The ICC’s recently-promised crackdown on sledging might make it seem that players are behaving badly more often right now but former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff feels the on-field altercations were 10 times worse a couple of decades ago.
The ICC has warned of strict action, including bans, if players cross the line during next month’s ODI World Cup to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand from February 14.
Most recently, David Warner was fined 50 per cent of his match fee for a verbal spat with Indian batsman Rohit Sharma during a tri-series match although the Australian later claimed that he was merely asking his rival to speak in English.
Flintoff said the language used in the years gone by was much worse.
“Twenty years ago, sledging was 10 times worse. Now, with stump microphones and cameras all over, everything gets picked up,” Flintoff told ‘BBC Sport’.
“One of the first Test matches I played against South Africa, there was one fella … he was the worst I have ever come across – Daryl Cullinan. He was horrible. I was only young… the words he called me, I didn’t even know what they meant. He just went at me and I don’t think there’s any place for that in any sport or any society,” he said.
