“The art of sledging”

“the practice whereby some players seek to gain an advantage by insulting or verbally intimidating the opposing player. The purpose is to try to weaken the opponent's concentration, thereby causing him to make mistakes or under perform.”

There has been a fair bit of banter flying back and forth on twitter and over blog’o’sphere to try and gain the mental edge so I thought I’d share a couple of gems from the cricketing world…

This one is often attributed to the Master Shane Warne himself - Glenn McGrath and Eddo Brandes going head to head. After the Zimbabwe batsman played and missed, McGrath enquired: "Oi, Brandes, why are you so fat?" This cutting reply riled the lanky quick: "Cos every time I sleep with your wife she gives me a biscuit."

Little-known England batsman James Ormond makes this list. Upon his arrival at the crease during a Test match in 2001, Ormond copped grief from Mark Waugh. "f#ck me, look who it is. Mate, what are you doing out here? There's no way you're good enough to play for England." Quick as you like, Ormond said: "Maybe not, but at least I'm the best player in my family."

I’m the sure the Von Trapps can relate to this second one….