Whenever cricket history of recent times is recalled, especially in New Zealand - one day will stand out straight away. February 1, 1981.

The triangular one day series had reached the end of the qualifying matches, with India eliminated from the competition and the five game final series to be played between Australia and New Zealand.

The Kiwis had quite a good team. Openers John Wright and Bruce Edgar were capable of doing damage, while captain Geoff Howarth was proving to be a capable successor to Glen Turner. With the ball legend Richard Hadlee was in his prime supported by dangerous swing bowler Lance Cairns and clever Martin Sneddon. Mind you, Australia had some great players as well with captain Greg Chappell and a young Alan Border, as well as Dennis Lillee and Doug Walters in the twilight of their respective careers.

New Zealand got off to a good start winning the first game by 78 runs in Sydney with Hadlee taking five wickets. Australia struck back with a seven wicket win in Melbourne in the second game. No one would predict what would happen in the third game on February 1 at the MCG.

Australia batted first, with Border going cheaply for 5. Greg Chappell and Graeme Wood steadied the ship with a 145 run partnership. However it should have been broken sooner in an incident that provided an unintended preview of what was to come at the end of the day. Chappell skied one off Lance Cairns, and Martin Sneddon at deep mid wicket managed a superb catch diving forward. However Chappell refused to walk putting the onus on the umpires to make a decision. Despite Sneddon and a team mate who was right there claiming the catch, the umpires were forced to give the benefit of the doubt to the batsman as they hadn't seen it - claiming that they were looking for short runs. TV replays (there was no third umpire back in those days) showed that Sneddon had indeed completed the catch.

Chappell ironically went out to a similar catch in the same area by Bruce Edgar.

Australia made 235 from their 50 overs for the loss of just four wickets. This was a decent total in those days, but the Kiwis got off to a great start in the run chase with an 85 run opening partnership. Edgar was particularly strong, and he ended up carrying his bat through the innings with a great century. But events at the end of the day took the attention away from the effort.

At the beginning of the final over, New Zealand needed 15 runs to win. The over was bowled by Trevor Chappell, a medium pacer who was yet to take a wicket in the game. With four wickets in hand and Edgar still there with the dangerous Hadlee at the other end they were a chance. Hadlee drove the first ball for four to leave the Kiwis 11 runs from victory. He was then caught LBW, and there were four balls left. New batsman Ian Smith kept the score ticking over with a couple of twos but then on the fifth ball he was bowled.

Brian McKechnie came to the crease, and the best New Zealand could hope for was a tie with a six from the last ball - unless a no ball or a wide was bowled. It was then that Greg Chappell inexplicably instructed his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball underarm along the ground. It was perfectly legal under the rules of the time, but incredibly unsportsmanlike. Despite the clear protest lodged from behind the stumps by Australian keeper Rod Marsh ("Don't do it!") Trevor did as he was told. McKechnie had no choice but to block the ball for no run - and Australia won the game by six runs. Despite the victory, the crowd at the MCG was non-plussed and McKechnie threw his bat away in disgust.

Australia then won game four by six wickets to win the series, but the sour taste left in the mouths of the Kiwis lasted for years.

I saw the controversy of Greg Chappell's refusal to walk unfold live on TV, but I didn't see the final over as I wasn't home. When I returned, all I heard was "underarm" and I wondered what the fuss was about because my interpretation of an underarm was from backyard cricket. It never occurred to me that Trevor Chappell had rolled the ball along the ground. It was only when I saw the replay of the infamous ball that I got the message.

Many years later, the matter was put to rest in a charity do when Trevor Chappell was again bowling to McKechnie. With a grin on his face, Trevor announced that he would bowl the underarm. This time - in the spirit of the moment - McKechnie was ready, and he came down the pitch to the ball, flicked it up with his hand and bashed it for six! Both men had a laugh about it, given that what McKechnie actually did was illegal! But that was the point - what happened on February 1, 1981 shouldn't have happened to begin with. Greg Chappell admitted around the same time that he shouldn't have been captain at the time - explaining not only the incident, but also his refusal to walk when Sneddon caught him. His mind wasn't properly on the job.