sledging (cricket)

In the sport of cricket, sledging is the practice of deliberately insulting or verbally intimidating an opposing player. The purpose is to try to weaken the opponent's concentration, thereby causing them to underperform or be more prone to error. It can be effective because the batsman stands well within hearing range of the bowler and certain close fielders, and ''vice versa''. The insults may be direct or may feature in conversations among fielders which are intended to be overheard by the batsman. The term has also been used in other sports, as when the tennis player Nick Kyrgios insulted his opponent, Stan Wawrinka, by referring to a purported encounter between another player and the latter's girlfriend.

There is debate in the cricketing world as to whether sledging constitutes deliberately poor sportsmanship or is simply good-humoured banter. Sledging is sometimes interpreted as abuse, and it is widely acknowledged some comments aimed as sledges do sometimes cross the line into personal abuse.

Sledging can sometimes be a humorous attempt at distraction. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh referred to the practice as one of "mental disintegration".

Origin

Australian newspapers acknowledged "sledging" as a term in the mid-1970s. Despite the relatively recent coining of the term, the practice is as old as cricket itself, with historical accounts of witty banter between players being quite common. W. G. Grace and his brother E. M. were noted throughout their careers for being "noisy and boisterous" on the field. W. G. admitted that they used to "chaff" (i.e., tease) opponents, and this is seen as part of the gamesmanship for which E. M. and W. G. were always controversial.Rae, p.19.

According to Ian Chappell, the use of "sledging" as a term originated at Adelaide Oval in either the 1963–1964 or 1964–1965 Sheffield Shield competition. Chappell claims that a cricketer who swore in the presence of a woman was said to have reacted to an incident "like a sledgehammer". As a result, the direction of insults or obscenities at opponents became known as "sledging".

According to the BBC
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