SLEDGING: Pushing cricketers beyond their limits or Just a distraction from the game?
“Sledging has been the fuel to some of the biggest feuds in cricketing history. But, it has also provided some of the best cricket via motivated players.”
Sledging has 2 sides to it. While sledging has been the precursor to cricket’s ugliest on-field incidents, indirectly, believe it or not, it has been a source of many a motivated and spirited performances. What were just ordinary matches before it began, transpired into the best of matches because somebody sledged somebody. Sledging, in its innate sense is negative, bad, unhealthy, call it whatever. But, sledging is acquired. It is derived. It is brought into the game by players who desire to add another dimension to their skills or compensate for the lack of it.
Sledging was first seen practised by Australians to leak a sense of aggressiveness from their playing style. Merv Hughes, Dennis Lillee, Ricky Ponting are some names that come to the mind in a flash. Even if you glance at the biggest incidences involving sledging, you’ll notice that there was Australia involved. Sledging has probably been Australia’s fuel all this while and no one realised. Monkeygate, Kohli-Faulkner, Johnson-Kohli, James Anderson-Sir Jadeja are just some incidences I’ll name as an Indian, because in all them, India came out on top. Wait a second, there’s another common link – INDIA. Something to think about? Nah. We are not sledgers, or at least we think we are not.
If teams were people, Australia would be the captain of sledging, West Indies would be the Vice Captain. India would be that quiet player who comes out only against Pakistan. Ditto for Pakistan. England would be that sophisticated boy who secretly wishes he could sledge. South Africa would be a bloke who’s caught up in his own problems to even sledge. New Zealand would be the younger brother of the captain; no one agrees that they are brothers. Srilanka would be a guy who doesn’t sledge and has a reputation of not getting sledged.
How does the on-the-field sledging shape the relations between 2 nations as cricketing entities? It is a fair question to ask. After all, isn’t ASHES the result of an incident of sledging! Every nation now knows that sledging must be present between 2 nations. The sledging must be unique, a brand name in its own and controlled, so that it doesn’t spread like gossip among women. As pointed out by that exceptional quote in the beginning, ‘Sledging’ helps make matches interesting. Moreover, it helps make players more interesting. Initially, sledging was done to get in the minds of the rival, to throw the rival off his game and in the process win matches. But, via evolution, sledging has reached a point where everyone practices it; the intensity is not the same and there is a presence of comradeship among players. That can be attributed to the T20 leagues around the world that take place.
Pardon me. I have drifted away from the topic. Let me drift back. Does sledging push cricketers beyond their limits or is it just a distraction from the game? Or, is it a cheap trick employed by players who lack the ability to win a game based on their own merits? I feel it is a mixture of the first 2(obviously, the topic suggests that). Sledging gives you a motivation, motivation to perform for your team and win the game, like no other motivation technique does. A prep talk from the captain or even a speech from Hitler won’t give you as much motivation as being sledged will. So, that’s 1 positive out of sledging. Let’s not milk more out.
There is no better feeling in the world for a cricketer than answering the sledging with bat or ball. There have been many incidences where the ‘sledgees’ have come out on top and the sledgers have paid a huge price. Yuvraj Singh’s 6 sixes off Stuart Broad after being sledged by Andrew Flintoff tops the list. India won a Test match in Perth in 2008 after the Monkeygate incident and a series of bad umpiring decisions. Virat Kohli scored tons of runs, and will only continue to score tons of runs against Australia after being sledged by the crowd.
There is something known as planned sledging. Analytics, numbers and watching archived footage has found its way in cricket. Thus, planned sledging comes to the fore. There are players who get thrown off their mark when they are sledged. Such players are deliberately sledged to negate the effect they can have on the outcome of the game. Want it or not, getting sledged or being part of sledging stays put on your mind for a long time.
The icing of a cake is always interesting. Let’s top this ‘cake’ with an icing you WILL like. Sledging is good. Sledging is bad. Sledging incepts motivation. Sledging makes rivals. Sledging brings out unexpected friendships. Sledging forms on-field rivalries. Sledging brings out the best in you. Sledging also hampers your mindset. Sledging creates a negative aura. Sledging creates a competitive environment. Sometimes, sledging even gives you purpose. I use this line again, but, sledging is a junk food that harms everybody but is liked by everybody!
