England all-rounder Moeen Ali on Friday (15th February) backed the idea of turning up the stump mics to cut out abusive sledging and expose the sledgers following constant controversial remarks on the field in recent times.
His comment came after Shannon Gabriel’s alleged homophobic comments to England captain Joe Root during a Test match in St. Lucia, West Indies.
There have been talks about turning down the microphones in a bid to protect players from unproven guilt after recent incidents including Sarfaraz Ahmed's racial remark to Andile Phehlukwayo and Gabriel's latest one which led them to heavy suspensions by the ICC.
However, Moeen is not against the idea of sledging, but feels things should never get personal or abusive, saying there is no need to turned down the stump microphones and players need to be careful.
Moeen told media, “It's time for people to behave themselves. Turn the stump mics up. Why turn them down? So, people can swear? There is no reason to get personal. It's a shame because Shannon Gabriel is a really nice guy and a quiet person. But it's the way society is: things come out of people's mouths. You're not going to get away with it now. You have to be careful.”
Meanwhile, the 31-year-old believes that the stump microphones will help the broadcasters to capture some entertaining exchanges between players - like Tim Paine-Rishabh Pant in Australia.
The all-rounder explained, “Imagine all the legendary old stories if we had them recorded. We can do the same now. It doesn't have to be swearing. Keep it funny. We want people to be attracted to the game. There are brilliant ways to sledge.”
Moeen signed off by saying, “If you don't think they are good, tell them. Sledge them about their cricket. Just don't go personal. Turn the mics up!”
(With Cricketnext Inputs)
