Weird 18 of John Hastings against the Pakistani champions causes major controversy

A second major controversy has hit the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025. The cancelled match between India and Pakistan Champions caused a stir after several retired Indian cricketers had to pull out of the game due to mounting pressure from fans online.

Less than 10 days later, people are claiming that match-fixing is going on in the league. The allegations have come after a match between Australia and Pakistan Champions ended in the most bizarre fashion.

Pakistan were well on their way to beat Australia. Chasing just 75 runs, they were 55/0 after 6 overs. In the next couple of overs, they would have crossed the line. Pakistan had already qualified for the WCL 2025 semifinals, and this would be a simple bonus win.

John Hastings’ bizarre display against Pakistan

Well, Pakistan won just 5 balls later. But it wasn’t the brilliance of Sharjeel Khan or Sohaib Maqsood that helped them cross the line. Instead, it was an 18-ball over that consisted of 12 wides and 1 no-ball that helped them win.

The bowler in question was John Hastings. Someone who has represented Australia in all formats and even played in 2 ICC events, the Champions Trophy and T20 World Cup. Hastings isn’t even that old. At 39, he’s just one year younger than Usman Khawaja, Australia’s current Test opener.

Hastings started the over with 5 consecutive wides. Bowled two legitimate deliveries, which were followed by a no-ball and a wide. He bowled three legitimate deliveries of the next four balls and then proceeded to bowl 5 consecutive wides again. Hastings bowled just 5 legitimate balls in the over as Pakistan won by 10 wickets.