Noël Coward was being satirical when he sang, at the height of the Second World War, “Don’t let’s be beastly to the Germans”. However, it is in the spirit of true reconciliation that today we urge cricket fans, “Please don’t be horrid to the Aussies”.
In recent years Australians became notorious as masters of the dark art of sledging. The opposition’s batting prowess, physique and even wives were all fair game. So it’s a surprise to learn that Australians are extremely sensitive fellows. Justin Langer, their coach, has asked fans not to boo Steve Smith and David Warner — both banned last year for ball-tampering — during the World Cup.
In a warm-up game some England fans even wore sandpaper costumes. That was quite obviously wrong; they would have been better dressing up as Lance-Corporal Jones from Dad’s Army — because suddenly Australia’s cricketers don’t like it up ’em.