DIZZY: Sledging a sign of pride and passion more than ill-will

I have a confession to make. I really enjoyed the ‘sledging’ or ‘chirping’ during this series. Now before I get shouted down from the rooftops, I would like to give you my take on it.

When I see aggressive body language and a few words spoken between players I look to focus on the positives. These being that you are seeing proud, passionate and dedicated cricketers engaging in a contest.

Do things get out of hand from time to time? Yes they do.

However, I would rather see that than robots playing ‘ring a-ring of roses’ out there, dishing out smiles and daffodils. I would rather explain to my children that these guys are proud and passionate about representing their country. I would show them the difference between competitiveness and unsportsmanlike behaviour. For instance, running past a batsman celebrating a wicket is absolutely fine, but stopping to rub his face in the fact he has been dismissed is not.

All sportspeople display their competitiveness and passion in different ways and this needs to be respected. I would make sure the umpires are clear that they need to be the boss out there on the park and give them the power to sort things out in the middle if they believe things are getting out of hand. In almost all cases a quick, clear chat to a player out in the middle is all that’s needed. Remind the player that if he has to be spoken to again, he reserves the right to relay this to the match referee.

Clear, simple and, in my opinion, effective.

This series started in very sad circumstances with the passing of Phillip Hughes and tended at times to have a sombre feel to it. Wonderful tributes deservedly flowed for a young man who lost his life playing the game he loved. He is and will forever be sorely missed by all.

What we witnessed on the field was much like that catchy tune from 2014 “All about the bass”, in that it was “All about the batting”.

15 centuries were scored, four each to two of the best young batsmen in world cricket in Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, and in a sense there was a changing of the guard with these two captaining their countries.

For me, both countries can look forward to very exciting times ahead. For India, having Kohli as their full time Test captain is something to look forward to, and Australia benefit from having Smith gaining valuable captaincy experience during Michael Clarke’s absence through injury. I have enjoyed how both young men have gone about the task of leading their countries. There seems to be a focus on aggressive, entertaining cricket, and never backing down from the challenges presented. I love it! That is how the game should be played.

Take India as an example. Although they lost 0-2, I believe they can take some positives from the series. The main one for me is being able to save a game when all hope of a win is gone. They did this is Melbourne and Sydney. Yes, they have some issues, bowling being the glaringly obvious one, however the intent they are showing is something I have not seen much of from India in Test cricket.

What can India do about their bowling? Good old fashioned line and length from their fast bowlers is probably a good place to start.

They need to give themselves a chance by bowling their best ball over and over and over again. The Test teams that own the spot on the wicket on a good line and length tend to be the teams that come out on top. I refer to this as “owning the zone”. The bowling team is looking to make this spot on the wicket as large as possible whereas the batting team is looking to make that area as small as possible. It’s all about margins. Simply put, own the zone, drive the game.

India need to find a way to “own the zone” with the ball.

A final word on one of my favourite cricketers who is on the outer at the moment – Peter Siddle.

A lot of theories have been bandied about as to why he has lost pace and is not in the side. One I have heard is that he has reached 30 years of age and another is that he because he is Vegan he is not as fit and strong.

In my opinion these are both silly arguments.

Let me offer a thought – I believe it has to do with mindset. For the early part of Peter’s Test career he was seen as a bit of an enforcer; run in, hit the track hard and be aggressive. Bowl fast!

I just wonder if, over the last couple of years he has (consciously or not) got it in his mind (or has been told) that he is a stock bowler and has to cut his pace to bowl longer spells. There is no reason for this in my opinion as he is more than capable of bowling 7-8 over spells of 140km/h. He is fit, he is strong, he is only 30 years old. My only question to Sidds would be:

Do you practice bowling fast?

Everyone thinks about practicing outswingers, slower balls and yorkers, but how many bowlers actually approach a net session with the thought of practicing to be fast?

Food for thought.