Best sledge ever. Nominations.

[workhorse]

Warne to Cullinan.

Cullinan had come into Test Cricket with lofty expectations on him, but had struggled against Warne. Cullinan went to a sports psychologist to help improve his performance.
Next time Aus played South Africa Cullinan walked out and was greeted by Warne who politely asked - "So what colour was the couch?"

 

[FredLeDeux]

I was umpiring a local match, and a bloke fielding at square leg dropped a couple of chances in fairly short order, at which stage the bowler, well-known for his sarcasm, and pretty unpopular because of it (among other reasons), turned to his captain and said quite loudly "Why don't you tell him to turn side-on to the pitch, maybe then it'll land in his pocket".

What goes around comes around.

Week 2 of the match, the two of them were batting together, and Mr Sarcastic was getting a right going over from the other side's ex-Sheffield Shield quick (they had history going back to the Under 12s, told you he was unpopular); he finally copped 4 heavy-duty bouncers in one over - 2 went over slips off the handle, one he dodged by going flat on his back, and the 4th one got him in the chest.
At the end of the over, I strolled in from square leg, where he was saying to the non-striker "Lucky we're not still playing on matting, I'd be dead by now"; at the same time the other ump had wandered down to say to me "That's probably too many short ones in an over, isn't it". Before I could say anything, the non-striker answered for me "Yeah, tell him to keep it to 3 an over, or until he kills him, whichever comes first".

Shortly afterwards, as we went off for Tea, the non-striker also called out to his skipper "Hey boss, have we still got any of that old matting lying around?"

What goes around comes around.

 

[MisterMarcus]

Australia were playing a warm up tour game in South Africa in the 90s. One of the SA batsmen was a big fat bloke who was just blocking everything. Warne eventually resorted to bowling deliberate full tosses and long hops to try to entice him to play a shot, but this guy just presented a straight bat to everything.

Finally Healy yells out, "Let's put a Mars Bar on a length! I bet he'll come out for that!"

The batsman shoots back, "No way, Boonie would grab it before I'd even moved!"

 

[archibald]

Australia were playing a warm up tour game in South Africa in the 90s. One of the SA batsmen was a big fat bloke who was just blocking everything. Warne eventually resorted to bowling deliberate full tosses and long hops to try to entice him to play a shot, but this guy just presented a straight bat to everything.

Finally Healy yells out, "Let's put a Mars Bar on a length! I bet he'll come out for that!"

The batsman shoots back, "No way, Boonie would grab it before I'd even moved!"

Did all Healy's sledges just contain Mars bar references?

 

[PhatBoy]

Did all Healy's sledges just contain Mars bar references?

I think that was the only one, but it just gets attributed to him saying it to basically every slightly rotund batsman he ever kept behind. The player’s name was Burger too from memory.

 

[gordo2016]

Australia were playing a warm up tour game in South Africa in the 90s. One of the SA batsmen was a big fat bloke who was just blocking everything. Warne eventually resorted to bowling deliberate full tosses and long hops to try to entice him to play a shot, but this guy just presented a straight bat to everything.

Finally Healy yells out, "Let's put a Mars Bar on a length! I bet he'll come out for that!"

The batsman shoots back, "No way, Boonie would grab it before I'd even moved!"

Healy actually said that to Arjuna Ratatunga, ex Sri Lankan captain, in attempt to get him out of the crease. Ratatunga did not say anything back though. It was in a one dayer in Australia and Boon had already retired by then.

 

[ClokesShankedIt]

De Kock to Warner. Fair to say that the Australian's tactic of mental disintegration was turned on it's head

 

[Richard Pryor]

How sledging stories work:

 

[Lebbo73]

Warne to Cullinan.

Cullinan had come into Test Cricket with lofty expectations on him, but had struggled against Warne. Cullinan went to a sports psychologist to help improve his performance.
Next time Aus played South Africa Cullinan walked out and was greeted by Warne who politely asked - "So what colour was the couch?"

 

[PhatBoy]

Healy actually said that to Arjuna Ratatunga, ex Sri Lankan captain, in attempt to get him out of the crease. Ratatunga did not say anything back though. It was in a one dayer in Australia and Boon had already retired by then.

No he didn’t. He called ranatunga an overweight unfit fat c*** and questioned the validity of getting a runner for such an affliction.

The mars bar story, though it has been frequently attributed to a ranatunga encounter, was most definitely in a tour game in SA

I believe the player’s name, after some research, was Jacobus Burger. Appaz it was Cronje’s provincial side

 

[gordo2016]

No he didn’t. He called ranatunga an overweight unfit fat c*** and questioned the validity of getting a runner for such an affliction.

The mars bar story, though it has been frequently attributed to a ranatunga encounter, was most definitely in a tour game in SA

I believe the player’s name, after some research, was Jacobus Burger. Appaz it was Cronje’s provincial side

I have heard Healy tell the story himself and it was in Australia and the batsmen was Ratatunga.
Google it and you will find the same story every time, from many different websites.
Shane Warne, trying to tempt Arjuna Ranatunga out of his crease mused what it took to get the plump character to get out of his crease and drive.

Wicketkeeper Ian Healy had an idea

“Put a Mars Bar on a good length. That should do it.”

