Have you ever thought of the fact that what would have been the scenario if there were eleven cricketers who were downright bold and liked to bring out the best in the game through a few words that would have ruffled the minds of even the greatest sportsmen? It would have been a team called the Sledgers’ XI. We would have seen the best of both worlds that not only would have been excellent on the field but also equally phenomenal with their words, teasing their opponents tantalizingly.
We will look at a list of eleven such gentlemen who probably left the ‘gentle’ part of the word back in their homes when they took the field.
Openers:
Matthew Hayden and Mike Atheron
Hayden seemed like a gigantic rock in the top order of any innings that he would have participated. However, he was not someone to hold back. Once being dismissed by Irfan Pathan in the 2004 VB Series opener, Parthiv Patel tried to mock Hayden by doing a “Hoo Hoo”, however, the southpaw was so livid at it that he threatened to punch Parthiv in his face if he repeated the feat.
Another incident which saw the beastly best of Matthew Hayden was in a domestic affair where he went on to exchange a few words with McGrath after smashing a boundary. McGrath couldn’t take those words and in a very ugly scene that followed thereafter, he shoved Hayden aside.
Mike Atherton was someone who could have killed his opponent with his smile and a few words that would have tipped them off-balance.
When Ian Healy called him a fucking cheat for staying in the ground despite being dismissed, Atherton was cool and calm and retaliated saying, “When in Rome, dear boy.”
Number 3:
Ricky Ponting
This man was the epitome of sledging in terms of the game. Leading Australia from the front, his words felt like a bullet for his oppositions. When Australia almost had England wrapped up at 101 for 7, Andrew Flintoff walked into bat. He quoted Ricky Ponting saying, “Here we go boys, look at the two superstars! They’re going to be happy with these two, aren’t they?’
Number 4:
Virat Kohli
India’s captain is not someone who responds to a sledge only through his bat. He ensures the fact that he is paying back his counterpart in the exact same coin. Once Sohail Khan of Pakistan mentioned that Kohli may be a lion but that is applicable only to his own den. Kohli remembered it word by word and paid back Sohail Khan in the ugliest coin.
After blasting a brilliant century, Kohli subjected a few words at Sohail Khan that irked him beyond measure and the Pakistani batsman wanted to engage with the Indian run machine. However, what Kohli did next was to urge the supporters to cheer together and do it in an even louder tone that left Sohail Khan seething.
Number 5:
Andrew Symonds
It was a strange incident that led to the rising stakes between Symonds and Harbhajan Singh. The battle started in the 2007 T-20 World Cup after the Turbanator got rid of Symonds in a high-octane encounter.
Though it is still unclear as of what was the reality of the incident, it is believed that Harbhajan called Symonds a monkey in the infamous Test Match which he eventually denied and Symonds instead of sledging him back directly involved his team mates into the controversy, thereby almost sinking the entire series. If you are going to sledge, make it big like him.
Number 6:
Tim Paine
It is not always necessary that the sleding will have to be downright aggressive and straight at your face. It can be humourous too. Australian captain, Tim Paine has his ways of getting under the skin of his opponents through some dry humour.
His banter with Risabh Pant went quite a mile before they let the humour take it all over. Paine also poked Murali Vijay once as he told him, “You seriously cannot like Virat Kohli as a bloke”.
Just as Rohit Sharma was in his early stage of assembling his innings against the mighty Aussies, Paine started goading Sharma to go for the biggie. His exact words were, “It’s a bit of a toss-up between Royals and Indians for me. But if Rohit hits a six now, I’m changing to Mumbai.”
Number 7:
Javed Miandad
We all know what unfolded between Kiran More and Miandad in the remarkable encounter between India and Pakistan at the 1992 World Cup. Right since the span of Miandad’s batting, More kept on appealing for unnecessary causes, thereby irking Miandad. Despite trying to keep his signature calm, the Pakistani batsman finally exploded as he jumped up and showed a derogatory appealing stance to More, thereby gifting cricket an endless moment to remember.
Number 8:
Shahid Afridi:
One of the hardest-hitting all-rounders in the history of cricket, Afridi ended up debarring himself from participating in a series.
As India was locked in a crucial battle with Pakistan in World Cup 2003, Afridi sledged almost every Indian cricketer. In the process, ICC fined him 50 percent of the match fee and was asked to be excluded of the upcoming Sharjah Test Series.
Number 9:
Shane Warne
One of the best spinners to have ever graced the game, his dig at his couterparts with mordant words are well remembered across the world.
He teamed up with Michael Clarke to call Ian Bell as Sherminator and in another incident derided Paul Collingwood by saying, “You’ve got an MBE, right? For scoring 17 at The Oval? That’s embarrassing.”
Number 10:
Glenn Mcgrath
Though this situation didn’t end too well for Pidge, yet he was the one who thought of rocking Sarwan with a nasty remark. Just as Sarwan was playing one of his most remarkable innings, ushering West Indies to what was supposed to be a remarkable victory, McGrath asked Sarwan, “What does Brian Lara’s dick taste like?”
Sarwan responded, “I don’t know, ask your wife”.
Now with McGrath’s wife severely ill at that point in time, he started hurling abuses at Sarwan, pointing a finger at him menacingly.
Number 11:
Merv Hughes:
One of Australia’s express trains in context of fast bowling, Hughes left an immortal legacy behind him. However, this burly pacer was also one of the most loquacious sledgers in the history of the game.
When Viv Richards asked Hughes not to stare at him, Hughes bowled an absolute screamer that flew past the West Indian great like a tracer bullet. He walked up to Richards and said, “In my culture we just say fuck-off”.
