Proteas one-day captain AB de Villiers will not rein in his players from showing aggression on the field of play “as long as it remains within the spirit of the game”.
The on-field conduct of international players has been in focus Down Under and in South Africa. The first Ashes Test at the Gabba in Brisbane was an intense affair in which the teams were virtually at each other’s throats by the end of the match.
Insults and abuse were being freely exchanged on the field, and Australia’s David Warner even aimed an off-field barb at England’s Jonathan Trott.
Trott has since returned home due to “depression” and while the South African-born batsman did not pack his bags because Warner suggested he had “scared eyes”, epitomised by Trott’s “weak” response to the short-pitched bowling of Mitchell Johnson, it certainly highlighted the impact sledging can have on a player’s mental state.
Warner was not the only Australian to get in a few verbal bouncers; his captain Michael Clarke was fined 20 percent of his match fee for a comment to England’s last-man James Anderson that was relayed by the stump microphone.
Clarke was picked up telling Anderson he should “get ready for a broken f***ing arm”, which led to umpire Kumar Dharmasena and South African third official Marais Erasmus bringing a charge under section 2.1.4 of the code, which deals with “language or a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting”.
The hostilities between South Africa and Pakistan have not reached such extreme proportions, with the teams generally enjoying a healthy respect for each on and off the field due to their numerous battles over recent times, but Proteas and world No1 fast bowler Dale Steyn was also sanctioned last week.
Steyn was fined 10 percent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council for using offensive language during last Friday’s second Twenty20 at Newlands against Pakistan.
It was the second time in recent weeks that Steyn was required to explain his on-field conduct after he regretted laughing after getting Pakistan’s T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez out for a duck in his team’s nine-wicket win in the Dubai a couple of weeks ago, saying: “I don’t know what I did. It was a bit silly.”
De Villiers, though, is not likely to curb the aggressive nature of his premier strike bowler any time soon.
“Words have always been part of the game. I honestly don’t mind that. Some guys don’t enjoy it when you talk about his technique. You don’t have to swear at him. You can talk about his technique and try and find a way into his head that changes his game,” De Villiers said yesterday on the eve of SA’s second ODI against Pakistan at St George’s Park.
“Other guys get fired up from that again and start playing better cricket. You have to know what to say and who to say it to otherwise it can backfire. It’s part of the game and I love that it’s part of the game and its happening now in Australia. Certainly gets the crowd going and makes the moment bigger and better. Nothing wrong with it as long as it’s in the spirit of the game.”
The South African skipper has some support from leading figures in the game, most notably legendary Australian bowler Shane Warne. The former leg-spinner was vocal in his defence of Clarke, calling the ICC’s decision to fine the Aussie captain “a disgrace”.
Warne went further by saying: “To me it should just stay out in the middle. They all shook hands, had a giggle and moved on. By fining Clarke it’s made a big deal out of it. Everyone should have just laughed, moved on. As an international sportsman, if you decide to dish it out sledging you have to be prepared to cop it back too and not complain.”
England’s captain Alastair Cook, however, branded Warner’s press conference comments on Trott “disrespectful”, but clarified it with “on the pitch it’s pretty much a war. There are always going to be a few words. That’s the way people want to watch cricket being played: tough, hard cricket. On the pitch is fine.”
SQUADS
South Africa: Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith, Quinton de Kock (wk), Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers (capt), JP Duminy, David Miller, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morné Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Imran Tahir, Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell.
Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Bilawal Bhatti, Anwar Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan. - The Star