Much has been made of the recent aggressive send off given to Aussie cricketer Steve Smith by our very own Virat Kohli. Apparently the two had some words at the opening T20 in Adelaide as a result of which Smith was very critical of Kohli’s words and actions. “I don’t think you need to do that kind of thing when someone gets out. It’s fine to have a little bit of banter when you’re out in the field, but when someone is out I don’t really think that’s on,” Smith was reported to have said rather peevishly. And it can’t have helped that India subsequently managed a clean sweep of the three match T20 series!
Aussies have been the kings of sledging
In the mid 1970s they were known as the Ugly Australians not just for their hostile fast bowling but also the verbal abuse that peppered their on-field performances. Then wicketkeeper Rod Marsh and Captain Ian Chappell were known to rival each other when it came to profanity and it was well known that the captain would encourage his players to sledge and heckle the opposition in order to break the batsmen’s concentration. Merv Hughes was another Aussie player known for his peculiar brand of profane wit on the field.
Historic Sledging
As you can see from that screen grab of a top twenty sledging list, Hughes features extremely prominently.
Aussies have continued their tradition of sledging
It continued with the McGrath (another repeat offender) incident in 2003 when he asked West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan something unrepeatable about Brian Lara’s privates. The Ashes seem to bring out the best (or rather the worst) of the sledging. A few years ago, cricket viewers clearly heard Michael Clark tell England’s James Anderson to “get ready for a f***ing broken arm”.
Promoting his latest book Second Innings, England all rounder Andrew Flintoff spoke of Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne as being the most effective sledgers. He said about Gilchrist, “He never shut up but was never abusive, never personal. He just said enough to put people off.”
Turn around is fair play
Kohli giving back
For time to time the Aussies have been at the receiving end of the sledging and they don’t take very well what they dish out so generously. Apparently Kohli’s curt send off to Smith recently was a response to Smith’s own attempt at sledging India’s junior bowlers. According to a clarification issued by Kohli in the matter, Smith hit a boundary and then had a go at the bowlers. So Kohli asked the umpires for intervention. The umpires did nothing, so when Smith got out, Kohli suggested that he (Smith) could now go talk in the changing room.
So Smith says “I don’t really think that’s on,” may we suggest mate, that you read a bit of cricketing history?
Author: Reena Daruwalla
