Cricket Sport

A sledge too far?

Written by Ben Blaschke

Sledging. It divides opinions the world over with some loving the verbal assault that takes place beyond the ears of the general public and others preferring a player’s actions do the talking for them.

Of course, there are many different types of sledging. Some, like Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, are ruthless in what they say to their opponents. Clarke has come under fire today after television microphones in the stumps picked up a heated discussion he had with England’s James Anderson yesterday as the Aussies closed in on victory in the first Ashes Test. Anderson is no stranger to sledging himself, but his batting isn’t his greatest trait and as he prepared to face up to Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, Clarke told him, “Get ready for a broken f***** arm”.

Michael Clarke locks horns with James Anderson during the first Ashes Test

Michael Clarke locks horns with James Anderson during the first Ashes Test

Clarke will receive a reprimand and a fine for that outburst, but while the authorities are always going to do their best to stamp out what they consider to be unnecessary behaviour, here at World Gaming we’d hate to see such banter eliminated from the sporting field completely. In fact, while Clarke’s outburst might have been a bit over the top, others have preferred the funny route with cricket in particular responsible for some of the funnies sledges of all time. Who could forget former Australian wicket keeper Rod Marsh greeting England batsman Ian Botham to the crease many years ago by asking him “How’s your wife and my kids?” Botham fired back, “The wife’s fine, the kids are retarded.” Or when tubby Aussie leg spinner Shane Warne told South Africa’s Daryl Cullinan he’d been waiting two years for the chance to bowl to him again. Cullinan replied “Looks like you’ve spent it eating.”

Muhammad Ali was a master at sledging

Muhammad Ali was a master at sledging

Cricket has a long history of memorable sledges – easily more than any other sport on the planet. This is because of the mental element of the game. With Test matches lasting five days and requiring many, many hours of intense concentration by each and every player, it comes as no surprise to see teams try every possible means to get under the skin of their opponents. And although there have certainly been some unsavory incidents over the years, provided it doesn’t get personal there shouldn’t be a problem. After all, Clarke’s comment isn’t so different to a quip made by West Indies great Malcolm Marshall who, feared for the speed and ferocity of his bowling, once said to a batsman, “Are you going to get out now or do I have to bowl around the wicket and kill you.”

Not all athletes are blessed with the quick wit of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, whose insults were legendary, but a sporting world without personality would be pretty dull. In Clarke’s case, a fine is probably an appropriate response – let’s just hope the powers that be don’t start trying too hard to sanitize the game.