Sledging, chirping, mental disintegration, trash talk. Call it what you will, but it’s as much a part of cricket as sipping tea halfway through a match.
If you believe folklore – and by folklore, I mean Wikipedia – the art of sledging may have originated from various sources.
Ian Chappell claims to have overheard a cricketer swear in front of a woman, and reacted like a ‘sledgehammer’, so therefore all insults and obscenities thrown at the opposition was referred to as a ‘sledge’.
Likewise, a former New South Welshman suggested that an opposition players’ wife was having an affair with a teammate, and hence, started singing ‘When a man loves a woman’, a Percy Sledge tune.
Or maybe it was introduced by the English during that first Test match way back in 1877 when Charles Bannerman retired hurt on 165 (the language used was far too colourful to be repeated in such a family friendly article).
Whichever way you look at the benign beginnings of such a topical tactic, sledging has been used in all forms of cricket to both unsettle an opposition player or to help motivate oneself by chirping at someone else.
However, there has always been an unwritten line that players have known not to cross. Despite this unwritten code that we have all abided by, it is getting more and more difficult to understand where that line lies.
The whole saga between the Australians and South Africa may be the tip of the iceberg that just happened to have been picked up by the on-field microphones.
Remember, this isn’t the first time that the television microphones have gotten a player in trouble. Supposedly, Joe the camera man (aka Shane Warne) found out how good technology was, which goes to show that what is said on the field (or production room) doesn’t unfortunately stay there.
There has been plenty of press about how negative and aggressive Smith and his chargers were in their comments during the recent series against South Africa, with plenty of people claiming that it was unsportsmanlike, however, if this is the lowest point of sledging that’s been said on the playing field, then I’ll print off this article and eat my own words. There are even suggestions that sledging be removed from the game entirely.
This media spotlight will add further fuel to the upcoming summer series. It doesn’t matter what grade of cricket, or even what grade of sport you play, there will be a level of sledging to overcome.
However, when you add the history between these two nations, the recent hidings that Australia has taken and then the intensity that the media will no doubt bring prior to the series, then emotions are bound to be spilled over the top.
The way the Australian cricket team play is certainly aggressive, but the majority of sports fans would love the posturing, the wording and the fact that the captain is backing his players – it’s just a shame the performance isn’t matching the bravado.
Smith has come under a huge amount of scrutiny about the way he is leading his team, similar to when Michael Clarke and Jimmy Anderson had some verbal stoushes during the last Ashes series at home, but this act suggests that the fire is still there and he backs them 100 per cent.
Sledging is definitely an art form. Yes, it can be blatant and obvious to all, however, it can take the subtle appearance of the bowler describing the colour, shape and texture of the ball to the batsman who has played and missed for a number of overs.
A chirp might make mention of the batsman’s current form, or the fact he’s wearing a horrible looking helmet that makes him look like Ja Ja Binks from Star Wars.
The most endearing sledge however is the humour sledge. Merv Hughes, the man with the permanent Movember Mo, used this tactic to great advantage over his career, but the pinnacle was when he was getting hit to all parts of the ground by Viv Richards, so Merv turned around and farted in his direction telling Viv to “try and hit that to the boundary!”
Hollywood has also used chirping as part of their scripting for years. We’ve had Lance Armstrong tell Vince Vaughn in Dodgeball that you can’t quit and that Lance didn’t quit during the Tour de France (what Lance didn’t quit still hasn’t been amended in the movie). What about the pasting Gordon Bombay puts up with from his Icelandic counterpart during Mighty Ducks? Finally, Happy Gilmore was certainly crippled as a result of the chirping from Shooter’s mate Donald. The end result? Vince Vaughn won the dodgeball tournament. Bombay and team USA win the Goodwill games, and Happy Gilmore gets the cheque, the girl and a place for Grandma (sorry for the spoilers).
Let’s all take a deep breath. In the context of sport and the passion that people play with, the tactics used by the Australian team are aggressive and they need to ensure it stays within the parameters of sportsmanship. However, they aren’t the only team doing it.
Yes, it will influence what the young kids will want to follow, but they are also likely to follow those who they witness on a Saturday afternoon playing community cricket. So it’s not just the Australian captain and his men who need to monitor their body language and words, but all cricketers.
Sledging is an art form in all sports. It is certainly here to stay and players of all levels need to remember that there are obviously certain topics that are off-limits, but if it’s in the context of the game and well within the parameters, it can be a successful method of throwing an opponent off their game.
If the calls for banning sledging are successful then perhaps all players around the world need to pull their socks up, get creative, and start farting in the direction of their opponents.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Sledging is nothing new. It was an Englishman many years ago who chipped a bowler "they paid to see me bat not you bowl" Sledging has been around since cricket started. Sometimes it humorous sometimes not but accept it.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Totally agree. I must admit though, I thought the Aussies were the masters of sledging, but the POMS really are the TRUE masters. Very witty indeed and county crickey provides some of the funniest one-liners you'll ever hear, along with brilliant counter sledges. Tour games provided this precisely because Australia was playing county sides full of larrikins.
El Capitan
Guest
One of the best I've heard was on a rugby pitch. The number 10 was tackled really hard by this huge number 8, which caused the ball to be knocked on and resulted in a scrum. There was a bit of a breather while the 10 was recovering from being winded and just before the scrum was packed, the opposition hooker yelled out "Sir Sir" to the ref. The Ref replied "yes", and the hooker proceeded with, "I think number 10 has dropped his handbag". Both sides p*ssed themselves laughing along with the Ref, and play then resumed. A good sledge that had the right humour.
dave
Guest
I have sometimes used a polite sledging strategy. You continually compliment your opponent in an honest manner and they start to wonder why? Anything that can be used as an advantage but you have to be careful because some players perform better when being sledged. I love It and any sport would be more boring without It.
jameswm
Roar Guru
Why should those mind games be reserved for lower levels of cricket?
Paul D
Roar Guru
Rick, some of those tour games we used to play when we still had tour games worthy of the name in the UK were great - the Aussies of 1997 went over and had a humdinger of a game against Dean Jones' Derbyshire outfit. Apparently Deano was sledging the aussies all through both of his innings, and got a massive send off in the first innings when he aimed a village slog at one of Warne's deliveries and got bowled. He had the last laugh though, Derbyshire pulled off a 1 wicket win! http://static.espncricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1997/AUS_IN_ENG/SCORECARDS/AUS_DERBY_31MAY-02JUN1997.html
SP
Guest
Pretty sure one of the WI bowlers (Malcolm Marshall i think?) said something to David Boon along the lines of; "Now David, are you going to get out now or am I going to have to bowl around the wicket and kill you?"
Marshall
Guest
Shhhhh Ronan, this is dangerously threatening to the 'Big Bad Aussies' narrative that is perpetuated in cricket circles. Honestly, if the Aussie's did half of the things Virat Kohli did I can only imagine the furore.....
Michael Keeffe
Roar Guru
I agree. In the lower level outdoor and indoor cricket I've played there has been a lot of sledging and banter. Some of it bordered on abuse and was unnecessary but most of it was entertaining. I would term my sledging more as banter. My goal is to either make a batsmen laugh and lose focus or get him thinking about something he shouldn't be. I'll even go as far as to tell how batsmen how bad my team mate is bowling to him and that he wouldn't want to get out to this rubbish just to put the thought in his mind. It's banter and its gamesmanship and it's a lot of fun. The abusive stuff however is just unnecessary.
richo
Guest
not sure what the article is trying to say.. Sledging exists but its neither bad or good? Given the current inquest and public accusations about cricket identities I assume you are trying to get clicks on the back of that without even mentioning it and without taking a stance. For whats its worth my opinion is that sledging involving threats to kill or injure and about a cricketers family are offensive and wrong and should be unlawful and dealt with by the umpires same as racism/homophobia currently is. Less offensive types of sledging should be ok.
Doc Disnick
Roar Guru
Sledging is a true art, adding to any sport if done well. Any professional will tell you sport is played 99 per cent above the shoulders — the question therefore begs: Why wouldn't you sledge if you can gain an advantage from it? Whilst living in the UK, I remember David Boon helping the Scottish in their preparations for the 2007 World Cup. They were drawn in Australia's group and were more concerned about Australia's sledging than facing the reigning champs. David Boon: "Alright, I hear you boys are worried about sledging from the Aussies." Team Scotland: *Nods nervously* David Boon: "Don't worry about it, you guys are so $#!T the Australian's won't bother!" Team Scotland: *P!$$ themselves laughing* David Boon: "Well that's it...who's got my cheque?"
Paul D
Roar Guru
James, I agree on that one – certainly at lower levels where I spend most of my time umpiring, in my experience the most effective sledging in terms of results is observational about the batsman’s technique or the state of the game in play. Pointing out a weakness or reminding the batsmen of the required run rate indirectly, are underrated sledges. Lost count of the number of times I’ve seen batsmen talked out because they were clearly thinking about something the fielding team has said that has affected their mentality and approach.
donnieb
Guest
Just BTW - the headline says sleding not sledging...
Johnno
Guest
cricket is going soft, you watch sledging will be pulled from cricket, it's already been watered down a lot. Shane watson and wahib riaz got fined for tiddlywinks chat.
jameswm
Roar Guru
There is a place for sledging, but the best sledging is the one that makes the batsman doubt himself. EG: "he's all right hand, bowl around off stump", or "he's playing across the line and trying to hit them all through leg" and the batsman might change how he bats. "he keeps coming forward, let's give him a short one". "bowl him a loopy one", to drag the batsman out when you know they're going for a leg side stumping from a dart next ball. "bowl a wrong'un in the next few balls" so the batsman is doubting himself and looking for it, esp when you know the bowler doesn't actually have a wrong'un. There are all sorts of examples. In rugby one I liked when I knew we were going blind from a scrum was to yell at the backs to stand wider. That's the sort of talk that's useful. None of it is abusive of offensive I might add.
cowcorner
Roar Pro
I've always thought sledging, unless its very funny, is stupid and unnecessary. A lot of cricket sledging seems to be boorish and unimaginative. I asked a professional golfer about sledging and he said it does not exist in pro golf and if someone did it, all the other players would hear about it and turn on the sledger and tell him/her that sledging is just not on.
Tim Holt
Roar Guru
Some of the best were embodied by a 'picture gives a thousand words' 'Sideshow' Bob Willis with his tilt that just unsettled so many Vincent Van Der Bijl with his hulking frame approaching the crease Andy Roberts with his sadistic cleverness making you have cold sweats out of wonder what was next
harambe
Guest
Might want to check the spelling in the article title mate - I came here expecting a type of bobsled article :P
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
I hear that claim made quite a bit yet Viv Richards was a renowned sledger, Curtley loved a chat, Roberts used to flat out abuse batsmen, Malcolm Marshall liked a word (including threatening to "come around the wicket and kill you" to Boonie) and Dessie Haynes was famous for getting into the ears of batsmen while fielding at short leg. I've never seen an international cricket team that doesn't sledge.
Steve
Guest
The Windies of 79-93 didn't sledge. Are you taking the pi55? -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.