Australian cricket looks ugly, trying to win at all costs

"If u aren’t good enough to beat him on the field….hey? Well, well…If he didn’t sledge maybe i wouldnt lose my cool. And then maybe I would play like a gentlemen (like I do otherwise!!) " I disagree. "You see Amazon, u drag cricket down by a sledge. Stop defending it." Except I don't agree. Abusive & bullying sledging drags cricket down, however great sledging enhances it. Just as it enhances any sport. Larry Bird would have been just as great if he had never trashed talked, but that he did and he did it so well heightened his legend. The same for Ali. In an cricketing context, there have been some amazing sledges which are great to read about. So, while I won't (and haven't) defend abusive sledges, I will defend sledging, as it is not always the bullying sledging you believe it to be.

If u aren't good enough to beat him on the field....hey? Well, well...If he didn't sledge maybe i wouldnt lose my cool. And then maybe I would play like a gentlemen (like I do otherwise!!) Sledging is not in the rules of the game as allowed tactics. And thats not part of the game unless peasants like yourself make it! And now kids are probably gone read this. And I say don't start a fight, ever.... but if someone has a go at you, you are allowed to finish it. You see Amazon, u drag cricket down by a sledge. Stop defending it.

"Yes. Violence against bullying is justified in my eyes." For someone who talks about the children, you have weird views on what they should learn.* "If I can’t knock his bowling around then I Have no qualms about asking to meet him after the game, and kick the s**t out of him. Do the bashing off the field." So, if you aren't good enough to beat him on the field, you will act like a thug off it? Right, got it. I sure as heck wouldn't want you advising my niece & nephew on how to act on the sporting field. As for the rest of your comment, you can refer to my first comment. I will simply note that not all sledging can be regarded as bullying. *I don't disagree that violence against bullying might be justified, however I just think your mentioning of the little kids who watch cricket is completely ridiculous.

Jesus...its worse than I thought!

Yes. Violence against bullying is justified in my eyes. If I can't knock his bowling around then I Have no qualms about asking to meet him after the game, and kick the s**t out of him. Do the bashing off the field. Why should I have to put up with it? Why? Cos some bloke wants to win? Cos some bloke has the couth of a convict? And the difference is my behaviour is retaliatory not un-provoked!! And thats my problem with Sledging. Its some d**khead throwing his weight around. Well I reckon I can throw some back. What do u expect me to do? Just cop it? Or I should sledge back/ But then we have the virus of sledging spreading.... No better to confront the bully and call his bluff.

In his book, Magic Johnson talked about how a lot of black basketball fans were unable to take to Larry Bird because of his use of trash-talking, which was considered to be something that only black athletes utilized. To say that sledging comes from Australia is simply false. Like a lot of people, you want to believe in the romance of the past, that sportsmen of old were somehow morally superior to today's practitioners and that they never sledged or engaged in trash talking. It's rubbish. Simply because their language might not be regarded to be particularly brutal by today's standards does not mean they did not sledge. W.G. Grace of course was an example of a sledger (who was also sledged), and he was from the 1800's. "No joke to me. I want punch the lights out of the guy who tries to do it to me. Every time." Putting aside that you would be doing exactly what the sledger wants you to do, which is to lose your concentration, for someone who self-righteously talks about little kids who watch cricket, and how it is bullying, you are basically saying that you support violence as a response! That is so self-righteous and hypocritical, it's not even funny.

Here, here Jay! Couldn't agree with you more. For me, I love it when we play India or Sri Lanka as they have a broader base of fans who are very educated in the sport and discussions can easily be found that take in the many facets and nuances of the game (with one exception to our Indian friends, they're love for "The Little Master" can be a little blinkered to say the least). Anyone in this country who watches 5 consecutive minutes of a Test match suddenly believes they are an expert and furthermore, that their "expert" opinion should be thrust upon everyone else in the world.

