As the Ashes series heats up in Perth, former England spinner Vic Marks recalls his own experiences with Australian sledging, from grade cricket to Sheffield Shield. In 1981, playing for Bayswater-Morley in Perth, Marks was about to bowl his first ball in Australia when Dennis Lillee, fielding at deep square leg, yelled: “C’mon. Let’s knock him over. Get rid of him. Knock him over.” Marks, who was bowling a gentle off-break, was taken aback by the aggressive encouragement.
Marks also remembers a match against South Perth at Richardson Park, where a seamer with an unbuttoned shirt was asked by a batsman to fasten it. The bowler snarled, removed his shirt, and finished the over bare-chested, growling: “Can you see all right now?” It felt a long way from Taunton.
Five years later, playing for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, Marks found behaviour slightly better, but sledging remained common. He recalls facing Mike Whitney, who threatened him with extreme pace. After surviving the session, Marks went to the opposition dressing room for a beer, where Whitney greeted him with a broad smile and a beer, asking: “How’s it going down at Bristol?”
Former Australia bowler Andy Bichel explained that in the 1990s, sledging became more calculated. During the 1996-97 West Indies tour, Australia decided to ignore Brian Lara, as they believed he batted better when sledged. They ignored him for four Tests, and Lara contributed few runs. In the fifth Test, with the series already won, they sledged him, and he scored a hundred to lead West Indies to victory.
Current Australia wicketkeeper Tim Paine has hinted at bringing up the Ben Duckett affair during the Perth Test. Marks suggests England could use humour to counter sledging, perhaps enlisting Armando Iannucci as a scriptwriter. He concludes that while calculated personal insults are ugly, silence on the field is not the answer.
