In 1981, Trevor Chappell, the youngest of the Chappell brothers, on the advice of his elder brother and Captain Greg, delivered an underarm delivery so that New Zealand could not score six runs required off the last ball of the match. The incident brought much disrepute to the game as well as disgraced both the players for a long time. Underarm disgrace didn’t’ limit itself to cricket, though.
Tomas Berdych, known for his tall frame and big booming serves, was the centre of the controversy this time around. At the Montreal Open in 2013, playing against local boy Vasek Pospisil, Berdych trailed 2-4 in the deciding set and was serving 30-0 to stay in the game. Out of nowhere, he served underarm that left many at the venue perplexed.
The umpire issued an official warning to Berdych for violating the rules of the game, also telling him “I already announced you cannot serve like that,” on the mic, when the Czech player tried arguing his case. An underarm serve, coupled with an argument with a match official didn’t please the crowd as the broke into jeers for Berdych.
He however, was unperturbed with the turn of events and got back to doing what he did best. The very next point saw a serve straight down the ‘T’ which his opponent could barely return and he finished the job with a return winner. When he could win points in a conventional fashion, his actions made no sense whatsoever.
