I sledge, you abuse - Sree vs Harris

[achilles]

Today we were granted another guided tour of the murky ethical underworld of the modern cricketer. Apparently Sreesanth had been rude to Graeme Smith during the day’s play. The big man took exception to it and, Miandad-like, brandished his bat as though it were a weapon. This seems as good a use for it as any, since the lump of wood was not performing in its main capacity as a run-scoring device. But what can Sreesanth have said that so riled the statuesque South African? More pertinently, what can he have said that has not already been said on a cricket field? Enter Paul Harris, in his post match seminar on the ethics of gratuitous abuse. He conjured for us a metaphysical line that no player should cross. How do you know when you’ve stepped over the line? When things get “personalâ€. But this only raises more questions. For a start, what does non-personal sledging sound like? How do you hurl abuse at someone in an impersonal way? I’ve no doubt there is a line. It goes something like this: I call you names, that’s sledging; you call me names, that’s personal and unacceptable abuse. Maybe we could do with another of those Spirit of Cricket declarations, outlining just what a chap can and can’t say on a cricket field. We could even have an extra chapter explaining for how long it is acceptable to argue with an umpire. Alternatively, players could just be told to stop their silly name-calling and behave like grown-ups. - Andrew Hughes

Andrew makes a good point. This hypocrisy of "when I talk its sledging, when you talk it is :mama:" is silly. People should either be manly enough to listen to replies to their sledges or simply grow up and play the game like Sachin & Rahul and even Botha and Hashim do.

[DomainK]

Yeah, they need to man up and STFU. Besides, we now know what Sree said. It was perfectly within the limits and was witty. Of course he managed to hit a raw nerve which was the intention.

[achilles]

Yep. That was not personal. It was obvious. He stated it and it did the trick. It was actually quite a smart and classy sledge.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[saneindian]

Harris in all likelihood will be replaced by Imran Tahir for the 3rd test. The principal instigator will be missing from the SA ranks :((

[DomainK]

What did he say? :--D

"None of us like you. We all think you're arrogant. And it's not just us. Even your teammates have told us." It was probably inspired from what Gibbs has mentioned in one of his books about how even Smith's team mates dont like him because he is arrogant. He sure managed to get Smith mad with that comment.:D And yes, that's not our typical hot headed Sree. That seems like a cold blooded, calculated sledge which is definitely within the limits.

[George]

Whatever Sree said, he got his man. After Smith showing his bat to sree, sree increased his bowling speed to around 140K's

[Tapioca]

"None of us like you. We all think you're arrogant. And it's not just us. Even your teammates have told us."

Is that really what Sreesanth said ? And Smith cried "nobody likes me" ? You must be joking :giggle:

[DomainK]

Is that really what Sreesanth said ? And Smith cried "nobody likes me" ? You must be joking :giggle:

Thats the genius of it. Smith probably has been quite upset ever since Gibbs made that revelation. And yeah, truth can hurt. And the fact that it really did upset Smith that much, proves that his team mates really dont like him.

[achilles]

And this was apparently a "personal sledge... Sree crossed his limits.... we all know how cool Smith is in the middle.... Sree wants to talk personal, we don't mind.... blah blah blee blee blue blue".

[Rajan]

i never thought there would be a day when i say this-" i loved what sree did"...:haha:

[akshayxyz]

I cant believe Sree is so smart...really good one from him.

[Debutant]

Harby's slap has done wonders.

[Zelig]

He has to work on his hair though. He is a wannabe sree_india (icf) :giggle:

[rahulrulezz]

He has to work on his hair though. He is a wannabe sree_india (icf) :giggle:

hahaha

[vayuu1]

hahaha

he jst wanna be john mcenroe:haha:

[Guest BossBhai]

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[mastana]

He has to work on his hair though. He is a wannabe sree_india (icf) :giggle:

:hehe:

[diegovegaz]

i'd rather have him hitting batsmen with his bouncers

[achilles]

Sree is alleged to have made comments on Smith's mother & Harris' wife. Needless to say, I don't think anyone will buy that garbage. Dhoni wants Sreesanth to behave Shashank Shekhar | TNN Cape Town: MS Dhoni and Graeme Smith had an informal chat on Friday evening to sort out the issue of sledging which marred the Durban Test and threatened to spill over into the seriesdeciding Cape Town Test beginning Sunday. The focus of the conversation was on one man,the mercurial S Sreesanth, whose jibes made South Africans see red in the second Test.The Indian paceman allegedly commented on Smith’s mother and spinner Paul Harris’ wife in Durban, leading to an ugly spat between Sreesanth and Harris.Smith too, weaved his bat at Sreesanth, warning him to desist from making such remarks in the future. Smith refused to comment on Sreesanth’s verbal blast in Durban but the South African skipper has been seething after that and made that clear here on Saturday. “There is no problem between the two teams. It’s one individual who has caused a few hassles and maybe crossed the line in certain ways. So, Dhoni and I had a chat to sort it out.” The two captains had come together for an ICC event which celebrated ‘Fifty days to go for the World Cup’ at a waterfront hotel here. They took time off to discus the thorny issue and hopefully, a repeat of ‘Monkeygate’ has been avoided. Interestingly, Dhoni did not defend Sreesanth when told about Smith’s observation, repeating what he had said after the Durban Test but in a more serious vein. “Of course, it’s difficult to control Sreesanth.I’ve said this at every press conference. Hopefully, he’ll be on the right side of the line this time. And if he has to say something, I hope it’s not personal.” Dhoni added, “When you represent your country, you try your best to win games but a certain guideline needs to be followed and you’ve to always be on the right side of that line.” Smith said he has got used to verbal aggression. “In my 90 Tests, I don’t think I have played many where there hasn’t been an aggressive vibe on the field. But when you start bringing people’s families into it, it’s like crossing the lines.” He also insisted that he respected his rivals. “Both teams are mature and there is a lot of respect for both teams. It’s going to be competitive and that’s what every one wants to see.No one wants to step over that mark. We all need to take the responsibility to play the game in the right way.” The Indian players would want this sentiment to be reciprocal.Some of them have been highly critical of South Africa’s ‘verbosity’, and said what they did in Durban was mere retaliation.They even picked Dale Steyn as the main culprit. Meanwhile, the home team is unhappy over umpire Simon Davis’ decisions in Durban but Smith refused to be drawn into it. “I don’t really want to get into this. If we have a concern, we will raise it with the ICC and the match referee and not at a press conference,” Smith said before adding with a smile, “I may get banned for a few games.” 1. Now this is a new story. So Mirror got it wrong. 2. I still doubt Sree made comments on someone's family. 3. Look at Smith. First he does the leak about the umpire. Now he says, he will raise it with the ICC. So if he wanted to raise it with the ICC, why did he leak the news to the media? 4. Dhoni is such a hypocrite. He wants to clean his potty without littering his hands. If he has an issue with Sree, does he want us to believe that he cannot ask him to shut up? Politician!