There are ways to sledge – and ways not to...

Former Australia Test star now enjoying club cricket in the North-east

Alot of chat this week around the send-off Jos Buttler received during Sunday’s second ODI in Dhaka. My view is that, looking back and in hindsight, the Bangladesh players would probably choose to have celebrated a little differently. But emotions were running high and the home side knew that wicket was the big one as they chased victory.

Growing up in Australia, sledging and send-offs were part and parcel of the game. There were guys who were really quick to get in your face, while others would be more ‘tactical’ with their words, looking to get inside your head and wear you down, like Steve Waugh did, below. Ultimately, the goal was to put you off your game and the latter was often the best form of attack in that regard.

I personally wasn’t quick-witted enough to get involved in the verbals, and would leave others to it. I was happy to focus on my game, but that didn’t mean I didn’t receive my fair share of insults and playing Grade cricket in Australia there were always plenty flying around.

Club cricket is the area where sledging can be a concern. There really isn’t anyone there apart from the umpires, who can’t hear everything that goes on. The TV cameras and the microphones pick everything up at professional level, but in club cricket it’s down to the players to police themselves and things can get out of hand.

I remember playing a club game once in Perth and I was batting with Damien Martyn. I would have been around 16 at the time but Damien had already played international cricket, and fast bowlers would always step it up when a big name came to the crease. It was during a period of Damien’s career when he was out of the Australian team (before he enjoyed his Second Coming and the bucketload of runs that would follow in the early noughties).

The flashpoint came when Damien – facing one of the league’s hothead bowlers, a guy called Mark Wossie – flicked one down to fine leg and, keeping an eye on the ball over his shoulder to see if there was a second run there, clattered into Wossie who more or less shoulder barged him to the ground. That was as much of a blow-up as I saw, and it came about because the two had been engaging in a bit of chat.

This is the very ugly side of sledging and send-offs, but I really don’t think there is a problem at the top level. Would Buttler have gone a step further last Sunday and done something that would have really damaged the game and his career? I don’t think so. Players know they have a responsibility; emotions are one thing but violence is a different issue altogether. Players accept where the line is, and they know they can’t step over it.

But the really good sledgers do get under your skin. Touring England in 2009, the likes of Jimmy Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann all hunted in packs. There was never any abuse or chat that was pushing the boundaries, but they had a way, much like Waugh used to, of getting inside your head. They would talk about you to other players and discuss your weaknesses. I scored a few runs in that series so I guess you could say it didn’t really work with me, but sledging certainly has its place in the game and I wouldn’t want us to lose it. Keep an eye on it, of course, but let the umpires do that and if anything gets said that is deemed too strong, the officials can deal with it after.