“Are you trying to say here that sledging is a key to winning for Australia?” Radio National’s Fran Kelly asked cricket writer Daniel Brettig on her breakfast show this week.
Brettig’s response caught my ear:
“I think Australian cricketers do feel that, yes,” he said. “And one of the conclusions that I reach [in the book] is that the players feel there’s a certain way that they can be successful.
“It’s not necessarily a PC way of playing, and it’s something that if the administration and the Australian cricket public wants to see the team winning and being successful, there needs to be a certain degree of acceptance of that.”
“But why?” Kelly exclaimed. “If other teams can win without it, why is it such a part of the Australian game?”
Brettig, a senior editor at Cricinfo, was being interviewed about his new book, Whitewash to Whitewash, an account of the turbulent post-Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath period in Australian cricket, when a team suddenly deprived of its nucleus of battle-hardened stars was soundly beaten in Ashes series both at home and away, flogged in India, and beset by internal player ructions and rifts with the coaching staff; all of which conspired to bring us the infamous ‘Homework affair’.
The main thesis of Brettig’s book is that, in addition to generational change in the playing group, a change in team culture and coaching was also to blame for Australia floundering.
Under Mickey Arthur, and an administration that was keen to tone down the ugliness of the team’s behaviour following the ‘Monkeygate’ incident and the rancorous home series against India it was born out of, Australian players were instructed to be less aggressive on the field – i.e. to pull back on the sledging.
And this, according to Ricky Ponting, made the Australians feel like they were “playing with one hand tied behind their backs”, and strongly contributed to their lack of success.
According to Brettig, it wasn’t until the appointment of Darren Lehmann as coach, and a return to the ‘old ways’ of Australian aggression – sledging and mental disintegration – that the team was able to start winning again.
And this, in a nutshell, is the problem that I have with the Australian team, and the ‘Chapellian’ narrative of Australian cricket that has held sway since the 1970s. And it’s why, for long periods during the golden era of success under Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, I found myself barracking for the opposition.
I just couldn’t stand the way we played the game.
Gamesmanship and banter have always been a part of cricket, there’s no doubt. And like most other cricket fans, I know and love all of the amusing (and possibly apocryphal) comebacks that cricketers have dished out to each other over the years on the field.
But the unsophisticated verbal abuse we’re now told to accept as being integral to the Australian way – from Michael Clarke’s advice to Jimmy Andersen to “Get ready for a broken f***en arm” to David Warner telling Indian players to “Speak English” – is just lame macho posturing, and worse.
At the time of Phillip Hughes’ death, much lip service was paid to the idea of the players being custodians of the game, and that it was their duty to leave it in better shape than they found it. There were calls from many established figures in cricket to use the tragedy as a reset button: to do away with sledging all together, and restore some meaning to the phrase ‘the spirit of cricket’.
Hughes’ death seemed to show us, albeit briefly, the hollowness and indignity of the crass carry-on that many now equate with playing cricket ‘aggressively’.
But with David Warner – memorably described in The Guardian by Geoff Lemon recently as Darren Lehmann’s “spirit animal” for the Aussie team – now squaring up to opposition players like some hoodie on ice at a shopping centre, and Shane Warne telling Mitch Starc that he needs to start dishing out stink eyes and standovers if he wants to take wickets, it seems that we’re back to business as usual.
In what looks like an obvious media stunt, the New Zealanders have publicly announced they’ll be ignoring any sledging from the Australians in their crunch World Cup game on Saturday, and that they won’t let Australia’s “well known tactics” bother them.
This comes from a team that openly wept in a touching tribute to Phillip Hughes staged during their Test match against Pakistan.
Even if it is a stunt, I don’t care. I appreciate the sentiment.
Trigger
Guest
ret ,if you don't believe the media hacks then read what the players say, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/australian-sledging-is-personal-says-south-african-captain-ab-de-villiers/story-e6frg7rx-1227038355556 http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/29/1022569795699.html Can't believe everyone defends the Aussies when they themselves say they are proud of being the best sledgers around !
ret
Guest
I'd much rather take the word of the universally respected veteran Dan Vettori over that of any media hack looking for publicity. One aspect of on-field chat that has been ignored here, is the fact that some batsmen initiate it, because they have the type of personality that thrives on a combatitive atmosphere. Steve Waugh, Warner and Kohli are typical examples. Other sides generally work this out, and greet these players with total silence. The whole sledging thing is massively overstated, and has much more to do with a rubbish media, than what actually takes place on the field.
