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
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