For a long time now, humble spectators like me have believed that the wonderful game of cricket was all about batting, bowling and fielding. Indeed, these three disciplines were called 'art' and the cricketers who mastered them were rightfully known as artists. We used to called GR Vishwanath an artist because of his impeccable late cuts and square drives. Similarly we called Shane Warne an artist because of the wonderful control he exhibited over that most difficult art of wrist spin bowling. But now, we are told, there are also some other arts that every school kid must learn if he has to be a top international cricketer. And one of them is the 'art' of sledging. And this amazing discovery of a new art form comes from no less a person than the captain of the Indian cricket team. As much as I have liked his on-field captaincy in the ongoing CB series, that comment from Mahender Singh Dhoni left me shocked and cold.
Almost immediately and inevitably, the media was full of debate on whether sledging has a place in international cricket or not. One faction called for the ICC to immediately ban sledging in any form. The other party argued that 'sledging' made for a more interesting game and without it, players would just be going about their business in much the same way as robots do. In order to make sense of all this and to give MS Dhoni a fair trial, I looked at the online Oxford Dictionary for the meaning of the word 'sledging / to sledge'. Ironically, one meaning of the word 'sledge' takes us back to Santa Claus and his sledge (vehicle) driven by Rudolph the reindeer. It reminds us of a time when we were all children, innocent and free from any aminosity towards each other. The other definition, staggeringly, is refered only to in cricket and it means ' offensive remarks made by a fielder to a batsman in order to break their concentration' (read it here). Do we interpret that to mean that sledging is prevalant only in cricket and not in other sports ?? So the dictionary definition states that 'to sledge' neccessarily means to make offensive remarks at somebody else. While it is too much to expect any cricket captain to know the dictionary definition of any word, we do expect him to be careful about his remarks. And if the Indian captain wants us to believe that to make 'offensive remarks' is an 'art form' which all youngsters should learn, then I have to reconsider my support to his team. Mind you, I do not subscribe to the view that cricketers should walk on the field with duct tape on their mouths and thoughts. Some emotion is perfectly acceptable, indeed required, on the field. Frustration and disgust at playing a wrong shot or bowling a full toss, dissapointment and dissent at being given a bad decision is not bad at all, since it shows your committment on the field of play. But to direct that frustration against an opposing team member is simply not on. And when it escalates into a war of words even off the field, then the umpires and ICC should act quickly.
Anyways coming back to the point, if MS Dhoni really meant what he said and if we are going to see his team indulge in all sorts of on-field chatter (there again, humorous chatter is fine, the umpire must know where to draw the line if the players are not mature enough), then I believe he has got off even more lightly than Mathew Hayden has. Sadly, in the midst of all the jingoism of 'big bad Aussies' vs Us, we (including the BCCI) have completely overlooked a potentially serious comment made by our own captain and he has gone scot-free.
Oh and there are 2-3 cricket matches yet to be played before this tour finally ends. I only hope that they pass of peacefully !!!!
Cheers
Amit
Almost immediately and inevitably, the media was full of debate on whether sledging has a place in international cricket or not. One faction called for the ICC to immediately ban sledging in any form. The other party argued that 'sledging' made for a more interesting game and without it, players would just be going about their business in much the same way as robots do. In order to make sense of all this and to give MS Dhoni a fair trial, I looked at the online Oxford Dictionary for the meaning of the word 'sledging / to sledge'. Ironically, one meaning of the word 'sledge' takes us back to Santa Claus and his sledge (vehicle) driven by Rudolph the reindeer. It reminds us of a time when we were all children, innocent and free from any aminosity towards each other. The other definition, staggeringly, is refered only to in cricket and it means ' offensive remarks made by a fielder to a batsman in order to break their concentration' (read it here). Do we interpret that to mean that sledging is prevalant only in cricket and not in other sports ?? So the dictionary definition states that 'to sledge' neccessarily means to make offensive remarks at somebody else. While it is too much to expect any cricket captain to know the dictionary definition of any word, we do expect him to be careful about his remarks. And if the Indian captain wants us to believe that to make 'offensive remarks' is an 'art form' which all youngsters should learn, then I have to reconsider my support to his team. Mind you, I do not subscribe to the view that cricketers should walk on the field with duct tape on their mouths and thoughts. Some emotion is perfectly acceptable, indeed required, on the field. Frustration and disgust at playing a wrong shot or bowling a full toss, dissapointment and dissent at being given a bad decision is not bad at all, since it shows your committment on the field of play. But to direct that frustration against an opposing team member is simply not on. And when it escalates into a war of words even off the field, then the umpires and ICC should act quickly.
Anyways coming back to the point, if MS Dhoni really meant what he said and if we are going to see his team indulge in all sorts of on-field chatter (there again, humorous chatter is fine, the umpire must know where to draw the line if the players are not mature enough), then I believe he has got off even more lightly than Mathew Hayden has. Sadly, in the midst of all the jingoism of 'big bad Aussies' vs Us, we (including the BCCI) have completely overlooked a potentially serious comment made by our own captain and he has gone scot-free.
Oh and there are 2-3 cricket matches yet to be played before this tour finally ends. I only hope that they pass of peacefully !!!!
Cheers
Amit
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