The Caribbean Premier League 2017 witnessed a disgraceful incident when Kieron Pollard bowled a no-ball to avoid the batsman Evin Lewis to get to his century. The incident happened in the match between St. Kitts Nevis and Patriots and Barbados Tridents.
Lewis was batting on 97 off just 32 deliveries in pursuit of opposition’s 129 and his team needed just 1 run to win. He needed just one boundary to achieve the second fastest century in T20 cricket but Kieron Pollard, the bowler, bowled a no-ball that ended the match and left Lewis stranded.
The replays showed that the front foot of the bowler was way past the line and seemed deliberate. He received a lot of criticism from all corners of the cricketing fraternity for the action against the spirit of the game. But the all-rounder said that he didn’t do it deliberatively and was trying to put extra effort on the short ball that resulted in the foot going past the line.
“When I took up that ball in that last delivery, I had one thing in my mind: trying to bowl a delivery, my best delivery – what has been working for me throughout the tournament – a short delivery to see if he [will] have a waft at it, to see if it can go up in the air and we can get him out,” Pollard told Sports Max.
“Although we would have lost the game, I was still thinking of getting him out, and using my strength, what I had been doing. Unfortunately, [the] stride went for that extra, I stepped over the mark and I think that has been the talking point, of what actually happened, the actual no-ball itself,” he added.
“It wasn’t intentional, nothing was intentional at any point in time. I acknowledge that we have lost the game but I am not going to just go there and bowl a ball just for him to hit it for six or four, for him to score hundred in that sense. That’s not my nature, and I don’t think any sportsman will just do something to that effect,” said Pollard.
Here’s the video of Pollard’s no-ball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9udtuGu-Vk
The same happened to Sehwag
A similar incident had happened to Virender Sehwag while playing in an ODI against Sri Lanka. The Indian batsman was batting on 99 and Suraj Randiv was bowling at him. India needed just 1 run to win but the spinner bowled a deliberate no-ball. Although Sehwag smacked the ball for a six yet it wasn’t counted as the no-ball took India past the line and the batsman was denied of a hundred.
The stump microphones had caught Sri Lankan players discussing the strategy to deliver a no-ball to deny Sehwag the century. It was deeply criticized and due to clear evidence, the bowler was suspended by ICC for one match.
