True Or False?: Sledging

[Ikki]

Thanks to Inside Cricket magazine for this True or False quiz on sledging. It replies to certain emails carrying supposed sledges made by some of these players. Enjoy.

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Glenn McGrath was bowling to portly Zimbabwean Eddo Brandes and said: "Hey Eddo - why are you so fat?" Brandes replied: "Because everytime I **** your wife, she gives me a biscuit."

FALSE!: "There's no truth to it at all," McGrath tells Inside Cricket. Ian Healy concurs: "I'm not sure Eddo even played against McGrath. They may have played a tour match in Bulawayo at best...but that sort of game would never have reached tense heights." We can confirm McGrath and Brandes did meet once in a Zimbabwe President's XI match in Bulawayo. But the line itself never happened.

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Shane Warne to incoming batsman Daryll Cullinan: "I've been waiting two years for this," Cullinan: "Looks like you've spent it eating."

[PROBABLY] FALSE!: Warbe and Cullinan elected not to comment on this one, perhaps faering that it would simply fuel the rumour mill. So, perhaps it's true. Likely, though, it is not. "I've got no memory of it whatsoever," says Healy who was keeping during all of Cullinan's innings against Warne. We asked another senior player of the time, who fielded in close, his view of the Brandes and Cullinan sledges, "Like you I have heard the stories," he says, "However I cannot recall them actually being said on the field."

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In a Sheffield Shield game between NSAW and SA, Steve Waugh was taking an eternity to take guard, asking the umpire for centre, middle and leg, two legs - the whole lot. Then he stepped away towards leg side and had another look around the field, before re-checking centre. Jamie Siddons at slip decided enough was enough, "For Christ's sake," he yelled out, "It's not a Test match." To which Steve replied: "Of course it isn't. You're here."

FALSE!: "I don't remember it ever happening," laughs Jamie Siddons. "And wicketkeeper Tim Nielsen who stood beside me when I was at slip most of my career, can't remember it happening either. Sorry, it's a good line - even witty - but it didn't ever happen."

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During a Test match in the West Indies, Merv Hughes was staring at Viv Richards after deliveries. Viv said: "This is my island, my culture. Don't you be staring at me like that." Merv didn't reply, but after dismissing him, said: "Mate, in our culture we just say **** off."

TRUE!: "I thought I'd had Viv fairly adjacent lbw but the ump didn't agree," Hughes recalls. "I gave Viv a bit of a glare and he was saying: 'This is my culture, these are my people, don't be staring at me like that'. Next over Allan Border brought Dean Jones into silly mid-off, right under Viv's nose. And Viv's tried to slog me but been caught at mid-off. When I ran past I said: 'Mate in our culture we'll just tell you to **** off." Wonderful repartee Merv!

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After Hershelle Gibbs dropped Steve Waugh during the '99 World Cup, Waugh said: "Son, you've just dropped the World Cup".

FALSE!: "I wasn't quite that clever," Waugh confided to Inside Cricket this season, "I wish I could claim that and the mytg us sort of perpetuated and I'm going to break it a bit but it wasn't quite that, I just said: "Look, do you realise you've just cost your team the game?'".

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Glamorgan fast bowler Greg Thomas, after beating Somerset's Viv Richards several times in one over said: "Hey Viv, it's round, it's red and weighs 5 ounces. Now try playing it!" Viv responded by smashing the ball out of the ground and said: "You know what it looks like, now you go and find it!"

TRUE!: While players in this yarn have been cited as anyone from Ricky Ponting to Sir Garfield Sovers, it was Richards who made the remark, as Glamorgan archivist Andrew Hignell confirmed for us.

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Rod Marsh to Ian Botham: "G'Day Ian. How's your wife and my kids?"

FALSE!: "It didn't happen." says Marsh. "It's not true at all." Ian Chappell concurs: "I wasn't playing in the 1977 series but Rodney would never have said that. We were always aware that references to wives, girlfriends, mothers etc were verboten."

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In the 1991 Adelaide Test, Javed Miandad called Merv Hughes a "fat bus conductor." A few balls later Merv dismissed Javed and as he ran past him said: 'Tickets please!'

TRUE!: "Though he actually called me a fat bus driver," says Hughes. "Javed played and missed a few times and I;d give him a glare and want to say something, but it was team policy not to target him verbally...Then he called me a fat bus driver! When I got him I said: "Tickets please!"

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Arjuna Ranatunga called for a runner in a one-dayer. Ian Healy: "You don't get a runner for being an overweight, unfit, fat ****!"

FALSE!: "I told him he couldn't get a runner for being unfit," says Healy. "He said, 'I've got a cramp'. I said 'Yeah, because you're fat. Have a look at yourself'. But that email thing, it's ********, i've never called anyone in my career a c-word or a coloured word. That's not right."

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Healy also said of Ranatunga: "Hey Warney, put a Mars Bars on a good length, that'll get him out of his crease".

FALSE!: Healy: "That wasn't Arjuna. It was a little guy in South Africa, Kosie Venter."

