Needling rivals is an art form

BRIDGETOWN (BARBADOS) - HE IS a trained lawyer, so Kumar Sangakkara should know when it is appropriate to talk.

But put him, as well as the cream of the world's wicket-keepers and close-catchers, out on the pitch and the mind games begin.

Like it or not, sledging in cricket has become an art form.

Some jibes are witty, others obscure or vulgar. But, with so much at stake in the World Cup, captains and players will use any means to get an edge.

And Sri Lanka's colourful Sangakkara is sharper than most.

He has become an Internet star, thanks to his taunting of former South African skipper Shaun Pollock at the last World Cup.

His baiting of Pollock is now a mainstay of YouTube. 'How's the pressure, skipper?' a smiling Sangakkara asked Pollock.

'He is going to let his whole country down, lads. Oh, the weight of expectations - 42 million people depending on Shaun.'

Although Pollock made 25 before being run out, Sri Lanka won the rain-affected match.

South Africa were eliminated from the tournament and he quit as skipper.

'There have been different experiences in the middle with a bit of a chat-up, but nothing special comes to the mind,' said Sangakkara later.

'My honest opinion is sledging doesn't belong on the cricket field. It is not the way the game should be played.

'But there are instances when you are faced with verbal challenges, there are times when you have to put your foot down.

'When the challenge is taken up, things can get ugly. But I would never practise that or use it as a tactic.'

Sledging has always been part of the game. The difference now is that the highly sensitive stump microphones pick up every word.

Mark Boucher, the South African wicket-keeper, is also not averse to the odd psychological ploy.

He famously goaded former Zimbabwe wicket-keeper Tatenda Taibu, who had played and missed a succession of balls.

'What's your average Tatenda? Nine or 10, maybe 9.5. So we'll go for 10,' said Boucher.

'You might want to get out now. I'll even walk you to the pavilion.'

Despite the Australians' reputation for being the sledging kings, their famous bowler Shane Warne pleads 'not guilty'. He reckons it is the Kiwis.

'Whether they reserve it for us because of the geographical rivalry I don't know, but sometimes it feels like being in an aviary full of twittering birds,' he said in his autobiography.

He also singled out former South Africa all-rounder Brian McMillan, who once warned Warne that he intended to take him fishing and 'use you as bait for the sharks'.

Warne said sledging from the England fielders helped fire him up to make a rapid 71 in his last Test in Sydney earlier this year.

'A few of them decided to have a bit of a say,' he said. 'That's fair enough.

'It just made me concentrate a bit more. Some days it works, some days it doesn't.'

Ian Maynard, an English sports psychology professor, told The Guardian that sledging can be countered.

'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but saying that you have made love to my wife is only your way of putting me off.

'So I am going to smile at you, acknowledge it and carry on doing what I am really good at.

'Breathe, talk, play. A couple of breaths to take the focus away from the thought, a key phrase to take you back to the here and now and then get on with it.'

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE