Advance Australia unfair, and other stories
Australia have a reputation when it comes to their brand of cricket, and every other test playing-nation has experienced it.
They have had major on-field incidents with almost every other nation. When you hear of something unsavoury happening in regards to sledging or on-field abuse, Australia are the common denominator.
Incidents that involve verbal barbs of a non-Aussie twang are incredibly rare in international cricket. Let’s go around the world to look at some of the many incidents.
v NEW ZEALAND
There are several minor incidents over the years which have seen the trans-Tasman rivals come to blows on the field.
But one of the more astonishing moments was when Mitchell Johnson appeared to headbutt Scott Styris during a one-day international at Napier in 2010.
Having been whacked for four by Styris, Johnson says he was then nudged in the back as he returned to his mark, starting the ugly scenes on the pitch.
‘‘I didn’t like that too much, so I got up into his grill – literally,’’ Johnson said in a column in 2016. ‘‘It was claimed that I headbutted him but that wasn’t quite the case. I’m not silly enough to headbutt someone who’s wearing a helmet.’’
Both players were fined for the clash, Johnson 60 per cent of his match fee and Styris 15 per cent.
v ENGLAND
‘‘Get ready for a broken f...ing arm.’’
Remember that? Michael Clarke’s elegant and eloquent ‘‘sledge’’ of James Anderson during the 2013 Ashes series, threatening a genuine number 11 with short pitch, bone-breaking bowling.
The two sides have always been at each other on the field, with the Ashes bringing out the best and worst in the players.
But the incident in 2013 will never be forgotten. Clarke was fined 20 per cent of his match fee.
v INDIA
Racism has reared its ugly head during the Australian rivalry with India over the years, with two reasonably recent incidents coming to mind.
The most famous is when Harbhajan Singh was alleged to have called Andrew Symonds a ‘‘monkey’’ during a 2008 test match.
In the Indian camp, they said Harbhajan was speaking in Hindi and while he was still being abusive (the reported he was abusing Symonds’ mother), there was no racist jibe.
Harbhajan had a three-match ban overturned on appeal following the incident.
Fast forward to 2015 and the two countries were involved in another ugly incident, with David Warner caught telling Rohit Sharma to ‘‘speak English’’ during an ODI.
Warner said after the incident that ‘‘if people get on the wrong side of me, I’m not going to back down’’.
He went on to say that Australia had to try not to ‘‘cross that line, because we’re all about playing cricket the right way’’.
Warner was fined 50 per cent of his match fee.
v SRI LANKA
In 2003, Darren Lehmann, the current Australia coach, stormed off the field after being run out against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in Brisbane.
Then he let out an astonishing racist outburst which led to a complaint from the Sri Lankan side.
Lehmann apologised for his language. He was later banned from cricket for five ODIs.
v WEST INDIES
Glenn McGrath and Ramnaresh Sarwan came face to face in a heated exchange during a test match in 2003.
The Australian quick had been chirping at Sarwan throughout the innings, but when one question saw Sarwan provide a quick and personal response, McGrath exploded.
He stormed towards Sarwan, standing over him while hurling abuse in his direction. It was a particularly ugly incident, sparked by a mention of McGrath’s wife.
The players did apologise to each other after the incident, but even the Australian Prime Minister got involved.
McGrath’s reaction was ‘‘a very Australian thing to do,’’ John Howard said. Despite admitting that McGrath may have started the spat, Howard went on to say: ‘‘I can understand a man defending his wife. I would, I’m sure you would and it’s a very natural Australian thing to do.’’
v SOUTH AFRICA
Cast your mind back a couple of days and you’ll find the inspiration for this look back at Australia’s ‘‘spirit’’.
Warner, already mentioned in this story, came to blows with Quinton de Kock over personal sledging between the two players.
De Kock is said to have mentioned Warner’s wife while out in the middle, but the South African camp have said that was in retaliation to hours of sledging from Warner and the Australians, some of which related to de Kock’s family.
The full story of the incident in Durban may never come out, but what is clear is that Australians are the common denominator.