From Glen McGrath VS Ramnaresh Sarwan to Daryll Cullinan VS Shane Warne, the concept of sledging is gaining more and more prominence in the modern game. But the question is, is it really pertinent for the existence of Cricket. Well, to be candid, I don’t think so. Several cricketers have said from time to time that sledging gives them the extra edge to punch above their weight. Players like Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla never indulges themselves in such activities and are always on the top of their game. So this argument is completely flawed. After the test series between India and England in 2014, James Anderson said that he bowls better when he is angry and have a word or two with the opposition batsmen. But in the recently concluded Ashes, he bowled much better without even a single word spoken with the batsmen.
Cricket is not a contact sport and we are seeing more and more cases in which players are indulging in physical contact with opposition players. ICC have the rules and guidelines regarding penalties etc, but till the time the mentality regarding sledging doesn’t change, it will be very difficult to curb these instances.
The concept of “Metal Disintegration” through getting under oppositions’ skin was pioneered by Steve Waugh and that team went to become one of the greatest teams of all time. But we have to remember that this was achieved not merely by sledging, but because that team consisted of several greats such as Shane Warne, Glen McGrath and many more. The part played by sledging was probably less than 1%.
One more important thing is the word “Sledging” doesn’t represent the gravity of activity it explains. So players use this word in interviews and press conferences without any hesitation. But in reality, sledging is nothing more than talking trash on the cricket field as it’s not a part of the game and it is not at all required. If we interchange the words, I think it will make a huge difference. For example it’s allright for a player to say “I was sledging Player B”. But he will think 10 times before saying “I was trash-talking with player B” in a press conference.
I urge all the people who love this beautiful sport to use “Trash-Talking” in place of “Sledging” from now on to explain any such incident. I think it will make a huge difference. Because after all no player wants to do trash-talking on the cricket field!
