Banning sledging won't fix lip problem
Greg Baum, writing in the Age , says the ICC might as well legislate to get rid of bad breath and smelly armpits if it wants to cut sledging from the game.
Peter English
25-Feb-2013
Greg Baum, writing in the Age, says the ICC might as well legislate to get rid of bad breath and smelly armpits if it wants to cut sledging from the game.
Its proposal is a bureaucrat's solution to cultural problem. Make a rule, press a button, tick a box, all fixed. But what is fixed? No one has properly established even what constitutes sledging.
Ian Chappell bristles to be called the father of sledging; he maintains his Australian teams were noisy, but never personal. Australia has never been anything less than noisy since. No one wants a foul-mouthed cacophony out there. But nor does anyone expect churchy silence.
Simon Katich tells the Daily Telegraph he would have no problems playing under Ricky Ponting if he was picked in the squad for the West Indies tour and has dismissed a report of a rift with the captain.
Peter English is former Australasia editor of ESPNcricinfo