The Ashes : Australia versus England sledge contest !

The Australians are finally back in it at the Ashes. A target of 390 runs with the England batsmen reeling at 81/5, you would expect this to culminate in an Australian victory in this third Ashes test. Of course, I, like most of the cricketing fans around the world hope for an English miracle but am happy that the Ashes is not turning out to as hopelessly one-sided as we thought it would be after the first test. Well, it took some great pace bowling from Mitchell Johnson and batting from Hussey and Watson to get them back into the Ashes and of course, lot of verbal “support” from the rest of the team, a trademark of the Australian side.

Michael Hussey scored a crucial hundred in the third Ashes Test Match.

Australians have always been known for their rude behavior on field and lack of sportsmanship. They justify it as a war tactic. A strategic move to unsettle the opponent to produce a mistake. It was quite evident on the 2nd day of the Ashes that all is fair in love and war. Ponting, Siddle, Johnson visibly had altercations with Anderson, Pietersen and Prior with the rest of the team chipping in with “support” from every corner. Johnson even had the cheek to ask for Pietersen’s number as he was walking back to the pavilion!

From an unbiased point of view, I would have to admit that it is not just the Australians who are involved in this sledging war. The English haven’t been quiet either this Ashes. India-Pakistan matches have always been peppered with the more than occasional slang and quite a lot of banter. West Indies were notorious for banter during the reign of “Big C” Clive Lloyd, but it was generally just banter not abuse.

The fact is that the Australians were the ones who brought it into cricket. Ian Chappell even claims the term originated from Adelaide in the 1963-1964 or 1964-1965 Sheffield Shield season. A cricketer who swore in the presence of a woman was taken to be like a sledgehammer, and so called a “Percy” or “Sledge” from singer Percy Sledge (whose song When a Man Loves a Woman was popular at the time). Thus, directing insults or obscenities at the opposition team became known as “sledging”.

Thus, many different varied incidents involving Australian players can be no coincidence. They do it intentionally and pride themselves for it. McGrath, being the great bowler that he is, does not need to resort to such dirty tactics to succeed. His altercations with Eddo Brandes and Ramnaresh Sarwan have shown how obscene he can be on the cricket field. He was rightly put in his place each time. Ponting, Healy, Warne, Rodney Marsh, Merv Hughes have all been part of very scandalous exchanges on the cricket pitch which has not helped their reputation one bit. Steve Waugh was almost beaten up by Curtly Ambrose during one such incident during a test match in Trinidad.

Since I belong to the Tendulkar era, I believe that controlled aggression always served a better purpose than blasting your mouth off at every opportunity you get. It has worked for the Master Blaster and he has let the bat do the talking. This is one reason why Ponting will never reach the dizzying heights Tendulkar has reached. The Little One’s humility knows no bounds.

So, Australians will continue to give the Englishmen a mouthful every time they step up to the crease. Sledging is an unsaid rule in today’s game, just that wearing the Baggy Green entitles you to exercise it more. The “Gentlemen’s Game” will never be the same!