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Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Sledging ~ baby-sitting !!


Merv Hughes was all over Gooch in one test and proceeded to say: "Would you like me to bowl a piano and see if you can play that".  In another instance, he asked Robin Smith whether he would read the back of the bat for instructions to hit the ball ! .. .. … For years, Australia made winning a habit. Annihilating the opposition with savage blows and leaving it to pick up the pieces. Most teams would be beaten between the ears much ahead of the completion of a series. Having delivered body blows at will at the hapless rival, the Aussies would then enjoy a day away from the cricket field.

They will claim that they play the game hardway ! ~ would claim that they will do all that is required for winning !! ~ the cuss word is ‘Sledging’ .. those olden days, when Aussies were all powerful – when Thommo, Lillee, Walker, Hughes and somebody ran in hard, hurled at pace, batsman were continuously harassed by comments from the close-in cordon ! verbal harangue aimed at distracting, diverting and demonising opponents .. ..  Aussies specialised in that, England too were not far behind .. ..

Aussie media hailed that Merv Hughes’ sense of humour and on-pitch persona were a large part of his success as a fast bowler. He was extremely aggressive, making use of a fearsome stare to unnerve batsmen, as well as regular chat, threats and jokes.His sledges (as also of his teammates) ranged from the crude to the genuinely witty—from blunt swearing to advising.  Australians are known for sledging ….and  David Warner was another pushy advocate. Once he went far on an on-field spar with Rohit Sharma, instructing him to speak English ! ~ ‘Oneynam, no ball ekak danna puluwan’ - can you translate that [certain instruction given by Dilshan to bowl a noball when 1 was required for a win- Shewag stranded on 99*]  New Zealand cricket great Martin Crowe  slammed 'childish' David Warner for his 'thuggish behaviour' after the Australian opener got engaged in a slanging match with Rohit Sharma. 

There are friendly banters too – in  1999 World Cup Australia needed to beat South Africa to keep their tournament hopes alive. Steve Waugh was on 56* gifted Gibbs a simple catch. Gibbs took the catch, went to celebrate the catch, ended up dropping,  leaving Waugh to retort: "You've just dropped the World Cup- mate". During a One-dayer between Australia and Sri Lanka Ranatunga decided he needed a runner. The stump microphone then picked up  sledge from Healy: "You don't get a runner for being an overweight, fat cunt".In a county match in England, Thomas was bowling to Richards and getting a few to whizz past the bat. After Richards played and missed another one, Thomas said: "It's red, it's round. Now fucken hit it!". An enraged  Richards sent  the next ball out of the ground, telling -  "You know what it looks like now go and get it."

During the Big Bash - Shane Warne was  suspended for a match and fined $4,500 after being found guilty of three of the four misconduct charges arising from his Twenty20 Big Bash clash with West Indies allrounder Marlon Samuels. Shanee was found guilty of making “inappropriate and deliberate physical contact” but was cleared of deliberately throwing the ball at Samuels in an inappropriate or dangerous manner.

Stump mike often throws interesting chats – Rishab Pant is another chatterer ! – at Adelaide, during Aussie chase, Rishabh Pant took over the commentary for an entire over during Day 5 of a thrilling Test between India and Australia and cricket fans have mixed reactions about his performance. Come on Pat, you're not putting the bad ball away!" Pant quipped during Ashwin's over. "Tough to play here," he added in an attempt to unnerve the batsman. Gavaskar insisted that it's okay for wicketkeepers to talk to their bowlers and egg them on but he pointed out the risk of sledging an opposition player, especially a fast bowler. As Cummins tried to block everything that came his way, Pant chirped: "Let's see some sixes, come on Patty", "Not going for the shots Patty ? .. .. but perhaps it was a friendly banter to his IPL teammate !!

In a perfect world, Usman Khawaja would be able to concentrate solely on batting and solidify himself as the rock of Australia's top order.Now, more than ever, his team needs him to produce a knock emblematic of a Test No.3 batsman at a time when the microscope is firmly on a national team stripped of its leading two run scorers.  Khawaja’s situation, however, is more complex at the moment for reasons completely out of his control.  The 32-year-old was riled by an autograph hunter's sledge about his brother Arsalan, who is behind bars facing charges of attempting to pervert justice and forgery after allegedly setting up a colleague at the University of New South Wales.Police allege Arsalan Khawaja framed Mohamed Kamer Nilar Nizamdeen by making it appear as if his fellow UNSW employee planned to commit a terrorist attack. The two, it is alleged, were squabbling over a woman.Last Saturday, he was arrested again after he allegedly tried to contact a witness and in doing so, broke strict bail conditions.

Now at Melbourne – the two glovemen, Paine and Pant,  exchanged some humorous banter – and now Tim Paine’s wife has labelled Indian cricketer Rishabh Pant the “best babysitter” in a light-hearted viral social media post !!

“Big MS [Dhoni] is back in the one-day squad too, we might get him [Pant] down to the Hurricanes... we need a batter," Paine was heard saying over the stump microphone during the Boxing Day Test.“Fancy that, Pantsy? Extend your little Aussie holiday. Beautiful town Hobart too. I’ll get you a nice apartment on the waterfront. Do some baby sitting as me and my wife will go for movies – said Paine.

The banter had continued the next day with Pant speaking  toMayank Agarwal, “We got a special guest today. Have you ever heard of a temporary captain, ever, Mayank?” he quipped. Then to Jaddu – he quipped, you need not do anything, just bowl – anyway he will get out ! – India went on to beat Australia by 137 runs and take 2-1 lead. 

Mrs Paine has posted a photo on her Instagram story of Pant holding one of the couple's children with the caption "best babysitter" to go with a laughing emoji. A screenshot of the photo was circulated far and wide on social media on Tuesday afternoon and it seems perhaps Mr and Mrs Paine can go to the movies – all in good humour as Rishab Pant visited the home of Paine and played around with his kids. .. ..

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
2nd Jan 2019.

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