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[HallamKeeper]

I know this isn't equipment based but thought it was the best place.

I've seen a lot of stuff on TV where the keeper is described as the engine room of the fielding team etc. I am not playing at a very high level (decent village cricket) so I really dislike any form of sledging or the general annoying comments made about a batsman missing the ball.

I will always encourage the bowler and fielders but I don't do it every single ball. Usually more when it goes quiet from everyone else. The only thing I say to the batsman other than general small talk is 'good shot' or something similar when they deserve it. I see my Saturday cricket as a bit of fun and assume the batsman is the same.

Am I being too nice or does the level of chat just increase with the standard? Or is it just a personality thing?

[TangoWhiskey]

I'm exactly the same. I ignore any comments made to me when I'm batting and I only make general chit chat and the odd good shot comment to the batsman when I'm keeping.

That said, if someone nicks one and doesn't walk I become their worst nightmare. 

[trypewriter]

Whatever level you play at there seems to be plenty of 'chirp' these days, certainly more than there was in the past.

[Akewstick]

It's got to just be personal, hasn't it?

The alternative you've not mentioned is getting in the batsman's ear and letting him know you're after him without being nasty about it, the sly remarks only you and him can hear taking the mickey out something a fielder has said or an umpire. If a keeper makes me laugh that's normally harder to put out of my mind than a predictable insult, and so is him making me stop and wonder "What's his agenda? Is he trying to get in my head in some roundabout way or is he just chatting?".

I know you're not after a way to distract the opposition but I quite enjoy that aspect of the game. As an opening batsman that's part of the challenge, I've had to learn to ignore fielders and stay focussed as much as I've had to learn where to put my feet, and it's part of the challenge I enjoy.

[FattusCattus]

Yup!  Most of it from the younger members of the team, who really aren't very good at it!!

[GarrettJ]

make the batsman do something stupid.

You could go down the amateur route of ......
Challenge him to smack a 6, tell him he cant get it off the square. Tell him his bat is a plank. Tell him shoes are so clean it looks like he has never spent more than 6 balls at the crease.......

its mostly a waste with a good batsman, but with them you can

TELL HIM ABOUT BEING UNDER PRESSURE, TELL HIM IF HE DOESNT MAKE RUNS THEN HIS TEAM WILL LOSE ... put some pressure on him mentally and never let up and keep on at it.

Although sometimes complete silence is the best policy, i hate batting in silence, i thrive on the comments. I like to make bowlers, fielders and keepers cry ........

[uknsaunders]

If people could play as well as they talked it would be more useful....

[trypewriter]

I've found that being in full agreement with the comments seems to make them drop off.

[uknsaunders]

make the batsman do something stupid.

You could go down the amateur route of ......
Challenge him to smack a 6, tell him he cant get it off the square. Tell him his bat is a plank. Tell him shoes are so clean it looks like he has never spent more than 6 balls at the crease.......

its mostly a waste with a good batsman, but with them you can

TELL HIM ABOUT BEING UNDER PRESSURE, TELL HIM IF HE DOESNT MAKE RUNS THEN HIS TEAM WILL LOSE ... put some pressure on him mentally and never let up and keep on at it.

Although sometimes complete silence is the best policy, i hate batting in silence, i thrive on the comments. I like to make bowlers, fielders and keepers cry ........

Best policy is to not sledge decent players. Far more useful to try and frustrate them and stop them scoring runs. Making them take singles instead of boundaries (sweepers out) helps build pressure more effectively on a good player. Also gets them off strike, which they don't like either. Nothing worse than hitting the first ball of the over to the cover boundary, only getting 1 for it and then watching your team mate playing and miss the next 5 balls. Repeat that 3 or 4 times and eventually a chance comes.

[uknsaunders]

I've found that being in full agreement with the comments seems to make them drop off.

yep, gives them nothing to work with. Even funnier when you start laying into yourself while scoring runs - "sorry that was a rubbish shot", "don't know how I'm still here", "can't believe I'm not out yet", etc etc. They can't do anything but agree and it all goes quiet.

