LONDON, Aug 9: Sledging adds an aura of mysticism to cricket and the game wouldn’t be the same if players remain silent, thinks former Australia Test cricketer Justin Langer. “Let’s make no bones about it: Test cricket can be a fierce affair,” the former Aussie opener wrote in his column for the BBC. “Cricket is a non-contact sport so in the heat of the moment words are often exchanged between different players. This is part of the contest.

“The game wouldn’t be the same if everyone was silent on field. I would be concerned if my team, no matter what colour cap we are wearing, were quiet throughout the course of a day’s play.

“I would see this as a sign of disinterest or lack of competitive edge that the best teams tend to display. It would be a sad day when emotion of a contest was taken away from the game,” he said.

Langer echoed England coach Peter Moore’s sentiments about turning off stumps microphone during the course of play.

“I believe Moores was absolutely spot on with his assessment of stump microphones. If there is anything unsavoury happening in middle then I believe that is where it should be left; on the field.”

The former opener thought that players knew, in most of the cases, where to draw a line, saying: “There is ample policing of the spirit of cricket and players know they would be foolish to take anything too far.” —Agencies