Stretch and Aero, how would you define accidental use of fowl language or whatever, I mean if caught out, the immediate response would always be it was an accident, in an attempt to avoid sanction. just a thought. Personally I have heard much worse on the cricket field: I have seen death threats, guys being surrounded etc etc, but no, I was not playing on TV. (funny story, there is a player in the current Cobras team who pulled a 9mm on a team mate last season, in the change room. he got a suspended 3 match ban from WPCA...) As a general rule when we played club cricket, the line was drawn at getting personal, ie your family is a no-go zone. you can tell a guy he bats like a ma se purse, but dont tell him his ma se purse needs a shave because you are still struggling to get the hair out of your teeth. Its a very fine line. yes its maybe not entirely in the spirit of the game, but when the heat is on and you are playing for trophies/money, things are going to happen. and if done without becoming personal, then fair play to you. generally, when we played, we spoke a lot of BS around the guy to distract him from what he is trying to do, because we knew it was safer to not be directly insulting/chirping but rather to take an indirect approach. then also some umpires have archaic views on the way they think the game should be played: i was once given a final warning for the first bouncer i bowled to an opening batsman, which was just ridiculous! the Ramnaresh Sarwan vs Glenn McGrath incident has 2 sides to that story. Yes it was an ugly incident, but Pigeon wasn't innocent. He asked Sarwan "what does Brian Lara's cock taste like?' to which Sarwan replied "i dont know, ask your wife", which would have been a good comeback had it not been for the condition of Pigeon's wife, being at home sick terminally ill with cancer as we know. Sarwan claims he didn't know that Jane was terminally ill, and I would like to believe that what Sarwan is saying is true, just because no cricketer I know would knowingly stoop that low, I stand by that last sentence. Buttler called VDP a f.....ing knobb, and told him he had a big gut. I honestly don't view that as being the worst insult on a cricket pitch ever. Yes, insulting, yes personal, but VDP is a seasoned player, he knows that was a k#k chirp. and he also knew that Buttler was standing right over the mic. If I was in VDP's shoes, I would have just started laughing with that thought in mind. Lastly, some of the most heated battles I ever had on the pitch, led to some of the longest nights in the opposition's change room. Just saying... Lekker boys! You okes make me miss my playing days. Damn Niknaks knees of mine... EDIT: you also didn't chirp from the get go. as a bowler, I preferred to let the ball do the talking, but sometimes the odd word was necessary, but as long as it wasn't personal, it is deemed ok in my mind. you had to know WHEN to chirp too, just going on and on non stop made it much less effective. I dont include chit chat or team mates g-ing each other up with chirping. some guys just make nonsense comments all the time in an attempt to put you off your game. that is just senseless, just like Buttler's chirp.
