Sledging has been there in cricket for quite some time. But at no time in the past did it so seriously threaten the cricketing world as it did during the just concluded 2007-08 Test series between India and Australia. As sledging is now a red hot topic for discussion, it won’t be out of place to know a little more about the practice.
A term coined by who else but the Australians, sledging has its origin in ‘sledgehammer.’ According to former Australian captain Ian Chappell, a cricketer who swore in the presence of a lady was compared to a sledgehammer, and was called a "Sledge" after a then popular singer Percy Sledge. In this way, insulting or hurling abuses at rival players came to be known as sledging. The main object of sledging is to intimidate or disrupt the concentration of opponent players and drive them into making costly mistakes. In cricket, mostly batsmen are the targets of sledging although bowlers too are not spared at times. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh has even tried give this practice a better name by describing it as a process of “mental disintegration.”
Earlier, chit-chats on the cricket field were loaded with harmless humor; but with the game getting more professional and fiercely competitive, the humor is gradually making way for the language of the gutter. The level of acceptance of this practice is also heavily dependent on the linguistic and cultural characteristics of a cricketer. In England, cricket was a “gentleman’s game” and only mild sledging without personal attacks were not frowned upon. But following the Australian example, English cricketers too are now resorting to hard sledging. The Australians and New Zealanders, or for that matter even the South Africans are game for personal insults on the field and find little objectionable in such remarks. They believe in playing the game the hard way, and get together for a drink in the evening. But players from the Indian sub-continent are by nature and upbringing extremely sensitive and find such personal insults unpalatable. However, regardless of language and culture, every team is now indulging in sledging in its own way although there is little to prove that the practice in any way can affect the outcome of a game.
The recent incidents involving Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh and Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds have created a furor in cricketing circles. Questions are being asked whether sledging should be banned altogether. Expectedly, there are different opinions over the issue. A section argues that as long as it is witty and humorous and does not transgress the limits of decency, sledging only makes the game more colorful. The others vehemently oppose this practice and argue that sledging is absolutely unnecessary and it only harms the game. While a little harmless banter with lots of wit and humor may seem acceptable, it is extremely difficult to determine when it would cross the dividing line that separates it from vulgar obscenities or racial slurs. Only the players themselves can change the entire scenario by learning how to behave on the field. In that case, neither the match referee nor the ICC will be required to conduct proceedings as if in a criminal court.
It would perhaps be in the fitness of things if we recall some examples of truly witty sledging. When Glamorgan bowler Greg Thomas beat the great Vivian Richards a couple of times outside the off-stump, he told the batsman: “It's red, round and about five ounces in weight, in case you were wondering." Richards sent the very next ball out of the park and retorted: "Greg, you know what it looks like. Now just go and fetch it." Australian wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh once asked England all-rounder Ian Botham on the crease: “How is your wife and my kids?” The reply was prompt and sharp: “The wife is fine, but the kids are retarded.”
By Swapan Mitra
Sledging has been there in cricket for quite some time. But at no time in the past did it so seriously threaten the cricketing world as it did during the just concluded 2007-08 Test ...