This entry was posted in Australia, Sri Lanka

 

[PhatBoy]

I have heard Healy tell the story himself and it was in Australia and the batsmen was Ratatunga.
Google it and you will find the same story every time, from many different websites.
Shane Warne, trying to tempt Arjuna Ranatunga out of his crease mused what it took to get the plump character to get out of his crease and drive.

Wicketkeeper Ian Healy had an idea

“Put a Mars Bar on a good length. That should do it.”

This entry was posted in Australia, Sri Lanka

Mate I’ve read the link you’re quoting from, and I’ve heard Healy say it. Alternatively I’ve read other versions - http://www.cricketsledges.com/healy-australia-sledges-cronjesouth-africa-sledges-boonie-australia/

in which ranatunga is not mentioned.

But I’d also heard the anecdote originally before the alleged Sri Lankan encounter even happened. It was 93-94 on the return series followings damien Martyn’s dismissal in Sydney. The story has more clout when Ranatunga’s name is mentioned because he’s a noted fat c*** and a noted Australian antagonist. Ranatunga’s famous animosity with Australia began in 95-96 (Boon was still playing tests, for what it’s worth) during the tour in which Kalu and Jayasuriya started to tee off at the top. That series saw him call for the runner. It continued through to the World Cup final.

I’d heard the anecdote before that.


At any rate, it was probably used multiple times anyway.

I know I’ve used variations of it countless times - put a durry on a good length, put a pie on a good length, put an ugly woman on a good length etc - so there’s every chance he probably recycled it for Arjuna.

 

[gordo2016]

Mate I’ve read the link you’re quoting from, and I’ve heard Healy say it. Alternatively I’ve read other versions - http://www.cricketsledges.com/healy-australia-sledges-cronjesouth-africa-sledges-boonie-australia/

in which ranatunga is not mentioned.

But I’d also heard the anecdote originally before the alleged Sri Lankan encounter even happened. It was 93-94 on the return series followings damien Martyn’s dismissal in Sydney. The story has more clout when Ranatunga’s name is mentioned because he’s a noted fat c*** and a noted Australian antagonist. Ranatunga’s famous animosity with Australia began in 95-96 (Boon was still playing tests, for what it’s worth) during the tour in which Kalu and Jayasuriya started to tee off at the top. That series saw him call for the runner. It continued through to the World Cup final.

I’d heard the anecdote before that.


At any rate, it was probably used multiple times anyway.

I know I’ve used variations of it countless times - put a durry on a good length, put a pie on a good length, put an ugly woman on a good length etc - so there’s every chance he probably recycled it for Arjuna.

I believe you. It seems like some of these sledges and who actually said it and where gets distorted with time.

 

[PhatBoy]

I believe you. It seems like some of these sledges and who actually said it and where gets distorted with time.

Absolutely. And as I said, if you have a decent one, you’d be stupid not to use it more than once.

 

[Gough]

Graham Gooch said that Gatting wouldn't have been bowled by Warne at Old Trafford in 1993 if someone had put a ham sandwich on a length.

 

[Andrewy]

All of this

 

[PhatBoy]

All of this

Did anyone get sanction from that exchange in New Zealand? That was f***ing disgraceful.

 

[imperial_oz]

BBC commentator, John Arlott describing Bob Cunis' efforts in one innings:

"And, as for Cunis, his bowling, like his name, was neither one thing nor the other"

Thats huge coming from the BBC

 

[nuey]

Ian Healy-Botham to Daryll Cullinan-Ranatunga:
'hey fatty your wife and my kids fed me a biscuit and a mars to put on a length under your big nose while the best player in your family has spent all this time eating on the couch ding ding we make a fine pair you know what it looks like go and fetch it'.

Think that covers all the bastardisations in one mega sledge

 

[half_back_flank]

Gooch’s self deprecating answering machine message circa 89 is a ripper

I’m out.......Probably LBW to Terry Alderman.

 

[Del165198]

Did anyone get sanction from that exchange in New Zealand? That was f***ing disgraceful.

The good blokes of the australian cricket team just got caught up in the moment, nothing in it

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Remember the fan armed with a megaphone who called Inzamam ul Haq a 'fat potato' and Inzy went nuts?

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/245024.html

 

[corbies]

Did anyone get sanction from that exchange in New Zealand? That was f***ing disgraceful.

Hazlewood was fined 15% of his match fee and given the equivalent of 2 demerit points (this was before the current demerit points system so I'm not sure what exactly the term for the punishment was).

 

[PhatBoy]

Hazlewood was fined 15% of his match fee and given the equivalent of 2 demerit points (this was before the current demerit points system so I'm not sure what exactly the term for the punishment was).

Good.

That was a real ordinary display, I’d expect better from a generally quite level headed cricketer

 

[Marcus DuQuesne]

I have heard Healy tell the story himself and it was in Australia and the batsmen was Ratatunga.
Google it and you will find the same story every time, from many different websites.
Shane Warne, trying to tempt Arjuna Ranatunga out of his crease mused what it took to get the plump character to get out of his crease and drive.

Wicketkeeper Ian Healy had an idea

“Put a Mars Bar on a good length. That should do it.”

This entry was posted in Australia, Sri Lanka

What a lame sledge that really is.