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should sledging be banned?

Dasa

International Vice-Captain
open365 said:
I find nothing realy more exciting or intriuging in cricket than Andre Nel bowling to Graham Thorpe. Nel beats his inside edge,runs down the wicket and stares manically at him,Thorpe looks at him in dis-dain and goes on to score a 100. It makes acheivements sweeter.
Something like that's a bit different to sledging though...
 

Pratters

Cricket, Lovely Cricket
Top_Cat said:
Golf ain't exactly the bastian of sportsmanship you think it is. Plenty of mind games go on between the players and you're deluding yourself if you think otherwise. Ditto for any high-level competitive sport and I defy anyone to come up with an example otherwise.
Mind games and sledging are not the same things though. Are golfers sledging or even an Andy Roddick taking shots at Roger Federer abusing on the tennis court? Not really.

Sledging is a reality of sport and wishing it go away will achieve diddly-squat.
Well my idea of sport is not abusing opponents on the field to try and find a weakness apart from playing ability. I know sledging is not going to go away. Does not mean I cannot have my judgement of what sport should be.

At even mid-level sport, it's not. Sorry.
Yes it is not. I know that. But I am an idealist. I also believe batsmen should walk when they know its out, and bowlers shouldnt appeal when they know its not out. Even tell some thing which may go against their team but is right so that a right decision is enacted.

Its not going to happen and doesnt happen. Doesnt mean that what happens is right.
 

Pratters

Cricket, Lovely Cricket
Top_Cat said:
At a professional level, it's far different to that. Even at club level, it's different. Trying your best is all well and good but if you invest heavily in physical and emotional terms in playing a sport by sacrificing much of the others things you might enjoy, putting-in on the training track, etc. do you seriously expect someone who has done all that to just accept when the opponent plays better and do nothing else? Professional sport is a battle of the minds and wills as much as the physical aspects of the game. You just characterising it as 'insecurity' shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what sledging actually is. It's not just two guys going at each other, screaming and spitting insults in various languages. It's about getting into the mind of your opponent too.

If you beat a batsman a few times outside off-stump and it's because he's nervous, do you honestly expect peopel to just sit-back and wait for him to get himself out? Come on. In Tests, a little battle like that can swing a series. A well-put dig (not too insulting) like "Mate, what are you doing out here? Just get out already and stop wasting our time." followed-up by a short-and-wide ball could mean the difference between that batsman getting through the tough period and scoring a ton vs them getting into a mental muddle and getting out to the sucker-punch.
In tennis, when a player double faults, or cannot pick a serve, do you advocate the opponent to start sledging, shouting on him to create apparent mental pressure?

It would look silly. It looks silly in cricket as well. We just dont object to it because it has become common place.
 

Pratters

Cricket, Lovely Cricket
vic_orthdox said:
If you're playing against an opponent and see a technical weakness, you should be looking to exploit it. If you're playing against an opponent for the first time, you need to test out how his technique handles the outswinger, the yorker, the short ball.

If you're playing against an opponent and notice a mental weakness, you should be looking to exploit it. If you're playing against an opponent for the first time, you need to find out how willing he is for the battle, against the ball and against his own mind.
I agree that a player's playing ability has to be tested.

Regarding mental ability - there are enough mental pressures on the player - the match situation, his personal issue to fight for his place in the team, his financial position which could be affected by the knock he is playing.

Now if the player can muster a score in these pressures against quality opposition, it is good enough.

Why should he have to tolerate sledging from bowlers just because he is trying to play his part in his team? If X was abused by some one on the street, he could slap the guy. Why should he tolerate insults while batting. Its derogatory to the person batting and silly.

Regarding entertainment value - when Warne is bowling to Tendulkar, it is a gripping contest, no words need to be spoken.

When McGrath bowls a superb ball to dismiss batsman X,Y or Z, we appreciate how nagging the guy has been through his spell with his line.

Do we need to know the guy who has so much cricketing skills also has a plethora of sledging lines up his sleeve? Not really.

Sport is exciting enough without sledging matches. Characters can exist without sledging being there.
 
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vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
C_C said:
If you ever go to Bhutan, you'd see what sports is really supposed to be played like. You'd have to see their archery competitions to get the hang of what i am saying - it is basically a straightforward archery competion, testing accuracy. But the competitors, spectators, etc. all intermingle freely, lots of laughing around, joking around , drinking ( even the competitors themselves drink) and competitors egging each other on, interspersed with moments of intense concentration, pin-drop silence and perfect form ( not so perfect when the competitors get drunk).
Or I could just go watch local cricket.
 

Top_Cat

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Or I could just go watch local cricket.
Indeed.

C_C: You're making value judgements about what sport 'should' be. That's the way you look at sports, good on you. No objection here. By the same token, I don't think it's fair to judge someone who places a lot more personal importance in a sport. For some people, it's almost literally life-and-death. For me I mean; I once made a joke to my Scottish relatives about their local team (Queen of the South). The next thing which occurred was me ducking a swift swipe to the back of the head. I learnt a valuable lesson there; don't screw with Scottish people.

Oh wait, what was my point?

:D
 

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