Once Upon A…

At a match played at Hambledon Club in Britain in 1765, captain of Men of Hampshire XXII, Richard Nyren, got into a spat with a batsman from XXX Red Hot Hampshire Men, John Small. Nyren told his bowler: “Bowle hymme a harpsichord, see if he can playeth that.” 

Note: Sledge rhymes with hedge. Not the thing that dragged Santa in and rhymes with neigh.

All From Grace 

Amateur player and doctor W.G. Grace was an Englishman who played in the late 1800s. Some sports historians attribute the first sledge to him. Once, when he was bowled out, he told the umpire: “T’was the wind which took the bail off, good sir.” “Indeed, Doctor,” the umpire replied, “and let us hope the wind helps thee on thy journey back to the pavilion.”

Note: Sledging then was more repartee, less slanging match. 

Man to man

Australia was playing New South Wales in the mid 1960s. When Grahame Corling walked in to bat, the Aussies started singing — When a man loves a woman by soul singer Percy Sledge. Intent: to tease Corling whose wife was rumoured to be having an affair with a teammate. From Percy Sledge came sledging.

Note: The Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary defines sledge as: Sport attempt to break the concentration of a person batting by abuse, needling, etc.

From the Ashes 

The Ashes possibly was born off a sledge. In the 1882 Australia vs England match, Grace claimed a run out. Aussie bowler Frederick Spofforth said: “You are a cheat, sir. This will lose you the match.” The next day the Sporting Times wrote about English cricket being burnt down and the ashes sent to Australia. The 1974-75 Australians were called Ugly Australians. Waugh’s team was also notorious.

Note: Sledges are a combination of affronts; but timing is all.

Monkey talk 

Indian players came into sledging as late as 2001. It is believed Ganguly was the game changer. But in 2008 things got ugly. Sym-onds, a non-white Aussie player, accused Harbhajan Singh of calling him a “monkey”.

Note: Not all players react to sledging negatively. Coaches even tell players whom to leave alone. We’ll see; the Aussies are here, and one up.

Upala Sen