What a fart!

When the big Merv Hughes sledged cricket legend Viv Richards.

Merv Hughes could well be the benchmark when it came to sledging as a package: a hulk of a fast bowler with a bushy, Walrus mustache that gave him a menacing look. And, to make it worse, he was one of the ‘Ugly Australian’. But when it came to giving opponents the lip, he could make Fred Trueman look like a choir boy in church!

Bowlers are generally smart enough to know not to needle some legendary batsmen who get more determined and difficult to dismiss when they have been sledged. Some like the great Viv Richards would immediately show who the boss is with fitting ripostes with the bat. If the bowlers don’t understand which batsman not to sledge, then the captain usually briefs them beforehand. But Hughes did not care who it was — the batsman or the captain. He was an incorrigible sledger.

On one occasion Richards plundered four successive boundaries off Hughes. Normally people avoid confrontation with the King Viv.  But Hughes was boiling with rage at the treatment meted out to him by Richards. He menacingly walked up towards the Antiguan as one expected an ugly showdown between the two. But Hughes looked Richards in his eye and broke wind loudly. “Let’s see you hit that to the boundary!” he said to leave everybody stunned with amusement.

What a ripper!