24 December,2014 08:23 AM IST | | PTI
New Zealand great feels there is no need to sledge and abuse in modern-day cricket but was touched by how the cricketing world united to mourn the death of batsman Phillip Hughes last month
Sydney: New Zealand great Richard Hadlee feels there is no need to sledge and abuse in modern-day cricket.
"The game should be played hard and with intensity, but not with this (prevailing) combative approach. There is no need for sledging and abuse of players and officials," Hadlee was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald. However, Hadlee was touched by how the cricketing world united to mourn the death of Australian batsman Phillip Hughes last month.
"It exemplified the spirit of cricket to me," he felt. Hughes died after being hit by a bouncer, triggering a widespread debate over the future of the short rising ball. For Hadlee, bouncer remains an integral part of the game.
"It's part of the spectacle. There are rules around it, it's not to be intimidatory or persistent and bowlers can only bowl two per over.
"In the 1976 tour to Pakistan, we played the third Test in Karachi. Imran Khan bowled six bouncers in a row to me. That was intimidatory and he was removed from the crease and not allowed to bowl for the rest of the innings," added Hadlee.
