Bruce Edgar’s bizarre theory regarding Dennis Lillee’s involvement in underarm incident

Former New Zealand opener Bruce Edgar has put forth an interesting theory regarding Australian great Dennie Lillee's attempt at neutralising the infamous underarm incident.

Former New Zealand opener Bruce Edgar has put forth an interesting theory regarding Australian great Dennis Lillee‘s attempt at neutralising the infamous underarm incident during an ODI between the two teams in 1981.

With New Zealand needing six runs off the final delivery to tie the above-mentioned fixture at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), the then Aussie captain Greg Chappell asked his bowler Trevor Chappell to bowl underarm, a move that drew widespread condemnation.

Brian McKechnie, the on-strike batsman, threw his bat in frustration with Edgar, who hit an unbeaten century, shaking his head in disbelief.

38 years after that, Edgar has said Lillee, in an apparent act of defiance to what his captain was about to do, might have deliberately moved out of the circle meaning the delivery would have been deemed a no ball.

For the uninitiated, a per the rule, there should be at least four fielders inside the circle when the ball is being delivered. Failing to do so renders the delivery illegal.

“The only question I have is did Dennis Lillee step outside the circle on last ball to make it a no ball?,” Edgar, who played 39 Tests and 64 ODIs, told Newstalk ZB. “I know he [Lillee] was at short fine leg, I do remember him standing down there. There is no evidence of it, and I don’t know if he was interviewed or not. Rod Marsh was saying no way mate, no way mate (to the Chappells) you can’t do this. He was pretty clear on that.”

He continued, “Dennis was maybe doing something we don’t know. I think there were four inside the circle, he may have stepped out to make it three…something to that effect. I know he was down there, and he was fuming and whether that happened or not I don’t know. I don’t know if he has ever been asked. I’ve never seen him. It would be interesting to know.”

Edgar, 62, didn’t imagine the incident will have such far and wide ramifications. The underarm delivery has since been outlawed by the ICC under the Laws of Cricket.

“I was angry at the end then reality struck — I didn’t quite know what the ramifications would be,” Edgar said.