I disagree...I think sledging works. As Steve Waugh said it is mental disintegration and I have seen batsman coming under pressure with some smart reminders of the match situation and required run rate etc.
However, one should not cross the boundary. I would never allow anyone from my team to say or do anything rude/unreasonable on the ground.
Btw I sit on the conducts committee of our association. So most people behave against us :-)
Most experienced cricketers will have heard it allll before. Whatever style of sledging you prefer, it will be water off a ducks back.
However, there are plenty of young or casual cricketers who won't be expecting to be sledged. Abusing them and making them miserable may well hasten their demise.
It will also mean they never play cricket again. Do this enough times, and teams will start folding. Eventually, the league will fold and you won't have any cricket to play at all.
So I guess you really need to ask yourself, what's more important - Winning a meaningless amateur cricket match, or destroying the entire sport?
I don't care what level you play at, there should be a complete no tolerance policy on sledging. First strike: match ban for the abuser; second strike: season ban for the abuser with a match ban for the skipper responsible; third strike: life ban for the abuser with a season ban for the skipper responsible.