The notorious underarm delivery that created one of the most controversial moments in world cricket history is still hard to revisit after more than three decades . But as Australia and New Zealand go head-to-head in the World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday , the underarm bowling incident from 1981 will inevitably come back to haunt . The controversial bowl triggered a cold war between the two nations after the infamous day on February 1 when New Zealand needed six runs with one ball remaining to draw the match . But Aussie skipper Greg Chappell instructed the bowler , who was his younger brother Trevor , to deliver the ball underarm in a bid to prevent batsman Brian McKechnie any chance of hitting a six . Scroll down for video . It was a single bowl that triggered a massive uproar at the time when Aussie bowler delivered an underarm . As the ball gently rolled down the pitch , McKechnie blocked the ball before he tossed his bat to the ground out of anger and disgust . Australia went on to win the match but the hell that followed left the Chappell brothers struggling to cope under the pressure from the backlash . Despite the underarm bowling was not ruled as illegal at the time , it was deemed 'an act of cowardice ' and against the true spirit of cricket that cost New Zealand the tournament . Aussie bowler Trevor Chappell , right , bowls underarm to New Zealand batsman Brian McKechnie on the last ball of a one-day international from which New Zealand needed to hit six runs to force a tie . Trevor Chappell bowls under-arm , as ordered by brother Greg at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1981 . But Black Caps fast bowler Tim Southee , who was two-years-old at the time of the underarm incident , said the infamous bowl is rarely mentioned . ' I guess a few of us were too young to remember seeing it but we know it happened , ' Southee said at a conference on Friday . ' I haven ’ t heard too much about the underarm . ' While New Zealand prepares ahead of their first ever World Cup final on Sunday , Aussie skipper Michael Clarke has announced his retirement from one-day cricket on the eve of the match . The 33-year-old reached closure on the decision upon realising there was no chance he 'd still be leading the side in four years .
The notorious underarm incident triggered a massive uproar in 1981 . Hide Caption