Re: Australian Cricket - Crisis, What Crisis ??
Reply #119 –
Man, sledging is just part of cricket. A great part of cricket. A part that all of us enjoy whether we want to play it 'PC' or not!
It's always aimed just to rattle the opposition psychologically, and most real men can have a laugh and a drink with the blokes they were just sledging almost as soon as they walk off the field.
I once told a batsman that he looked like he'd just eaten half his team mates while I was fielding at short leg. Next ball was short and he pulled it straight at my head. I ducked it, laughed, then bet him 20 cheeseburgers that he couldn't do that again. He tried, got wrapped on the pads, and was given LBW.
He bought me a beer after the game, and I actually did buy him a pie haha.
Another time I was batting and facing the association leading wicket taker. There was a horribly ugly woman berating her children on some play equipment nearby. He bowled me a ripping outswinger that I played and missed at but only just. He made a comment about my lack of footwork (pretty fair, really, it was awful!) to which I replied 'Mate, I'll take care of my footwork when you go take care of your missus' and pointed over to the play equipment. Even his team mates gave him crap over that one, but the next ball was straight at my head again (which was fine, that's cricket!).
Once again, we shared a beer and a laugh after the game.
People need to stop being so damned precious! It's ruining sport, it's ruining cricket, it's making it impossible to be Australian!
Build a bridge! (just don't burn it down, you silly poms!)
hey Nathbear, yeah I agree that sledging is part of cricket, but unfortunately the last season I played, it was not clever or funny sledging that made up most of it. It was just abuse. I'd had a few years off & decided to play one last season before family comittments meant that dedicating most of my weekend to cricket was not possible......& I couldn't believe in the time I'd been out of the game, the increase in the amount of verbals...and mostly coming from the young guys (late teens) playing in the higher grades. The worst thing about this was that after the game, all these kids either jump in their cars, or get their Mummy or Daddy to pick them up & p!ssed off stright after the match......none of them stick around for a beer with the oppo anymore & therefore there's no opportunity to have a laugh about on-field stuff & consequently you have no respect for them next time you play them.
This is the main problem with cricket in Australia, particularly at the higher grade level. There's very few of the older guys sticking around club cricket anymore teaching the young blokes how to play & how to behave on field & off.
I still miss playing like you wouldn't believe....but I don't miss the moronic, witless cr@p than seems to go with it now.
cheers
Mal.