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

You might want to edit this so it's not bypassing the filter, otherwise it might get closed.

Interesting thread, though.

 

[Ikki]

You might want to edit this so it's not bypassing the filter, otherwise it might get closed.

Interesting thread, though.

Alright, thought the f and c should be there so we know which word they're using but I'll change it.

 

[Armadillo]

Interesting, but disappointing in that it rules out the possibility of most of the things happening. Of course I wouldn't want racist and personal stuff to be said, just the witty ones.

 

[luckyeddie]

Mike Smedley one day I think said,
as a bouncer soared over his head,
"Is that all that you've got?"
"You can eff off, you clot!"
came the answer from Yorkshireman Fred.

 

[Sanz]

10 years from now, someone posting on this very forum :-

Glenn McGrath to West Indian Ramsaresh Sarwan : "What does ........"

FALSE :- Gilchrist says to some XYZ cricinfi, there is no truth in it at all, Mcgrath was the nicest cricketers of all, Sarwan and himself were greatest of friends.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

10 years from now, someone posting on this very forum :-

Glenn McGrath to West Indian Ramsaresh Sarwan : "What does ........"

FALSE :- Gilchrist says to some XYZ cricinfi, there is no truth in it at all, Mcgrath was the nicest cricketers of all, Sarwan and himself were greatest of friends.

Except there are two things wrong with that.

One, we all know it actually happened as it was on TV. We have no reason to believe any of the above things occured, they are just rumours. I mean, Glenn McGrath and Eddo Brandes never even played an international against each other, and you seriously think they sledged each other?

Two, Sarwan himself and the players that played with him would obviously confirm that the incident occured. None of the players who were the targets in the above scenarios have ever claimed that they actually occured, and indeed in some instances they actually deny it as well.

 

[Sanz]

Do you consider ODIs as international games ?? Eddo Brandes and Mcgrath did play in couple of ODIs against each other, they may not have played tests against each other but zimbabwe weren't really a test nation for much of Eddo's Brandess career.

So first thing is Healy is Wrong that Eddo and Mcgrath didn't play international cricket against each other. It's funny that Healy remembers a first class match he played against Eddo but doesn't remember the international games he played. Sorry I think Healy is just trying to be nice to his star bowler.

About the Sarwan incident, we have seen it, we know it happened, but 20/30 years from now, kids are going to be in our situation and their most reliable wource would be players quotes for most of the stuff. How many of us have actually seen the Sarwan/Mcgrath incident and really heard what actually was being said in the middle ?

And most of all what if that incident is edited in the archived videos of the series ?

 

[Langeveldt]

I didn't even think it was between Brandes and McGrath, Brandes and somebody else maybe, I seem to remember it being said..

 

[Ikki]

Well Sanz, I have a hard time understanding your POV. If in fact it didn't happen, and the players concur, then why would you believe a rumour? And if all it takes is a small rumour for you to stain a player, then what good is that?

More importantly, during the Aus Vs. RSA test yesterday the commentators were talking about sledging. I think it was Greig talking, and he was saying how sledging really isn't all that different to his day but the main difference was the amount of emphasis the press are putting on everyone's word. E.G. Mark Boucher being wrongly quoted and having backlash, when really, he may have never said anything remotely bad. I think a while back, the press didn't make Cricket a "Days of our Life" episode while now, it seems they're using such trash to build hype and tensions just for the sake of selling books, magazines and tickets it seems.

 

[Sanz]

Ever wondered why only a handful of players are part of all this kind of folklore ? Why doesn't media falsely attribute these sorts of stories to a Sachin Tendulkar, a Brian Lara, Shaun Pollock or a Muralitharan ?

Why only Nel, Mcgrath, Sangakkara, Warne etc form the group of usual suspects ?

 

[Ikki]

Ever wondered why only a handful of players are part of all this kind of folklore ? Why doesn't media falsely attribute these sorts of stories to a Sachin Tendulkar, a Brian Lara, Shaun Pollock or a Muralitharan ?

Why only Nel, Mcgrath, Sangakkara, Warne etc form the group of usual suspects ?

Sorry, hearsay doesn't pass for me. I've met goth's who look scary yet are very calm and nice people. Yes, some may be open and have a rep about it. Yet when the same people are denying something which is false, you won't credit that for them but if they weren't open about it in the first place, you and I would possibly never know. The fact is a lot of these sledges can't be backed by solid proof. Same thing with Michael Jackson. Everytime someone mentions a kid in the Neverland ranch they're going to think one thing or another. Whether or not it's true, or has been proven. We all as people love believing the worse in other people.

 

[Sanz]

What hearsay you are talking about ? Mcgrath-Sarwan incident is not hearsay. One has seen a lot of Mcgrath in last 10 years to know how good he is @ abusing opponent players when things dont go his way.

It's not an argument about one particular comment (to be frank these comments you have posted aren't even insulting, they are humorous @ best and I dont see any problem with most of those).

