From someone who has a reputation for being anything but quiet on the field some might find it strange that Sledging is not something I generally have any time for. Not only do I find it distasteful (unless riotously funny) but it does go against the spirit of the game, both in word and in principal. 


I looked up the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ preamble to the laws of the game for this piece. It demands ‘Respect for your opponent’ and also it specifically states “It is against the Spirit of the Game to direct abusive language towards an opponent”.  Well, that seems pretty clear to me although but still it goes on.


 Sadly, I have long since realised that the drive for any sort of competitive edge means the players at the top end of our game will result to most legal measures they can including verbal. However the example set by the top players in any Sport soon filters down and now exchanges at local level can be with more than bat and ball. 


 Personally speaking I have never understood why people on a Cricket field suddenly feel brave and dish out the sort of verbals they wouldn’t dream of coming out with at any other time, especially at chucking out time in the town centre after the game. I thought we congregated for the love of the game, not World War Three.


 Although I have no doubt that modern Sledging has reached an all time unpleasant high it is not something new for words to be exchanged on the field. An old story springs to mind involving former England fast bowler Harold Larwood.


 Harold arrived at a local match as a spectator. One side was a man short and Harold was badgered into playing. To give the batsman a chance though Harold decided to bowl spin. The first ball hit the batter plumb in front but the appeal was turned down. Second ball took a loud nick and again the Umpire was unmoved. At this point Harold marked out his full run and sent down a trademark thunderbolt that comprehensively re-arranged the furniture. Mr Larwood turned to the Umpire and was heard to say, “We very nearly had him that time, didn’t we?”


 There are always exceptions to every rule, my exception would be where the verbals are either humorous, like Harold Larwood, or see someone get their comeuppance. My absolute favourite comes from a County Championship match between Glamorgan and Somerset.


 Glamorgan bowler Greg Thomas had beaten Viv Richards twice in succession, passing his outside edge. Filled with confidence Thomas offered his sarcastic advice to his adversary,” It’s red, round and weighs about 5 ounces”.


Unfortunately for the hopelessly outmatched bowler the West Indian legend launches the next delivery way out of the park and retorts,” You know what it looks like, go fetch it!”


Despite the tone of my words there was one recent incident where I was glad to hear of verbal exchanges. It was during the tail end of the Australian First Innings at the S.C.G. when Paul Collingwood was orchestrating the decible count against Shane Warne. Say what you like about the ethics but it demonstrated that despite the traumas of the Ashes series there was still some form of defiance left in the beleaguered team. The fact though that Shane got close to a maiden test century in his final Test Innings shows that in sledging, much like everything else in the game, the Aussies are just in another league.