Lame article - stick to Monopoly

How am I doing an about face? My argument has remained constant. I believe there is a line in cricket that should not be crossed. The semantics of where that line is, is a completely different argument and I could list a whole range of points on where I believe that line to be but it isn't relevant to the topic of this discussion and specifically to your comments on the subject. We are comparing Aussie cricketers to their counterparts in sledging & intimidation and the origins of sledging. I'm happy to put it out there though, I don't believe any Australian went over the line in the Hobart Test Match as stated in this "article". I believe the bowlers in Tassie were putting their heart and soul into representing their country, as I did state. I do believe on occasion in the past an Australian player has crossed the line and I also believe opposition players have crossed that same line. And now we're onto an incoherrant ramble. That mobile phone thing, whatever bearing it has on anything, ridicules anything else being stated. Should have let that one go through to the keeper. The WG Grace part had nothing to do with his humorous denial of getting out (on more than one occasion). Sledging back then was known as gamesmanship. These are not my words: **Grace insisted that cricket must also be enjoyable and freely admitted that his family all played in a way that was "noisy and boisterous" with much "chaff" (i.e., a Victorian term for teasing). W.G. and E.M. (his brother) in particular were noted throughout their careers for being noisy and boisterous on the field. They were extremely competitive and always playing to win. Sometimes this went to extremes (e.g., on one occasion at school, E.M. was so upset about a decision going against him that he went home and took the stumps with him) and developed into the gamesmanship for which E.M. and W.G. were always controversial.** It goes on to say: **But he was just the same in England (as Australia) and even his long-term friend Lord Harris agreed that his gamesmanship added to the fund of stories about him. The point was that Grace approached cricket as if he were fighting a small war and he was out to win at all costs.** Quickly using wikepedia to enhance an already stated but baseless point is only ever going to get found out. Have the full story before presenting them as a fact. I knew WG had sledged (or whatever you want to call it) back then because I read the stories with my father as a child. No need for me to answer the rest, it seems your argument is crumbling around you with every response made. 3rd last paragraph is golden. And my new number 1 rule, the day I use the Chaser Boys to substantiate my point is the day I commit editorial suicide. I like the Chaser Boys as much as anyone but really....?

And even if the practice of witty comments between players had been going on prior, the colour, kind and size of the practice has been shaped by Australians. To the point of 'Mental disintegration' - as Steve Waugh has conceptualised. They took banter onto a whole new different level. Sledging. For sure its a part of Australian cricket team strategy talks. Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv1O04GPf-Q No joke to me. I want punch the lights out of the guy who tries to do it to me. Every time.

Grumpy you are doing an about face. First off, the 'mobile phone' means girls can take pics and video in bedrooms without footy players knowing it. And they expose that to media that blows them up bigger than a political football. That has not always been the case. And thats why it is overblown. Second, u have said so much about sledging but never even tempered it with the need for restraint. That in itself is sign of condolence. U referred 'it' as showing heart and soul for your country. U implied that I was pretending to be an Aussie because I abhorred sledging, "now thats classless!" And u have defended it because u have only argued its origin not its practice. U condone it. No mistake. NOW....wikipedia Sledging. Go on. I did. It says that yes, WG Grace defied his dismissal at the crease with arrogant humour. But he did not proactively attack another opponent un-provoked. Problem there was the umpires didn't stand up to him. It was coined from some bloke in NSW cricket because he reacted like a Sledgehamer, and subsequent comments became sledges. And it was brought into common usage by Chappelli in 74/75. Thus coining 'The Ugly Australians'. (The title of Pig's article by the way). Mate u are so full of denial if u think it didn't come from Oz. Australian cricketers are notorious for it, world over. And I am not talking about psychological warfare of different sorts. Im talking about the one they do in cricket. And if it is as old as cricket itself and everyone has been doing it, then why haven't they come up with a term for it that is so universally accepted. Its a cliché, like a Pakistani involved in a betting scandal is becoming. Finally, goto You-Tube and type in Australian Sledging Academy and you will see the Chaser boys telling it like it is. Humour is the greatest form of flattery, because it speaks the truth.

This is without doubt the dumbest article I've ever read on The Roar. I seriously doubt the author has played any competitive cricket, at any type of senior level. It is embarrassingly stupid.

It's a bit more sophisticated than thuggery. Apparently these methods are scientifically thought out. Note the former dossier: "psychological control of England". But to be balanced, Douglas Jardine was very much an instigator via the bodyline method so it's hard to say who really started it.

Aware, you are so right. Some Australian cricketers behave like thugs. And I remember this one from Steve Waugh. Great point.

Cool Steve? You mean like the fieldsmen throwing the ball around the heads of the batsmen to break their concentration and keep them wondering when they may get hit? Brian Lara complained about that at least once as I remember. It's a kind of mind control technique and seems to have been well planned and patterned to individual batsmen.

