
Pakistan vs West Indies
February 2000
Shoaib Akhtar clocked 100mph against Brian Lara in Multan 2000 — the world's fastest bowler against its best batsman. Shoaib targeted Lara with ferocious short-pitched deliveries, staring him down after each delivery. Lara responded by hooking and pulling fearlessly. Their duel was one of cricket's most theatrical of the era.
South Africa vs Various
7 April 2000
South African captain Hansie Cronje was found guilty of match fixing after Delhi Police intercepted phone calls between Cronje and an Indian bookmaker, Sanjay Chawla.
South Africa vs England
18 January 2000
Hansie Cronje engineered a contrived result at Centurion after rain had washed out most of the Test, later revealed to have been done at the behest of a bookmaker in exchange for a leather jacket and cash.
India vs Various
5 December 2000
Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life by the BCCI after the CBI found evidence of his involvement in match fixing, based on revelations from the Hansie Cronje investigation.
India vs Various
5 December 2000
Indian all-rounder Ajay Jadeja was banned for five years by the BCCI after the CBI investigation found evidence of his links with bookmakers.
Pakistan vs Various
23 May 2000
Pakistani batsman Saleem Malik became the first international cricketer to be banned for life for match fixing, after Justice Qayyum's inquiry found him guilty of offering bribes to Australian players.
South Africa vs India
19 March 2000
Hansie Cronje offered Herschelle Gibbs $15,000 to score fewer than 20 runs in an ODI against India. Gibbs agreed but then scored 74, failing to carry out the fix.
Pakistan vs Various
1 May 2000
Pakistan legend Wasim Akram was named in the Justice Qayyum report as being unable to be exonerated from match-fixing allegations, though he escaped a ban.
Pakistan vs Various
23 May 2000
Pakistani fast bowler Ata-ur-Rehman received a life ban following the Qayyum Commission findings, becoming the second Pakistani cricketer banned for life along with Saleem Malik.
South Africa vs India
9 March 2000
Delhi Police intercepted phone calls revealing Hansie Cronje had been in contact with bookmaker Sanjay Chawla during the 2000 India tour of South Africa, sparking the global match-fixing crisis.
South Africa
7 April 2000
South African captain Hansie Cronje was exposed as having accepted money from bookmakers to influence matches, shattering the sport's innocence and triggering a global crackdown on corruption in cricket.
India
5 December 2000
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life from cricket after a CBI investigation found he had been involved in match-fixing, ending the career of one of India's most stylish batsmen.
ICC vs International Captains
2000-01-01
ICC slow over-rate penalties — deducting runs from the batting side if fielding teams don't complete their required overs on time — were introduced as a deterrent but have been widely criticised for punishing batsmen for bowlers' slowness and for being inconsistently enforced.
Australia vs various
2000-10-29
Between October 1999 and March 2001, Australia won 16 consecutive Test matches — a record that has never been equalled in Test cricket history, representing the most dominant period of Test cricket ever seen by a single team.
West Indies vs England
2000-04-18
Curtly Ambrose played his final Test in Barbados in April 2000, retiring with 405 wickets at 20.99 — the end of an era that had seen West Indies produce the finest fast bowlers in cricket's history across 25 consecutive years.