Cricket, by some metrics the world’s second most popular sport, has a penchant for producing rather peculiar scandals. UK-Australian relations were put under significant strain over the way that Harold Larwood, a coal miner from Nottinghamshire who could hurl cricket balls at batters very quickly, bowled at Don Bradman and the rest of his team in the 1932-33 “Bodyline” series. The tactic even resulted in a severe fractured skull for wicket-keeper Bert Oldfield. Nearly a century has passed, but cricketing aficionados still argue over it today.
Then there were the three Pakistani cricketers who were convicted for arranging to bowl no-balls in a 2010 match between England and Pakistan. The overall effect on the outcome of the match itself was minimal, but the scandal received a significant amount of global press coverage.
