The game of cricket is a gentleman‘s game and is all about sportsmanship. Therehave been moments where the spirit of cricket is glorified. In the same way, therehave been incidents where players sled each other in tense games or even in afriendly manner. But there have been some instances where the fights escalated into ugly confrontations.
1. Glenn Mcgrath And Ramnaresh Sarwan
Glenn McGrath is probably one of the best pacers Australia has produced. Usuallynot very expressive, that day, he decided to mess with the batsmen Ramnaresh Sarwan who was part of the West Indian team. They looke comfortable with 237runs for four wickets in the second test match. McGrath provoked Sarwan by making dirty comments about Brian Lara. In return, he commented badly about Mrs. Mc Grath, a cancer patient. This rankled McGrath even more, and he hurled abuses.
2. Ravi Shastri And Mike Whitney
Yes, the Indian former head coach and player isn’t much of a calm player. He has been involved in a lot of sledding incidents. Playing in Melbourne, Shastri was batting and wanted to take a single when Mike Whitney, the substitute fielder, threatened to break his head if he left the crease. Immediately Shastri commented that if Mike were capable enough, he wouldn’t be a substitute 12th man.
3. Virat Kohli And Gautam Gambhir
This was a shocking incident. Gambhir wasn’t known for his friendliness with other players. KKR was playing against RCB in 2013. Virat Kohli got out and lashed out at the bowler. Gambhir was at the boundary and came charging toward Kohli and vice versa. They verbally abused each other and physically accused each other. Other players on the field had to stop them. The Delhi boys couldn’t keep their cool.
4. Andrew Flintoff And Yuvraj Singh
Every Indian cricket fan will have this match etched in their memories forever. India was playing against England in the 2007 World Cup. Yuvraj and Flint off had a next change of words. Flintoff walked up to the bowler, Stuart Broad, and gave him instructions. This pumped up Yuvraj, and he smashed six sixes in the following over. It is the most fitting reply to show when an opponent sleds you.
5. David Warner And Quinton De Kock
This incident went a little too far. South Africa and Australia were playing a test match, and on day four, these two players were involved in a fight that escalated of the field. Warner was constantly chirping that, irked De Kock, and made nasty comments about Warner wife. This led Warner to try to physically attack De Kockon the stairs during tea break. Their teammates rushed from the dressing room to break them up. All this was recorded in the CCTV footage both players were fined.
6. Steve Waugh And Curtly Ambrose
This incident happened in the third test match that was played in Trinidad. Waugh, who usually maintains his cool decided to mess with the bowler he was facing ,Ambrose. The West Indian warned Steve and told him not to mess with him in his place. Richie Richardson then physically had to split them up. Ambrose being a fast bowler, sent a bouncer to Waugh’s nose.
7. Michael Slater And Rahul Dravid
India was playing against Australia in a test match in 2001. Dravid was caught out by Slater at the boundary line. Slater defied that he had caught the ball before it touched the ground, and the replays showed otherwise. Dravid was signaled not out. This led to a rather ugly confrontation between the two gentlemen.
8. Glenn Mcgrath And Sachin Tendulkar
These two legends had a fierce rivalry whenever they were on the field, facing each other. As a part of the champions trophy league, in this match, Sachin hit McGrath for a six, and sledded him. Though the competition was tense, and everybody on the field could feel it, McGrath bowled many bouncers, and tried to get Sachin out.
9. Jonny Bairstow, Alex Lees And Virat Kohli
The most recent sledding incident happened on day four of the test match between England and India. Kohli and Alex had a verbal fight just before tea break, and when Alex got out soon after the break, Kohli celebrated as if they had won the test match. A similar incident took place with Jonny Bairstow on day two, which was recorded onthe stump mic.
10. Ms Dhoni And Mustafizur Rahman
All incidents of sledding do not involve words. Bowling against Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, Mustafizur Rahman was constantly obstructing their way when they were running in between wickets. Sharma was almost run out due to this. Rahman did this when Dhoni was running, and he was pushed aside violently by captain cool. This can also be termed an on-the-field heated moment.