 

[Sanz]

The fact is a lot of these sledges can't be backed by solid proof. Same thing with Michael Jackson. Everytime someone mentions a kid in the Neverland ranch they're going to think one thing or another. Whether or not it's true, or has been proven. We all as people love believing the worse in other people.

Wrong Analogy, I dont know if Michael Jackson has ever been caught in the act, but Mcgrath has been caught in the act more than once. Apart from the Sarwan Incident Mcgrath insulted on-field umpires, which was later reported and mcgrath was subsequently fined. Couple of years ago he was also fined for attempting to spit @ some player. If Mcgrath had done it only once in his career, I would definately have given him the benefit of doubt.

Here is one analogy, you may like. Sachin Tendulkar was fined for ball tampering in SA in 2001. I believe that he was innocent and believe that he was genuinely trying to clean the ball, but if he gets caught in similar act again, I will have tough time believing him again.

 

[Ikki]

Wrong Analogy, I dont know if Michael Jackson has ever been caught in the act, but Mcgrath has been caught in the act more than once. Apart from the Sarwan Incident Mcgrath insulted on-field umpires, which was later reported and mcgrath was subsequently fined. Couple of years ago he was also fined for attempting to spit @ some player. If Mcgrath had done it only once in his career, I would definately have given him the benefit of doubt.

Here is one analogy, you may like. Sachin Tendulkar was fined for ball tampering in SA in 2001. I believe that he was innocent and believe that he was genuinely trying to clean the ball, but if he gets caught in similar act again, I will have tough time believing him again.

I'm sorry mate, that wasn't the point. It was the right analogy. I was saying, if a player is open about sledging and being silly, then why would you not believe him when he said he wasn't doing it? Second to that, there is the burden of being able to prove it. I don't know where you stand, but I'd need more than hearsay to ban someone from matches. Believe he's a fox or whatever, but banning them? You hear around the boards some are disgraced about player's behaviours, but if they were so bad wouldn't you think the ICC would do something about it? In this regard, I'm thankful there aren't any rash generalisations on people's character and subsequent bannings.

 

[Sanz]

Well, I dont know much about Brandes/Mcgrath story, but I have never heard/read Mcgrath denying it. Healy denies it by saying that they never played International cricket together. Guess what I looked @ Cricinfo and he is proved wrong, they did play together.

I am not trying to judge Mcgrath's character here, I have read his interviews and he appears to be a great guy, but I have also watched him on cricket field and I know that he can be a mouthful on a cricket field. So I dont have hard time believing the story. Now if Mcgrath and Brandes both deny that this ever happened, then I may (and I may) accept that it happened, but I certaintly wouldn't accept the version from a guy who has not only been a party to worst sledges in the cricket history but is also factually wrong about his statement.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Well, I dont know much about Brandes/Mcgrath story, but I have never heard/read Mcgrath denying it. Healy denies it by saying that they never played International cricket together. Guess what I looked @ Cricinfo and he is proved wrong, they did play together.

I am not trying to judge Mcgrath's character here, I have read his interviews and he appears to be a great guy, but I have also watched him on cricket field and I know that he can be a mouthful on a cricket field. So I dont have hard time believing the story. Now if Mcgrath and Brandes both deny that this ever happened, then I may (and I may) accept that it happened, but I certaintly wouldn't accept the version from a guy who has not only been a party to worst sledges in the cricket history but is also factually wrong about his statement.

McGrath denied it as well, as you can see in the original post.

I think the confusion with Healy is that the sledge is usually credited with the tour that Australia made to Zimbabwe early in the 90s when Brandes was at the height of his career, when of course McGrath wasn't actually playing. Brandes returned to Australia in 96 and did indeed play against McGrath, but the confusion may lie in the fact that the sledge is meant to have happened before that tour, which is why Healy said they only met in a tour match on that tour (which is true).

Anyway, it doesn't really matter, I just don't see why you would assume the players in above situations are lying. For McGrath to deny the Sarwan incident in 10 years, he'd be arguing directly with recorded footage, as well as Sarwan himself and the other players involved in the game. McGrath is just denying something that is no more than a rumour. It's a very different situation.

 

[andyc]

I sure hope that Brandes-McGrath sledge is real. Every time I read it I laugh.

 

[marc71178]

McGrath denied it as well, as you can see in the original post.

I think the confusion with Healy is that the sledge is usually credited with the tour that Australia made to Zimbabwe early in the 90s when Brandes was at the height of his career, when of course McGrath wasn't actually playing. Brandes returned to Australia in 96 and did indeed play against McGrath, but the confusion may lie in the fact that the sledge is meant to have happened before that tour, which is why Healy said they only met in a tour match on that tour (which is true).

There's also the extremely plausible point that Brandes never faced McGrath?

2 innings, both short (ie a couple of overs each) and someone else bowling at least half of the time.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

There's also the extremely plausible point that Brandes never faced McGrath?

2 innings, both short (ie a couple of overs each) and someone else bowling at least half of the time.

That's also a very good point. I forgot that Brandes was a tail ender.