First ever red card in cricket: When Billy Bowden had enough of Glenn McGrath — VIDEO

New Delhi: In what could be one of the funniest moments in cricket, Billy Bowden once showed a red card to Australian great Glenn McGrath for bowling an underarm delivery in a T20I match against New Zealand in 2005.

McGrath, before bowling that illegal delivery to Kyle Mills, conspicuously had a long talk with Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting and the umpire himself.

Then the legendary pacer gently turned up and rolled the ball over, towards the Kiwi batsman. Not impressed with the transgression, Bowden promptly took out the dreaded card from his back pocket and flashed it to McGrath in his epic style.

Here's the video:

Underarm bowling is illegal. It became a topic of heated argument between the two Trans Tasman teams in 1981. Aussie captain Greg Chappell instructed his younger brother Trevor to deliver the last ball underarm, when the Kiwis needed six runs to tie the match.

About the red card, there is no system in cricket to punish or eject during the course of a play. But earlier the same year, card system was introduced in English domestic cricket on trial basis.

But still, it's very unlikely that the gentlemen's game will see umpires flashing red or yellow cards to players, just like in football.