The David Warner-Quinton de Kock row has divided the cricketing world into two significant factions – one that believes sledging has always been a part of the game and the other that thinks things have got out of hand.
Both Australia and South Africa have accused each other of crossing the line and cricket followers have their own take on what is acceptable and what isn’t.
But former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram, someone who has seen it all, is a firm believer in one of the oldest diktats in cricket – what happens on the field should stay on it.
The South Africa-Australia Test series has exploded into a barely-controlled street fight with Warner and De Kock kept apart in the Durban Test after their war of words escalated into alleged personal attacks.
Akram believes sledging has always been a part of the game but the biggest rule of all is that it should end with the day’s play and not spill outside the ground.
“We used to have a go at batsmen as well. And there were stump microphones. But that was (ended) there and then. After six o’clock, shake hands, have a cup of tea after the game, have a laugh,” Akram told Sport360 during an event in Dubai announcing his association with online cricket content provider CricInGif.
Akram admits things are said on the field and that is what makes cricket, especially Tests, unique.
“Do whatever you want to do. As a pacer you have the aggression, as a batsman you have patience. That’s the beauty of the game, being a top batsman and a bowler. But whatever you say and whatever you do should stay on the field,” the left-arm pace legend said.
However, the current team director of PSL side Multan Sultans said like every other sphere in life, there are certain boundaries any person is not allowed to cross. “You can’t get personal,” he concluded.