Trigger
Guest
That's correct Don you are rewriting history ,it was instigated by big game hunter McGrath Sarwan gave it back to him and McGrath spat the dummy
Trigger
Guest
so what ,so lots of people sledge ,does that make it ok,not an argument.
Disco
Guest
What, instigated by Sarwan being asked by McGrath about Brian Lara's genitalia?
Viv
Guest
Yes, let's.....
Trigger
Guest
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/australian-sledging-is-personal-says-south-african-captain-ab-de-villiers/story-e6frg7rx-1227038355556?nk=32f5ccb5392c354938e18c6d949442ea De Villiers comments
Trigger
Guest
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/29/1022569795699.html there you go Jo M
Vic
Guest
Except we're not talking about supposed infractions here Jo - we're talking about ugly sledging. So bringing up the alleged ball tampering is irrelevant. But fits exactly with the sledging profile of Australia.
Trigger
Guest
Thats the thing the umpires don't step in . Read a few articles about sledging eg Graeme Smith's debut for South Africa and the abuse he got from Pigeon and Warne ,Haydos etc,and when he looked to the umpires they just shrugged their shoulders. I'm just telling you what AB De VIlliers said ,he seems a pretty decent guy to me ,so I'd say he's telling the truth.
Jo M
Guest
Do you not think that if the insults were personal that the umps would step in? Go back and have a look at the ICC judiciary for last year and see who are the top 2 for various infractions. No 1 is England with 9. No 2 is South Africa with 7 - two of those were for ball tampering. Australia? Way down the bottom with 2 - both Warner. To me that says they don't do too much wrong out there and there isn't anything much that is personal or they would be reported by the umpires. I highly doubt the South Africans are angels either.
Trigger
Guest
Because the Australian players hurl personal insults all the time and why would anyone want to have a beer with players that do that all day. AB De Villiers said the Australians cross the line with sledging and make it personal,he said he doesn't care what they say but don't expect his players to want to be mates with them after the game. Fair enough I'd say ! Which leads me to a great Australian cultural saying ,what happens on the field stays on the field ,what a joke that is ,so that means you can be a total asshat on the field and then be great mates as soon as the games finished ,I'd say that is totally ridiculous and a falsity .How about being a good guy on and off the field ,doesn't mean you don't play hard and to win >
Vic
Guest
South Africans are spectacularly generous hosts, often entertaining visiting sportsteams in their own homes, on their own farms - during and after the tour of SA, all but one South African cricketer refused to have so much as a beer with the Australian cricket team. I wonder why?
Don Freo
Guest
The McGrath Sarwan incident was an argument. It was not a McGrath sledge. It was instigated by Sarwan. This is what Ronan means by retelling history. You are making things up. The article is rubbish.
FraggleWrangler
Roar Rookie
I hate to say it, but I'll be cheering for the Kiwis today. Far too many Australian players forget there's a coat of arms on their baggy green and they aren't just reporesenting Australia on the scoreboard.
The children can't hear a thing, nor can I ;)
Don Freo
Guest
David Moody is Richard's son, nephew of Tom. Took the first 2 in the second to start the NSW collapse, including a wicket with his first ball. Ashton Agar removed Henriques and Nevill for a duck 10-6-8-2. Patto, more hammy trouble. Whatever Pat Howard has put in place doesn't work. These guys have got soft. Kevin Rudd was right. Howard has to go. Callum Ferguson and Marcus Stoinis have gone past Chris Lynn and Ed Cowan. Ferguson must tour the Windies as an audition for England.
Altus
Guest
If the other team does not understand the language, then it is not sledging. I know the South Africans use Afrikaans when they don't want the opposition to know what they are planning. They speak English when they want the opposition to hear. The latter is sledging, the former not. Everyone does sledge to a degree, but it seems Australia is the only country where they believe that they can't win without sledging.
Fight fair.
Guest
No but in the interest of fairness how about criticising some of the Cary on from other teams.
Trigger
Guest
Improve their sledging b ????? I guess you think it's an honourable part of their victories . Improve their standards of play yes ,win games yes,achieve excellence yes,but achieving excellence IMO does not include sledging and overly aggressive obnoxious play . There is a thing called sportsmanship where you play to win but don't have to be a jerk on the way. Imagine if a 10 year old did what Warner did during this past series ,what would you say ,well done or hey young fella that's not really very good behaviour ? So why would you obviously admonish a child if they carried on in an unacceptable way but seem to think it's a great increase in level of sporting prowess for the test team . Warner is obviously encouraged by Boof instead of told to pull his head in and stop embarrassing himself. Funny they can be good boys they just choose not to be . Also funny someone as prodigiously talented as Warner needs to carry on like such a dope.