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Sledging is fair game, but not when it crosses over into abuse

Umpires are humans, too. (AFP Photo / Ian Kington)
Roar Guru
3rd April, 2015
6

There’s a saying that 90 per cent of cricket is mental. The ability to keep a calm head is just as important as the ability to play a turning delivery or a swinging ball. So why should the mental part of the game be ignored when trying to defeat an opposition?

An example of this was in the fifth Test in the 1993 Ashes at Edgbaston. Graham Thorpe was 60 not out batting with the tail when Ian Healy quipped “Boys, watch this guy play to red ink [get a not out]”.

The sledge was implying that Thorpe was a selfish cricket player playing for the not out rather than for the team. Thorpe was offended with that accusation and reacted with pride. He charged out trying to hit Shane Warne for a six and got stumped.

Walking off Thorpe realised that he had played into Australian hands and did exactly what they wanted him to do, which was to provoke him in playing recklessly. Australia targeted Graham Thorpe mentally and in that moment he was found wanting. He was essentially mentally disintegrated by that sledge and there was nothing abusive or anything unsporting about it at all.

Kumar Sangakkara, who has the reputation as one of the best sledgers in the world, gave a frank interview in 2004 to discuss sledging.

“Sledging, as coined and pioneered by the Australians, is a measured comment designed to get a reaction out of a player. It could be any reaction: a bit of anger, a show of arrogance, a comment, a shake of the head, or a slump of the shoulders,” he said.

“They could be saying something as simple as: ‘Let’s leave a big gap there because he can’t score through there’. Even if you are mentally strong and understand they are baiting you, it can still work in the mind. You might be keen to hit the ball through the gap; you might be keen to avoid it. Either way a seed has been sown.”

The way Sangakkara defines sledging, I see it as perfectly acceptable and a fair way to challenge the mentality of the opposing team. It adds a lot of colour to the game.

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However, I don’t believe that sledging is a free for all where everything is open to distract the batsman. After all cricket doesn’t allow ball tampering and PEDs in an effort to test the technical skills of the batsman. There should also be limits in the methods people challenge opposing teams mentally.

Here are three rules cricketers should abide by.

1. No abuse or swearing directed at the opposition
Kumar Sangakkara spoke of “The public perception of sledging is to go out there and abuse someone in obscene language, questioning their parentage or sexual preferences. That kind of abuse does not belong on the field of play”.

I agree with his sentiments and ICC agrees as well. This is a Level 1 offence “2.1.4 Using language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during an International Match”.

In my view if this is considered abusive language in another occupation then it should be considered abusive on the cricket field. I’m open to players swearing at themselves for getting themselves out or dropping a catch because the abuse is targeted at themselves in frustration. But directing that language on opposing players shows a lack of class and respect for the opposition.

I suspect the reason why sledging is considered a negative term is because people used sledging and abuse interchangeably, but they are not the same.

2. The sledging should be cricket related
Even if obscenities or abusive language are not being used, the players should restrict sledging to the game itself. In a game of cricket it’s fair game to challenge players about cricket related elements, however sledging about personal life or political and religious beliefs of a players is simply not relevant. Hence, it is against the spirit of the game.

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3. No send-offs
If the point of sledging is to disturb the mental concentration of the player to make a rash decision, then the victory moment is when the sledging leads to the dismissal of the player.

When the player is out, the fielding team has won, and any attempts to sledge the player when they are dismissed is simply mean-spirited and rubbing salt on the wound of the player.

There are rules in place which outlaws sends-offs such as: “2.1.6 Pointing or gesturing towards the pavilion by a bowler or other member of the fielding side upon the dismissal of a batsman during an International Match”.

And when no finger pointing is involved, players (such as Mitchell Starc’s send-off to Murali Vijay) can be cited due to a catch-all provision: “2.1.8 Where the facts of the alleged incident are not adequately or clearly covered by any of the above offences, conduct that either: (a) is contrary to the spirit of the game; or (b) brings the game into disrepute”.

Summation
In my opinion as long as sledging doesn’t fall into these three categories, then I don’t see a problem with sledging in the game. I feel that if people are upset about sledging then they should try and campaign umpires to more strictly enforce the rules of the game.

In a match where two teams are competing with each other trying their best to win, do you really think it’s realistic that the team will be talking to each other in a non-competitive manner? The conversation will naturally lead to one team trying to disturb the concentration of the opposition to get an advantage.

As long as appropriate limits are placed within that, there should be no problem with sledging in cricket.

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