The infamous underarm bowling incident. Photo / Supplied

The infamous underarm bowling incident. Photo / Supplied

As Daniel Vettori's men prepare for action across the Tasman on Sunday, David Leggat recalls New Zealand's most significant one-day memories against our cousins from over the ditch.

1: Feb 1 1981, Melbourne
Result: Australia won by six runs

The grand daddy of all 112 ODIs between the countries. Indeed, this match has strong claims to be the most famous of all one-day internationals.

It was only the ninth ODI between the two yet events that day will live on as long as the game is played.

This list is chronological, apart from this one, which has to have No 1 beside it, if not necessarily for the cricket played that day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

The events are well known. Australia made 235 for four, of which captain Greg Chappell hit 90. Then perhaps the game's finest batsman, by the end of the day he was cricket's black knight.

In the 50s, he was brilliantly caught in the deep by Martin Snedden diving forward. Chappell stood his ground, claiming to be unsure whether the catch was fair.

Umpires Peter Cronin and Don Weser lamely reckoned they were watching the batsmen grounding their bats in the crease and didn't see whether Snedden pouched it safely or not.

Call that a touchpaper moment. Then New Zealand, battling valiantly to get up in this the third final of the series, needed 15 to win off the final over, bowled by allrounder Trevor Chappell.

Richard Hadlee hit a boundary, then went lbw; Ian Smith gathered a couple of twos before being bowled. So Brian McKechnie, who two years earlier kicked the match-winning penalty to beat Wales in Cardiff in hugely dramatic circumstances at the death, stepped in, needing to hit a six to tie the match. A win was out of the question, bar a Chappell no ball.

But Chappell senior was taking no chances, ordering his brother to bowl underarm. McKechnie blocked the ball then tossed his bat away; Bruce Edgar, who had quietly made his way to 102 not out, gave the bowler the fingers.

Cue pandemonium. Chappell became cricket's Darth Vader. He was vilified, and not just outside Australia. His action was cricket's ultimate dirty play. Politicians joined in, as always sensing a spot of cheap publicity. New Zealand Prime Minister Robert Muldoon suggested Australia's yellow playing strip was an appropriate colour.

Chappell the elder was castigated, including by many Australians who saw it as the ultimate dirty play.