[FattusCattus]

I've found that being in full agreement with the comments seems to make them drop off.

Yes - it's not really a classic sledge to tell me I can't bat for toffee. In fact if I am sledged it usually makes me giggle back at them as it is so pointless.

[Vitas Cricket]

I rarely say anything directly. I am pretty loud when it comes to keeping my own teams spirits up, and this can vary between genuine encouragement to ripping my own team mates to shreds to keep everyone else laughing and bouncing.

I aim general comments at the entire oppo loud enough for most to hear if necessary. Example being a recent game, we had our clubs beer festival on at the time which i used to put together a nice little narrative about the way the oppo were batting.

They won the toss and batted on an absolute road of a deck. Runs were easy to come by you just had to bat time and get bat on ball. They were all taking huge heaves from ball one, honestly not even having a look at their first ball or a new bowlers first ball. It was like a conveyor belt with batsmen coming and going. I started to announce that there must be one hell of a beer festival back at their club, and that our beer festival obviously isn't good enough etc.

'Our ales are good ales guys, I promise.'
'The way these chaps are batting this beer festival they need to get back to must be special, i might need to get myself a ticket'
'road. win toss. bat. badly. lose. back home. beer festival. good day out chaps'

etc, various variations on the theme. It was mainly to keep our guys laughing but it was curious to see not one of the oppo decided to prove me wrong and bat sensibly. They finished about 150 shy of a par score and we knocked it off easily.

I fully expect return fire from any comment i make, be it general or aimed at a player directly. When i strode out to open the batting a couple of them made everyone aware that i was very chatty when they batted, so i best have a world class cover drive. I of course got a duck and trudged back to the pavilion with a hefty send off.

The personal nonsense can go a bit far and sometimes i deem it way too aggressive with lots of personal insults and swearing. It all goes over my head and i usually respond with silence, a nod or as an early attempt to put it to bed - 'why don't you say that to someone who gives a *$!* mate?'

I've seen minor counties players get stuck in to young lads batting at 9 and 10 with the game all but over, i have no idea why someone who plays at such a level deems it necessary to behave like that especially when everyone can see the game will be done in a matter of balls.

Theres the other side of the coin of course. You get batsmen who want to be chatty, some who even seem like they want to instigate a bit of back and forth, i tend to blank them completely in an attempt to throw them a curve ball, as GarretJ mentioned, it can put some players off.

[HallamKeeper]

I'm exactly the same. I ignore any comments made to me when I'm batting and I only make general chit chat and the odd good shot comment to the batsman when I'm keeping.

That said, if someone nicks one and doesn't walk I become their worst nightmare.

Oh yeah, forgot about the non-walkers. I wouldn't say all bets are off but I would certainly start making snide remarks to the slips for a while. Usually pretty standard 'did he hit that one' after one out of the middle etc. but hopefully a little more clever or humorous. Only if I'm absolutely sure they hit it mind. I generally trust a batsman's word if they say they didn't hit it for tiny edges.

I have found myself saying the same words like 'mate' a lot when encouraging the fielders. It does seem odd when you catch yourself doing it, then I wince when I use it again.

[TangoWhiskey]

Yeah if someone hits it and doesn't walk then I see it is anything I do short of physical abuse is fair game. They want to cheat, they can live with it.

[Akewstick]

Only if I'm absolutely sure they hit it mind. I generally trust a batsman's word if they say they didn't hit it for tiny edges.

This isn't regularly remembered, last month I was called a liar, a cheat, sledged, sworn at and abused for 2 hours because I didn't walk for an edge I genuinely didn't hear or feel, which the umpire didn't see or hear but which two gobby slips were convinced of. I didn't get into an argument or even say anything to them, but a glance across the room at tea at the two of them seemed to let them know what I thought.

What people like @GarrettJ were talking about was trying to say something to get an advantage, what's the point of giving someone hell who didn't walk? Because you hate them? Justice? Seems a bit childish to me.