Wow, the heated reply from Alex is starting to sound a little like a petulant sledge in it's own right, hehe. Good to see you getting fired up. Intimidation and bullying is alive and well I see. For the record, no, I don't go to random cricket games where a young kid named Jonny is playing and start shouting at him to kill the opposition. Hysterical enough? And yes, I was serious about poor Rugby League player behaviour so perhaps I am an idiot as you say. What does "mobile phones, etc." even mean? At least this idiot knows not to relieve himself on restaurant windows. I'm also teaching one of my kids not do it at the moment and he's been going well so far (he doesn't however have a "mobile phone, etc" yet...). Rugby Union players don't seem to have any issues finding a toilet or not beating up their wives/partners but perhaps they use telegrams to send each other messages instead of texting.... Could you tell me where, in any of my comments I defend, support and love sledging? Yes, I may not be as extreme as some in their belief sledging is the work of the devil and we should all "think of the children" before we say anything to the opposition but to say I love it is reaching at best. My point has been to explain that Australians did not invent sledging nor do it any more than anyone else. Discipline issues and intimidatory tactics from some of the other cricketing nations are much worse in fact. But congratulations on getting one thing right, an Aussie did invent the term sledging. I was unaware however that to invent a word was to also invent the action associated with the word. Therefore as an Australian invented the use of the word "crook" to indicate being sick, he also invented the act of being sick? But hey, it must be true "cos we invented it"....

Alex, we didn't invent sledging. We may have coined the term, but the act has been around since sport began, and different countries have different terms for it (Americans call it trash talking). So to blame Australia for originating sledging is nonsence. Additionally, cricket has never been a 'gentleman's game'; just ask W.G. Grace. Furthermore, the problem with Australia isn't that we sledge, but that we are so bad at it. We associate sledging with bullying and abuse, when the goal is simply to put off one's opponent, and one can do so in a creative, and funny way. That's not what Aussie cricketers do. However, simply because we can't sledge without being bullies doesn't mean that sledging is a terrible thing and should be removed from the game. Bad sledging should, not good sledging. Here are some examples of great sledges (not all involving Aussies or cricketers): *A response to Mark Waugh's insults- "At least I'm the best cricketer in my family." *Larry Bird, before the 1986 NBA three-point competion began, walked into the locker room, looked around the room for a while, before noting, "I'm just looking around to see who will finish second." *The response to "why are you so fat?"- "Everytime I sleep with your wife, she gives me a biscuit." *"Say hi to your wife and my kids for me." *Two terrific sledges for the price of one. Miandad called Hughes a "fat bus conductor", to which Merv, after he got him out, ran past Miandad and yelled "Tickets Please!" *In an AFL match, one of the greatest ever. Brett Voss was about to kick for goal. His older brother Michael ran past, yelling "My Dad's f****d your Mum!" Brett missed. *Muhammad Ali.

Are u serious? U are an idiot if u can't see that the Rugby League player is asked to do too much by being a role model all the time and are suffering from the side affects of technology (mobile phones..etc..) I am just asking cricketers to compete with respect and honour. And play the gentlemans game. I am just asking for this sledging rubbish not to be associated with passion! and playing with your heart and soul! Doesn't matter who does it, we should not condone it, let alone praise it. Sledging is so F..up, just read Iangou's comment below, he's not the type of dad that screams on the sidelines for his jonny to kill the opposition. Bet u do.. Sledging is for the bully. And u by loving and defending it are one, despite your vast knowledge of cricket. And SLEDGING is an Australian word. Aint it? Thats where it comes from. Thats cos we invented it.

It seems anyone can write an article for the roar, even someone whom it appears has never played the game or any game at a high level. Just what line was crossed? Were there any reports to the match referee? Why single out Australian bowlers? Zaheer Kahn is a master of the same bowling aggression...and good on him, he's a wonderful aggressive bowler. But no, it's all about how awful the Australians are, the only team in International Cricket that does such awful things. I wonder if "Pig" actually watches much cricket or just when it comes to the Australian Summer. I would say no. If Pig actually spent time watching cricket series from all around the world (as I do), he/she would realise this is pretty much par for the course and for the most part well within the rules, code of conduct, and yes, the spirit of the game and competition. If a line is crossed there are penalties. This goes on in all series. I suppose you missed the recent series in South Africa, and Dale Steyns aggression...but he's not Australian so don't mention him. I urge everyone to support well written articles when they see it, as opposed to the tripe dished out such as this.

It is a game played by competitive, aggressive young men. It is not the domain of politicans or statesmen. To accept that it is part of the game, and a part that increases tension, is not to accept boorish behaviour. I would like to think that such a "hard but fair" approach is implemented when winning; but, even more so when in a difficult position.