Sport Today

hello
Who cares who invented it, it needs to be stopped NOW.
Some god damn person who is into abuse of the physical and verbal kind.
The most despicable occasion of which occurred yesterday. Monday 25th at
Sut??? Cold????? ( I hide the name for the players sake) in the most pleasant
surroundings possible. A burly 30+ year old player whose team had lost had to
take it out on an 18 year old by pushing and shoving! To his credit the 18 year
old showed the kind of experience that his 'elder' should have had and ignored
the bully-boy. I shall be involving the police if and when it occurs again
No threat just a promise.
If the powers that be can not remove sledging ( the feature and loss that led
to the ***) then the law on *** has to be used. We may be
heading for a cricket rage event soon if these so called elder players can not
accept defeat at the hands of the young and 'less experienced' though obviously
more mature players.
I look forward to meeting the player in the return match and giving him my
words of wisdom direct to his face. In a clear non-provocative wa, I hope he
can see reason before he ends in court

There appears to be several levels of  "sledging" ranging from your
basic leg pull to downright abuse. Beware though, it is all too easy to
get involved in "sledging"!!
Having started playing cricket late in life I am not as skilled as many
of the people I play with. As a result I have been the target of many a
"sledging", derisory nickname etc. etc. If I did not enjoy the game so
much I would jack it in.
Anyway, one evening sitting in the clubhouse bar I "sledged". It was a
good one and got me a round of applause. It also stopped people
"sledging" me for a few hours.
I'm not sure if it's true of everyone and I'm not condoning it but, I
think a lot of people do it to take attention away from their own
failings.

It's not clever or nice. Don't do it!

Firstly, sledging is not of itself a bad thing.  It has been around for as
long as our history of the game can tell us.  Like all things, there is an
element of moderation required to keep it from becoming abusive.

I have never been known as the silent one on the oval.  I found that what
one opponent may regard as a witticism and have a giggle with me, another
opponent can find personally offensive.  It all has to do with how sensitive
and neurotic the opponent is.

I have a pronounced limp and a Canadian accent.  Trust me, that combination
was irresistible to the chronic sledgers I played against.  I even 'copped'
some as an umpire.  As a player I usually gave at least if not more than I
got.  As an umpire, because I could not retaliate, I used a brief word to
the Captain if it looked like getting out of hand.

Once when umpiring a bowler who insisted on overstepping the line in his
delivery, he started to get quite irate about the No Balls. He walked up to
me and said "how can you watch my feet all the time and keep your eyes on
the batsman as well".  I responded: "at your pace I just leisurely lift my
eyes and have lots of time".  Since he was a truly quick bowler, he took
this as I meant it--humour.  He nodded, smiled and went back and started
bowling from nearly two feet behind the Popping crease.  I was treading on
thin ice because another bowler could have taken grave offence and
legitimately reported me.

Don

Firstly, sledging is not of itself a bad thing.  It has been around for as
long as our history of the game can tell us.  Like all things, there is an
element of moderation required to keep it from becoming abusive.

I have never been known as the silent one on the oval.  I found that what
one opponent may regard as a witticism and have a giggle with me, another
opponent can find personally offensive.  It all has to do with how sensitive
and neurotic the opponent is.

I have a pronounced limp and a Canadian accent.  Trust me, that combination
was irresistible to the chronic sledgers I played against.  I even 'copped'
some as an umpire.  As a player I usually gave at least if not more than I
got.  As an umpire, because I could not retaliate, I used a brief word to
the Captain if it looked like getting out of hand.

Once when umpiring a bowler who insisted on overstepping the line in his
delivery, he started to get quite irate about the No Balls. He walked up to
me and said "how can you watch my feet all the time and keep your eyes on
the batsman as well".  I responded: "at your pace I just leisurely lift my
eyes and have lots of time".  Since he was a truly quick bowler, he took
this as I meant it--humour.  He nodded, smiled and went back and started
bowling from nearly two feet behind the Popping crease.  I was treading on
thin ice because another bowler could have taken grave offence and
legitimately reported me.

Don